The 2023 NFL Draft is only a few days away, and everyone is excited. One of my favorite draft expressions is “pounding the table.” It means a scout or coach is a big fan of a prospect and will stick their neck out and adamantly wants the team to draft that player.
Similarly, dynasty players have what many call “my guys.” Another way to say this is “I’m planting my flag with him” or “I’m willing to die on the (player’s name) hill.” Both mean the fantasy player has a strong positive opinion of a player.
In the spirit of the NFL Draft, here are five players I am pounding the table for or planting my flag with.
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All the trade rumors surrounding Lance is laughable. Unfortunately, the 49ers and fantasy players haven’t seen what the former third-overall pick can do in the NFL. He barely played as a rookie and suffered a season-ending injury in Week 2 last season. Yet, fantasy players should be encouraged by what Lance has accomplished in his short career.
The former North Dakota State star started two games as a rookie and played the second half of the Week 4 matchup. In those 2.5 games, Lance averaged 18 fantasy points per contest. However, adjusting that he only played 10 quarters of football instead of 12, the quarterback would have averaged 21.6 fantasy points per game in those three matchups. While some will point to his struggles in Week 1 last season, Lance was without his top weapon, George Kittle, and was playing in a rainstorm. He gets a pass from me.
Meanwhile, rushing production is critical for fantasy football at the quarterback position. Lance had 31 rushing attempts for 161 yards in his 2.5 starts as a rookie. Furthermore, he had 13 rushing attempts for 54 yards in the rainstorm. More importantly, the 49ers have the best-supporting cast in the NFL, with Kittle, Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, and Brandon Aiyuk. If Lance remains in San Francisco, he is set up to succeed.
Brock Purdy was a nice flash in the pan, but we’ve seen backup quarterbacks have a hot run in the past with Kyle Shanahan. Does anyone remember C.J. Beathard and Nick Mullens? Even if the 49ers foolish stick with the injured Purdy and trade Lance, the former No. 3 overall pick has too much raw talent not to have a chance at becoming a star quarterback.
Taylor was a superstar over the first two years of his career. He was the RB6 as a rookie, averaging 15.7 half-point PPR fantasy points per game. The former second-round pick was the RB1 in 2021, averaging 20.8 fantasy points per game, a career-high, despite some preseason concerns. Taylor was the near consensus 1.01 pick last year. However, he was only the RB34, averaging 12 fantasy points per game.
Unfortunately, the superstar running back struggled with injuries last season. He dealt with multiple ankle sprains, including a season-ending one in Week 15. Furthermore, the entire Indianapolis offense was a mess last year after moving on from Carson Wentz to Matt Ryan. Thankfully, new head coach Shane Steichen will get the team back on track.
Steichen was the offensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles over the past two years. Last season the Eagles were one of two teams to finish top 10 in rushing and passing yards per game. While that won’t happen with the Colts, regardless if Gardner Minshew or a rookie quarterback is under center, expect the team to feature Taylor.
Last year the superstar running back wasn’t as bad as his end-of-season ranking would suggest. Taylor was the RB18 on a points-per-game basis. More importantly, he averaged nearly the same number of rushing attempts per game last season as in his RB1 finish in 2021. Meanwhile, the superstar running back is an underrated pass catcher. He was seventh in route participation and 17th in target share among running backs last season. Taylor will have more top-five finishes over the next five years than finishes outside the top 10.
The fantasy football community spent last offseason debating the Seattle backfield. Rashaad Penny was coming off his “historic” five-game stretch to end the 2021 season. However, the Seahawks had just spent an early second-round pick on Walker. While some claimed the former Michigan State star would be the backup or replace the injured Chris Carson, Walker became a fantasy star.
He missed the first week of the year recovering from offseason hernia surgery. Walker then had a limited role over the first few weeks, as he didn’t have much of a training camp to prepare. However, to no one’s surprise, Penny got hurt in Week 5. The former Michigan State star had 14.8 half-point PPR fantasy points in that contest despite playing only 58% of the snaps, including a massive 69-yard run for a touchdown.
Despite not taking over as the lead back until Week 6, Walker was the RB16 last season, averaging 12.6 fantasy points per game. More importantly, the rookie became one of the top running backs once he became the lead back. Walker was the RB6 from Week 6 through the end of the regular season, averaging 14.9 fantasy points per game. That was a higher fantasy points per game average than several bigger-name running backs, including Saquon Barkley and Najee Harris.
