The first week of the 2023 NFL preseason is now here, and that means it’s a perfect time to run through a fantasy football mock draft!
Here at Pro Football Network, we do the work to make sure you can walk into your draft confident that you’re going to put together the best roster that you possibly can. With that in mind, let’s walk through what an eight-team fantasy football draft could look like this season.
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2023 Fantasy Football Mock Draft | League Settings
This is an eight-team, 1QB mock draft, with my team selecting from the sixth spot. Each player receives one point per reception, and touchdowns are worth six points for rushing and receiving. Quarterbacks receive four points per passing touchdown.
Here is the full roster breakdown:
- 1 QB
- 2 RB
- 3 WR
- 1 TE
- 1 FLEX (W/R/T)
- 6 BENCH
Round 1
1.01) Ja’Marr Chase, WR, Cincinnati Bengals
1.02) Christian McCaffrey, RB, San Francisco 49ers
1.03) Justin Jefferson, WR, Minnesota Vikings
1.04) Austin Ekeler, RB, Los Angeles Chargers
1.05) Tyreek Hill, WR, Miami Dolphins
1.06) Stefon Diggs, WR, Buffalo Bills
1.07) Travis Kelce, TE, Kansas City Chiefs
1.08) CeeDee Lamb, WR, Dallas Cowboys
Pick Analysis: It’s difficult to find a more consistent fantasy asset than Diggs. As a member of the Buffalo Bills, Diggs is the focal point of the passing attack, and he’s going to continue to see a ridiculous opportunity in 2023.
In a full-PPR format, those targets are incredibly valuable and worth leaning on at the start of the draft.
Round 2
2.01) Cooper Kupp, WR, Los Angeles Rams
2.02) Bijan Robinson, RB, Atlanta Falcons
2.03) Saquon Barkley, RB, New York Giants
2.04) Jonathan Taylor, RB, Indianapolis Colts
2.05) A.J. Brown, WR, Philadelphia Eagles
2.06) Nick Chubb, RB, Cleveland Browns
2.07) Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR, Detroit Lions
2.08) Josh Jacobs, RB, Las Vegas Raiders
Pick Analysis: St. Brown was tempting at the top of Round 2, but being able to balance out my roster with a top-tier fantasy asset like Barkley was too much to pass up. In a recent rankings update, which you can see on our PFN Consensus Fantasy Rankings page, Barkley moved up to RB3 in draft rankings for me.
As he’s back in New York on a one-year deal, he’s in line to see a massive workload this season, and he can be viewed as a cornerstone piece for fantasy rosters in 2023.
Round 3
3.01) Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City Chiefs
3.02) Davante Adams, WR, Las Vegas Raiders
3.03) Derrick Henry, RB, Tennessee Titans
3.04) Jaylen Waddle, WR, Miami Dolphins
3.05) Garrett Wilson, WR, New York Jets
3.06) Chris Olave, WR, New Orleans Saints
3.07) Tony Pollard, RB, Dallas Cowboys
3.08) Mark Andrews, TE, Baltimore Ravens
Pick Analysis: Olave’s in line for a breakout campaign this year in New Orleans with Derek Carr throwing him the ball. Even last year, with questionable QB play, we saw fantastic things from Olave in this Saints offense, and he has the potential to put up big numbers as the WR1 on this team.
Round 4
4.01) Jalen Hurts, QB, Philadelphia Eagles
4.02) Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills
4.03) Tee Higgins, WR, Cincinnati Bengals
4.04) Joe Burrow, QB, Cincinnati Bengals
4.05) Rhamondre Stevenson, RB, New England Patriots
4.06) DK Metcalf, WR, Seattle Seahawks
4.07) Najee Harris, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers
4.08) Travis Etienne, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars
Pick Analysis: The beauty of eight-team leagues is getting to see someone like Higgins as your WR3 on your roster. We know just how capable Higgins is of putting up big numbers in this powerful offense, and he comes with overall WR1 upside if Ja’Marr Chase were to ever miss time with an injury.
