The 2023 NFL season is approaching, and that means it’s time to prepare for your fantasy football draft. What better way to do that than to practice drafting with our free mock draft simulator! Beyond our tools, we’re also going to have you covered throughout the draft prep season with our content.
One of the most important aspects of completing a successful fantasy football draft is knowing who to target. Sure, there could be ‘value’ that presents itself through the draft, but it’s important to know which players you should not only target as values but also those you need to circle on your cheat sheets and prepare to reach for if needed. Here are my top players to target in 2023 fantasy football drafts. And here is a free closer look at a few of his top picks.
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Andrew Erickson’s Players to Target
Here are players I’m targeting.
Christian Watson could experience a sophomore slump if Jordan Love can’t deliver as the full-time starter for the Packers. However, I’d remain a buyer of Watson regardless because Watson was absolutely dynamite as a rookie.
His 26% target rate per route run is nothing but impressive, ranking 17th among all WRs with at least 400 snaps. Watson’s 2.47 yards per route run ranked inside the top 10 and tied with superstar Davante Adams.
And in a must-win Week 18 contest vs. the Lions, he was once again the target leader (23% target share), going for 104 receiving yards on a team-high five catches. From Week 10 through Week 18, Watson ranked first in yards per route run (2.78). Over the same span, Watson was the WR9 in both total points and on a per-game basis in PPR.
He displayed an extremely high weekly ceiling, finishing as a top-12 receiver in 31% of his games (14th at the position). Same as Jaylen Waddle and superior to Tee Higgins.
If Watson takes over the downfield and red zone looks that Allen Lazard saw the majority of in 2022, prepare for a massive second-year leap.
He is the clear alpha in the Packers’ passing game, with the current depth chart listed as Watson, Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks, Grant DuBose and Samori Toure.
I am firmly planting my flag on Steelers WR Diontae Johnson to have a massive bounce-back campaign. He didn’t score last season – likely a fluke – and second-year WR George Pickens is a darling in the fantasy community. But even though DJ is still the more proven asset, Pickens is consistently drafted ahead.
Johnson’s ability to command targets based on his 28% target share and seventh-ranked 137 targets in 2022 suggests he is a prime candidate for positive regression in many facets. His combined downfield targets and red-zone targets were the most of any player not to score in 2022. Those trends don’t tend to carry over from year-to-year. Buy-low on the WR15 in expected fantasy points per game from last season.
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