The key to any fantasy football season is preparation. Whether you have the first overall pick or the last of the first round, having a sense of who will be available in each round is key.
I’ll be doing mock drafts throughout the summer while offering scenarios and feedback for each position. The point of these mocks is to prepare for the unexpected.
The mock drafts will assume that 12 teams are in the league with the following roster construction: quarterback, two running backs, two wide receivers, tight end, a flex (running back, wide receiver or tight end), defense, kicker and seven bench spots. It is a 16-round snake draft.
If you read my draft guide, you know I’m not a fan of drafting kickers and defense if it’s not necessary. I’d rather add a few running backs who could end up being a starter in the event of an injury. However, for the sake of this exercise, I’ll round out each draft by doing so. Remember, do not draft either before your final two picks!
Most important of all, be creative with your mock drafts. Don’t take the same players in every mock. Your favorite sleeper is probably someone else’s, too. I’m guilty of this myself, but I will try to go with different approaches in many of these mock drafts.
The draft is just the start of the season. If you’re drafting early, work the waiver wire to your advantage if any major injuries arise. If you’re a fantasy nerd like me, turn notifications on of your favorite NFL insider for breaking news around the league. But the draft is where you build the foundation of your roster, and the goal is to have as deep a roster as possible.
We have reached the final pick of our 12-team mock drafts as we inch closer to Week 1. See also: No. 1 pick, No. 2 pick, No. 3 pick, No. 4 pick, No. 5 pick, No. 6 pick, No. 7 pick, No. 8 pick, No. 9 pick, No. 10 pick, No. 11 pick, Superflex, Standard
Let’s get started on my latest mock draft of the 2023 season.
Here is my roster:
Round 1, Pick 12: Derrick Henry, RB, Tennessee Titans
Round 2, Pick 1: Stefon Diggs, WR, Buffalo Bills
Round 3, Pick 12: Keenan Allen, WR, Los Angeles Chargers
Round 4, Pick 1: Amari Cooper, WR, Cleveland Browns
Round 5, Pick 12: Terry McLaurin, WR, Washington Commanders
Round 6, Pick 1: James Conner, RB, Arizona Cardinals
Round 7, Pick 12: Kyle Pitts, TE, Atlanta Falcons
Round 8, Pick 1: Antonio Gibson, RB, Washington Commanders
Round 9, Pick 12: Zay Flowers, WR, Baltimore Ravens
Round 10, Pick 1: Jerick McKinnon, RB, Kansas City Chiefs
Round 11, Pick 12: Rondale Moore, WR, Arizona Cardinals
Round 12, Pick 1: Raheem Mostert, RB, Miami Dolphins
Round 13, Pick 12: Devin Singletary, RB, Houston Texans
Round 14, Pick 1: Geno Smith, QB, Seattle Seahawks
Round 15, Pick 12: New York Jets D/ST
Round 16, Pick 1: Greg Joseph, K, Minnesota Vikings
Observations:
Picking at the turn is one of my favorite spots. With that said, it is a bit of a buzzkill having to wait 20 slots between picks knowing you’ve got no shot at certain players. With that said, I love the value here.
It’s not a sexy pick, but there isn’t a player like Derrick Henry. Everyone keeps waiting for his downfall, but Henry is built different. He doesn’t get a ton of looks in the passing game, but he’s the ultimate goal-line back and will compete for the league lead in rushing.
Why I love picking at the turn is because I’m guaranteed either an elite second running back or one of the top receivers. Getting Stefon Diggs gives me another player who could lead his position in yards. Exiting the first two rounds with elite players at both positions allows me to draft the best available players the rest of the way.
I went heavy at receiver with three straight wideouts who are borderline WR1s. Keenan Allen has inexcusably dropping in drafts, so I’m happy to snatch him up. Amari Cooper has been one of my favorite targets in the fourth regardless what draft slot I’m in. I’m a big fan of the Commanders skill players this season, and that’s headlined by Terry McLaurin.
James Conner has become one of my preferred running backs, whether it’s the Hero RB or Zero RB strategy. He’s one of the few workhorse backs still available in the later rounds. Sure, the Cardinals are going to be putrid, but volume is king in fantasy and Conner has almost no competition for touches.
Kyle Pitts burned a lot of fantasy managers last season and that’s why I like him this year. He’s extremely talented and I’m expecting a bounce-back season. I feel confident in saying he’s going to look more like the player we saw his rookie season than last year’s disaster with Marcus Mariota as his quarterback.
This is the general range I start considering a quarterback, but I’ve been drafting Tua Tagovailoa in way too many leagues so I wanted to see just how long I could continue to wait. I kept waiting for the next wave of quarterbacks to come off the board, and they just did not.
I took advantage of this by grabbing some of my favorite mid-to-late-round targets. I’ve stated numerous times how I feel about Antonio Gibson this season. Zay Flowers is easily my favorite rookie receiver to draft. Jerick McKinnon was a top-10 back in the second half of 2022 and is somehow an option in the 10th round! I’ve been pounding the table for Jeff Wilson all offseason, but let’s face it, he does have an injury history of his own, so Raheem Mostert is a solid pick this late. Devin Singletary is going to get more looks than I think many are expecting and is a solid handcuff as well.
I was in disbelief at the options available to me at quarterback with my last pick before taking my kicker and defense. Daniel Jones and Aaron Rodgers were in the discussion, but I ultimately went with Geno Smith. It’s hard to ignore that he was QB5 last season, and getting him this late has zero risk. If it was a one-year wonder, I know Rodgers and Jones are free agents.
I’m not recommending waiting until your last pick to get your starting quarterback, but this mock was a good exercise to see just how long you can pass on the position and still land a league-winning QB. I was able to balance this roster out by being patient and land a ton of FLEX options as a result. This is a great lineup that will have postseason aspirations.
What do you think of this roster? Let’s discuss on Twitter @JoeSerp.
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Photo Credit: Kenya Allen/PressBox