2023 Fantasy Football Mock Draft | Round 5
5.01) Jahmyr Gibbs, RB, Detroit Lions
5.02) DeVonta Smith, WR, Philadelphia Eagles
5.03) Lamar Jackson, QB, Baltimore Ravens
5.04) Ken Walker III, RB, Seattle Seahawks
5.05) Aaron Jones, RB, Green Bay Packers
5.06) Joe Mixon, RB, Cincinnati Bengals
5.07) Breece Hall, RB, New York Jets
5.08) Alvin Kamara, RB, New Orleans Saints
Pick Analysis: It’s ridiculous how low fantasy managers remain on Mixon this season, despite the insane amount of volume that he’s going to see in one of the league’s best offenses. Mixon’s ADP currently just means that smart fantasy managers can load up on WRs in the early rounds and still get a reliable RB2 a few rounds later.
Round 6
6.01) Deebo Samuel, WR, San Francisco 49ers
6.02) Keenan Allen, WR, Los Angeles Chargers
6.03) DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Tennessee Titans
6.04) Calvin Ridley, WR, Jacksonville Jaguars
6.05) T.J. Hockenson, TE, Minnesota Vikings
6.06) Miles Sanders, RB, Philadelphia Eagles
6.07) Justin Fields, QB, Chicago Bears
6.08) Terry McLaurin, WR, Washington Commanders
Pick Analysis: Opinions on Hopkins are all over the place going into 2023 from a fantasy standpoint, but there’s a real opportunity for him to be a top-15 WR this season. He should easily dominate the target share in this offense while being Ryan Tannehill’s go-to target in the red zone.
As a WR4 on my roster, he’s worth adding to see how everything shakes out.
Round 7
7.01) Amari Cooper, WR, Cleveland Browns
7.02) George Kittle, TE, San Francisco 49ers
7.03) D.J. Moore, WR, Chicago Bears
7.04) Christian Watson, WR, Green Bay Packers
7.05) J.K. Dobbins, RB, Baltimore Ravens
7.06) D’Andre Swift, RB, Philadelphia Eagles
7.07) Drake London, WR, Atlanta Falcons
7.08) Jerry Jeudy, WR, Denver Broncos
Pick Analysis: Swift seems like the forgotten man going into fantasy football drafts this season. The general consensus on him appears to be that he’s injury prone and really didn’t do much at all last season, but the stats tell another story.
Swift played in 14 games last season and saw an impressive 70 targets. With news coming out of Philadelphia that they plan to utilize Swift as a weapon in the passing game this season, plus very little other competition in his own backfield, Swift could be a steal at his current ADP.
Round 8
8.01) Dameon Pierce, RB, Houston Texans
8.02) Marquise Brown, WR, Arizona Cardinals
8.03) Dallas Goedert, TE, Philadelphia Eagles
8.04) Chris Godwin, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
8.05) Justin Herbert, QB, Los Angeles Chargers
8.06) Alexander Mattison, RB, Minnesota Vikings
8.07) Cam Akers, RB, Los Angeles Rams
8.08) Tyler Lockett, WR, Seattle Seahawks
Pick Analysis: At this point in the draft, there were a couple of teams that hadn’t drafted a TE yet, which signaled that I needed to get one of the final remaining solid options before a tier break occurred.
Goedert has all the talent in the world, and he is attached to one of the league’s best offenses. While it’s a narrow target tree in Philadelphia, Goedert should see enough opportunity each week to be a consistent option that also presents some upside.
2023 Fantasy Football Mock Draft | Round 9
9.01) Darren Waller, TE, New York Giants
9.02) Brandon Aiyuk, WR, San Francisco 49ers
9.03) Isiah Pacheco, RB, Kansas City Chiefs
9.04) James Conner, RB, Arizona Cardinals
9.05) Mike Evans, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
9.06) Mike Williams, WR, Los Angeles Chargers
9.07) Dalvin Cook, RB, Free Agent
9.08) Michael Pittman Jr., WR, Indianapolis Colts
Pick Analysis: Yes, we need to be prepared for the potential that Williams misses some time this season with an injury. He has a lengthy track record that indicates he won’t be out there for all 17 games.
However, this new offensive system under Kellen Moore is going to be dramatically different than Joe Lombardi’s from previous years. Herbert is finally going to be able to push the ball deep downfield regularly, and Williams has proven that he’s the best contested-catch receiver downfield in the entire league.
We could see a monstrous season from Williams this year, provided that he stays healthy.
