It is always drafting season here at FantasyPros, and thanks to the mock draft simulator, you can quickly simulate any scoring settings and play out the draft. In this article, we’re using the same settings as FFPC, who have best ball contests live right now.
FFPC uses full PPR, single QB scoring, with 20 roster spots — QB, two RB, three WR, TE, FLEX (WR/RB/TE) and 12 bench spots. The key difference to most platforms is that FFPC uses tight end premium scoring, where tight ends receive an extra half point per reception (PPR) on top of the usual one point per reception.
This key difference makes the elite tight ends even more important than normal, and it’s not unusual to see Travis Kelce go in the middle of the first round. Thanks to the mock draft simulator, we can tweak the settings to give tight ends a ‘high’ positional value to help represent this. The simulator randomly assigned me to pick sixth, and this is how things turned out.
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FFPC Mock Draft (Fantasy Football 2023)
Fantasy Football Best Ball Mock Draft (FFPC Settings)
Round 1
With the tight end premium so valuable and Travis Kelce such a difference-maker year to year, it seems a layup to take Kelce here, of course. A lot of tight ends can become overvalued in this format, but with a player like Kelce, who sees consistent volume, he’s as safe a bet as any.
Rounds 2 & 3
After picking Kelce in the first round, nine of the next 12 players are running backs, taking away much of the options that would have stood out here. Instead, we can zig where others zag and lean into a Zero RB strategy. Picking up Tyreek Hill, followed by Jaylen Waddle, now allows us to pursue a Dolphins stack with Tua Tagavailoa. Through three rounds, we have two elite wide receivers and an elite tight. It’sit’s a strong way to start any draft.
Rounds 4 & 5
Quarterbacks fell further than they sometimes do, with Josh Allen being picked one pick before this fourth-round selection. This left us with a conundrum, forgo the Dolphins stack in favor of Patrick Mahomes or consider both. In this scenario, it felt like an ideal opportunity to see what a roster would look like if we pursued both stacks, so Patrick Mahomes was the fourth-round pick. When it comes to our fifth pick, another choice presents itself, stick rigidly to the Zero RB philosophy or mix things up slightly and take the Panthers RB1, Miles Sanders. I’m very comfortable pushing Zero RB to its limits, but here Miles Sanders felt like a good opportunity to add a running back who can see a huge amount of volume in 2023.
Rounds 6 & 7
Mindful that we’ve strayed away from the wide receivers that we should be building through, it’s time to take another here with Marquise Brown, someone who can elevate to a WR1 level if DeAndre Hopkins is traded. In Round 7, Tyler Allgeier‘s average draft position (ADP) has been suppressed by the fear that Bijan Robinson will become a Falcon, but if you feel like the team goes in a different direction, he could prove to be a bargain.
Rounds 8 & 9
Regardless of whether you’re a Zero RB drafter or going by ‘best player available,’ through 10 rounds of a best ball draft, we want at least four wide receivers, so adding Rashod Bateman here feels like a good bet on talent. With Todd Monken now the offensive coordinator, the Ravens’ passing game should be far better than under Greg Roman. Then in Round 9, when Tua Tagovailoa is still on the board, it’s too good an opportunity to round out the Dolphins stack that we started earlier. Now with two quarterbacks that we invested high picks in, in the pursuit of stacks, it’s best to leave the position alone for the rest of the draft.
Rounds 10 & 11
With only two running backs on our roster, it’s time to allocate some resources, thereby adding Alexander Mattison and D’Onta Foreman. Two players we’ve seen have good ceilings but might take a little luck to be consistent returners. However, in best ball, occasional ceiling games are fine when our strengths are elsewhere.
Rounds 12, 13 & 14
Dalton Schultz is our next pick, ahead of the next drop in talent at tight end. Schultz’s ceiling may be lowered a bit if the Texans don’t find their next quarterback in this draft, but Schultz has been a good fantasy asset before and can be again in Houston. With our Round 13 pick being Curtis Samuel, we have the type of receiver that could pick up a nice amount of receptions occasionally or perhaps be used in the running game if the team doesn’t invest highly in the position. Marquez Valdes-Scantling is a worthy flier when we already have the Chiefs stacked.
Rounds 15 & 16
Gus Edwards makes for a nice value at this point in the draft. Edwards is solid and unspectacular, but the Ravens like using him near the goal line, and he can bounce back after his injury hampered the last two years. Jordan Addison likely climbs up ADP if he finds a good landing spot in this draft. For now, though, we’ll take the discount.
Rounds 17 & 18
Devon Achane might struggle to find a three-down role in the NFL, but his lightning-fast speed and pass-catching ability will help him get on the field and make plays that contribute to our team. With Travis Kelce and Dalton Schultz already on our roster, tight end isn’t a priority, but Chigoziem Okonkwo is too good to pass up here. Okonkwo had an excellent end to his rookie year, and with the Titans not flush for pass-catchers, he could be a big part of the offense in 2023.
Rounds 19 & 20
At this time of year, using late picks on rookie fliers is a great way to get exposure to players who will rise in value post-draft. Tank Bigsby is the type of running back NFL coaches will love as he picks up yards consistently, while Marvin Mims is one of the best picks for sleeper wide receivers who could make a splash in year one.
Results
This roster looks like plenty of fun, thanks to the two explosive stacks from Kansas City and Miami’s offenses. The mock draft simulator gave me a grade of C+, in part because I reached several times. At this time of year, we can live with that. Most of the rookies who I reached for will experience a bump in ADP soon enough when we know their landing spots. The Mock Draft Simulator isn’t always perfect, but we can adjust the settings to be able to get quick and actionable results to consider ahead of our drafts.
Check out my mock draft results here.
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