Just like that, we have three rounds of the NFL Draft in the books. After a flurry of trades on Day 1 and a heaping pile of head-scratching moves on Day 2, we enter Day 3 with another round of winners and losers for fantasy football in 2023.
Let’s sift through today’s batch of players who saw their fantasy football stock rise and fall.
- Thor Nystrom’s Best Remaining Day 3 Prospects
- NFL Draft Day 1 Winners & Losers
- Round 1 NFL Draft Picks: Dynasty Rookie Draft Outlook
- Dynasty Rookie Primers: QB | RB | WR | TE
NFL Draft Day 2: Winners
Tony Pollard (RB – DAL)
Pollard made it through the first three rounds of the NFL Draft without the Dallas Cowboys taking a running back. It’s time to pop the champagne and start the Pollard domination party. He’s easily been one of the most efficient running backs in the NFL, and now he’s staring at only Malik Davis, Rico Dowdle, and Ronald Jones behind him on the depth chart. Even if the Cowboys add a Day 3 back to the mix, Pollard should be the easy favorite for the passing downs and high-value touches. He has overall RB1 upside in 2023.
Sam Laporta (TE – DET)
Sammy Ballgame, BABY! Laporta lands in Detroit and should be immediately installed as the Day 1 starter for the Lions. With only Brock Wright, Shane Zylstra, James Mitchell, and Derrick Deese behind him on the depth chart, he should have no trouble carving out a full-time role. Laporta will earn his NFL paychecks by catching passes and breaking tackles weekly. In each of the last two seasons, he has ranked inside the top 20 in PFF receiving grade and yards per route run among FBS tight ends (minimum 20 targets per PFF). Last season Laporta played 20.2% of his snaps as a perimeter receiver. Laporta should be the number three option in the passing game this season, soaking up targets from Jared Goff.
Rashee Rice (WR – KC)
Rashee Rice was among the few pleasant surprises of the Day 2 NFL Draft action. Catching passes from Patrick Mahomes feels like a small win for Rice as well as earning round-two draft capital. Yes, I do remember my Skyy Moore love which is a cautionary tale for fantasy gamers before they get too attached to Rice. Rice could fill the void that JuJu Smith-Schuster left in year one. Smith-Schuster’s calling card these days is his ability to beat zone coverage. This also happens to be a strength of Rice as he ranked first in PFF receiving grade against zone and third in yards per route run against the coverage type last year (minimum 20 zone targets per PFF). We’ll see how his playing time shakes out in 2023, but he could be their starting slot receiver in Week 1.
Cam Akers (RB – LAR)
After three rounds, the Rams have selected zero running backs in the NFL Draft. This isn’t surprising considering the gaping holes on this roster at multiple positions, but it doesn’t mean that we can’t rejoice in unison about Akers’ impending workhorse role this season. Los Angeles only has one pick remaining inside the top 150 selections of the NFL Draft, so the odds that they add a running back that can realistically challenge Akers for work is slim.
Rhamondre Stevenson (RB – NE)
Ok, let’s continue the rounds for stud running backs who avoided draft-pick landmines with Rhamondre Stevenson. With the Patriots addressing defense in each of the first three rounds of the NFL Draft, Mondre can breathe a little easier entering Day 3. Last season we saw New England feed Stevenson a bell cow workload at times which could continue this year. Stevenson isn’t totally out of the woods, as New England has four picks in Round 4. With his incredible production last year and his pass game chops, he should at least walk into this year as the clear lead back for this offense, who could be a full-blown bellcow again.
NFL Draft Day 2: Losers
Zach Charbonnet / Kenneth Walker (RB – SEA)
As I write this article, I must admit my heart is broken. Seattle managed to crush two of my favorite running back prospects of the last several years in one fell swoop by taking Zach Charbonnet in the second round of the NFL Draft. The Seahawks invested similar capital in Kenneth Walker last year as the team rode him down the stretch after Rashaad Penny was lost to injury. Fantasy gamers expected Walker to be the Seahawks’ workhorse this season, but Pete Carroll crushed those hopes for Charbonnet and Walker on Day 2. This becomes a frustrating committee backfield that will cause me to eat Tums by the handful this year.
Hendon Hooker (QB – DET)
After big media tried to sell us a bag of faulty goods during the pre-draft process with Hooker Round 1 hype, the truth of his marginal prospect status has been dragged into the light. Hooker’s fall into the third round of the NFL Draft crushes his dynasty hope. If (big if) he hits, he’ll be a massive outlier. Consistently investing dynasty draft capital in quarterbacks drafted in the third round or later is a fool’s errand. Please don’t do it. This is not the way.
Josh Downs (WR – IND)
The diminutive former North Carolina Tar Heel fell into the third round of the NFL Draft and onto the Indianapolis Colts. Downs finds himself in what projects to be a low-volume passing offense as the low aDOT option who won’t start in two wide receiver sets. If you crossed your fingers and toes praying for Downs to land with a team like Buffalo (who he was connected to before the NFL Draft), you are likely pouring yourself a stiff drink as you read this.
Travis Etienne Jr.
Well, Doug Pederson’s committee backfield love affair has reared its ugly head once again. Etienne now finds himself sharing a backfield with third-round pick Tank Bigsby. Bigsby should eat into Etienne’s early down workload from Day 1, which isn’t great for a back that only saw a 7.8% target share (38th) last year. Unless Etienne’s pass game role gets expanded this year (doubtful at best), he could be in for a long season, losing carries and red zone work to Bigsby regularly.
2023 NFL Draft Scouting Reports & Prospect Profiles
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