Round 10
10.01) Rachaad White, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
10.02) Christian Kirk, WR, Jacksonville Jaguars
10.03) Diontae Johnson, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
10.04) Kyle Pitts, TE, Atlanta Falcons
10.05) Javonte Williams, RB, Denver Broncos
10.06) Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Seattle Seahawks
10.07) David Montgomery, RB, Detroit Lions
10.08) James Cook, RB, Buffalo Bills
Pick Analysis: Fantasy managers tend to overreact quite a bit to players that disappointed them the year prior. There’s no denying that Johnson’s zero receiving touchdowns in 2022 was a bitter pill to swallow for fantasy managers that drafted him, but there’s guaranteed volume with the veteran WR.
In a full-PPR format, Johnson’s a lock for my starting lineup every single week as a safe and reliable option, and he’s an automatic selection at this point of the draft every time.
Round 11
11.01) Jordan Addison, WR, Minnesota Vikings
11.02) George Pickens, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
11.03) Jahan Dotson, WR, Washington Commanders
11.04) Treylon Burks, WR, Tennessee Titans
11.05) AJ Dillon, RB, Green Bay Packers
11.06) Trevor Lawrence, QB, Jacksonville Jaguars
11.07) Kadarius Toney, WR, Kansas City Chiefs
11.08) Brandin Cooks, WR, Dallas Cowboys
Pick Analysis: Lawrence was on my radar a few rounds ago, but it’s important to pay attention to the rest of your league as you go throughout your draft. Every single other team had drafted a QB by Round 6, so I knew that I could be patient and attack other key positions.
Lawrence has top-five upside this season in this Jaguars offense. Things clicked last season under Doug Pederson, and this Jacksonville offense took off. Add in Ridley, and T-Law could be in line for a massive breakout campaign.
Round 12
12.01) Brian Robinson, RB, Washington Commanders
12.02) Michael Thomas, WR, New Orleans Saints
12.03) Elijah Moore, WR, Cleveland Browns
12.04) Gabe Davis, WR, Buffalo Bills
12.05) Rashaad Penny, RB, Philadelphia Eagles
12.06) Antonio Gibson, RB, Washington Commanders
12.07) Quentin Johnston, WR, Los Angeles Chargers
12.08) Zay Flowers, WR, Baltimore Ravens
Pick Analysis: Moore is one of my favorite targets in drafts this season due to the combination of his upside and his absurdly low ADP. Just like with Johnson, expectations were not met for Moore in 2022, and fantasy managers have written him off.
If Deshaun Watson can bounce back to his former self this season, Moore’s in line for major production in 2023.
2023 Fantasy Football Mock Draft | Round 13
13.01) Zach Charbonnet, RB, Seattle Seahawks
13.02) Jamaal Williams, RB, New Orleans Saints
13.03) Evan Engram, TE, Jacksonville Jaguars
13.04) Pat Freiermuth, TE, Pittsburgh Steelers
13.05) Dak Prescott, QB, Dallas Cowboys
13.06) Samaje Perine, RB, Denver Broncos
13.07) Deshaun Watson, QB, Cleveland Browns
13.08) Anthony Richardson, QB, Indianapolis Colts
Pick Analysis: RB depth at this point of the draft was essential, and Perine is flying under the radar, especially in full-PPR formats. There’s a strong possibility that Javonte Williams is not ready to roll at 100% to start the season, which means that Perine should be in line for an increased workload.
However, after that point, he should remain heavily involved in the offense as we’ve seen Sean Payton utilize a committee approach routinely throughout his NFL head coaching career.
Round 14
14.01) David Njoku, TE, Cleveland Browns
14.02) Dalton Schultz, TE, Houston Texans
14.03) Jerome Ford, RB, Cleveland Browns
14.04) Khalil Herbert, RB, Chicago Bears
14.05) Tua Tagovailoa, QB, Miami Dolphins
14.06) JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, New England Patriots
14.07) Geno Smith, QB, Seattle Seahawks
14.08) Kirk Cousins, QB, Minnesota Vikings
Pick Analysis: There’s no confirmation just yet as to who will be the third-down back in Cleveland this season, but Ford could easily put himself onto the fantasy map if he assumes that role.
He’s a home-run threat out of the backfield with the ball in his hands, and he seems to have the RB2 role locked up already for the Browns this season. He’s a dart throw later on in drafts, but one that could certainly pay off.