More importantly, Walker still has plenty of room to grow. The Seahawks saw Penny and Travis Homer join new teams in free agency. Seattle will draft a running back at some point during the 2023 NFL Draft but don’t expect it to impact Walker’s role. Furthermore, the star running back was elite despite playing under 78% of the snaps in all but two games last season. Meanwhile, Walker somewhat struggled in those two contests, averaging 11.6 fantasy points per game. The star running back finished 11th in rushing attempts as a rookie but was third in breakaway runs, showing he can take any touch to the house. Walker is a top-four dynasty running back.
Many fantasy football analysts don’t like Akers. However, he is one of my favorite players. Is he a top-10 dynasty running back? No, but Akers is also not an RB3. The former second-round pick hasn’t had an ideal start to his career. Sean McVay stuck him in a three-headed committee as a rookie when the team was trying to replace Todd Gurley. However, Akers ended his rookie season playing well. He averaged 13.2 half-point PPR fantasy points and 84.8 rushing yards per game over the final five games of the regular season. Furthermore, Akers averaged 4.5 yards per rushing attempt during that five-game span.
The rookie running back was even more impressive during the playoffs, averaging 110.5 rushing yards and 21.4 fantasy points per game in their two playoff matchups. Unfortunately, he tore his Achilles during the offseason. That type of injury typically knocks a player out for a calendar year, but Akers returned for the final game of the regular season. He struggled during the playoffs, which wasn’t surprising given the quick turnaround from the Achilles injury.
Unfortunately, Los Angeles was a disaster last season. Akers spent the early part of the year in McVay’s doghouse and struggled to get on the field. Then, he asked for a trade but remained with Los Angeles. After the trade deadline passed, Akers returned to the team. Surprisingly, the Rams waived Darrell Henderson Jr. Once Los Angeles moved on from Henderson, Akers started to play better.
Over the final six weeks of the year, he was the RB4, averaging 16.8 fantasy points per game. Akers would have been the RB5 on a points-per-game basis last year with that fantasy average. Furthermore, the former second-round pick averaged 102.5 rushing yards and 18.3 fantasy points per game over the final four contests last season. Over a 17-game pace, Akers would have been the RB3 with that fantasy points per game average. The Rams have limited draft capital and several pressing needs. Therefore, fantasy players should expect Akers to have the unquestioned lead role again in 2023.
Don’t be so quick to throw out your old toys for the shiny new thing. While some are drooling over last year’s wide receiver draft class, I want more shares of Kupp. Yes, the Rams were awful last year. Yet, he was the one guy fantasy players could count on every week. Despite missing half of the 2022 season, Kupp still ended the year as the WR24.
The superstar wide receiver averaged 18.2 half-point PPR fantasy points per game last year. He was the WR1 on a points-per-game basis, averaging 0.3 more per game than Justin Jefferson. More importantly, Kupp would have been the only wide receiver to average over 20 fantasy points per game last year if you remove the Week 10 matchup where he suffered the season-ending injury.
Some will argue that the former Super Bowl MVP can’t repeat what he accomplished in 2021. However, that isn’t true. Before suffering the season-ending ankle injury, Kupp was on pace to put up similar numbers last season. He would have ended the year with 153 receptions on 197 targets for 1,727 receiving yards, 13 touchdowns, and 345.1 fantasy points over a 17-game pace last year using his first eight games averages. By comparison, the superstar receiver had 367 fantasy points in 2021, only 1.3 more fantasy points per game than his 17-game pace in 2022.
Kupp will turn 30 in June. However, fantasy players shouldn’t worry about his production over the next few years. The superstar receiver has two top-four finishes over the past four years, plus the WR1 finish on a points-per-game basis last year. Furthermore, Kupp scored 12.7 or more fantasy points in all but one game over the past two seasons, removing the Week 10 matchup last year when he suffered the ankle injury. Meanwhile, he scored 20 or more fantasy points in 14 of those 26 games. The Rams have a limited receiving core, meaning the superstar should see another massive target share next year. Even at soon-to-be 30 years old, Kupp remains a top-five dynasty wide receiver.
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Mike Fanelli is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @Mike_NFL2.