Jordan Woodson | Thu, Jun 29th 2023, 7:02am EDT

Fantasy Football Mock Draft: Half-Point PPR, 12-Team, Early Pick (2023)

With the NFL season less than 75 days away, Mock Draft Szn (season) is kicking into high gear across the fantasy football industry. One scroll through your Twitter feed, and you’re bound to stumble into mock drafts of many different varieties.

Along with your standard redraft and dynasty mock drafts, you’ll also find plenty of devy and Scott Fish Bowl mocks to participate in this time of year. Today, we’re talking about redraft, aka season-long fantasy football.

In this mock draft, we’re drafting from the 1.01 using the FantasyPros Mock Draft Simulator. This 12-team half-point point per reception (PPR) 1QB league starts 1 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, and 1 Flex.

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Half-Point PPR Mock Draft from 1.01 (2023 Fantasy Football)

1.01 Christian McCaffrey (RB – SF)

If I’m being honest, Minnesota Vikings WR Justin Jefferson is my first-ranked player in redraft this season. However, mock drafts are great for trying out different strategies. In this case, McCaffrey was the overwhelming favorite, according to FantasyPros expert consensus rating (ECR).

After missing time with injuries the past couple of seasons, McCaffrey stayed relatively unscathed in 2023. He played in 17 total games between Carolina and his new home in San Francisco.

CMC saw limited action in his first 49ers contest against the Chiefs, but he started 10 games after that. In those games, McCaffrey eclipsed 20+ half-PPR points in five of those contests, including a 36-point outburst against the Rams in Week 8. The QB situation is up-in-the-air, but that gives San Francisco even more reason to lean on their star running back.

2.12 Rhamondre Stevenson (RB – NE)

In the late second round, I selected New England Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson. Pairing Stevenson with first-round selection Christian McCaffrey gives me a couple of stud running backs to lock into my starting lineup.

After sharing work with Damien Harris for the early part of 2022, it wasn’t long before Stevenson became the guy for Bill Belichick. Stevenson finished as the RB11 in half-point PPR scoring a season ago, and the Patriots have added little-to-no competition behind him. There’s some talk of Pierre Strong or Ty Montgomery stealing some passing game work, but I think Stevenson is too good to keep off the field.

3.01 Jaylen Waddle (WR – MIA)

We’ve reached my favorite area to draft wide receivers. Garrett Wilson, Jaylen Waddle, Tee Higgins, Chris Olave and DeVonta Smith routinely go around the same area in every draft. If you miss out on the top WRs, selecting one or two from this group is encouraged.

I selected Stevenson to strengthen my RB2 spot, so I’m only able to draft one from this group in this scenario. Wilson was off the board, but everyone else mentioned was available. I have no issues selecting Dolphins wide receiver Jaylen Waddle as my WR1 in the third round.

Entering his third year, Waddle has already shown to be an electric play-making wide receiver. Adding in another year of growth and the possibility of a Tyreek Hill suspension could make this look like an extreme value in a few months.

4.12 Amari Cooper (WR – CLE)

After starting the draft RB-RB-WR, I thought it was important to add to my wide receiver room. The FantasyPros ECR agreed, with Browns wide receiver Amari Cooper the overwhelming favorite, according to the experts.

The Cleveland wide receiver finished 2022 as the WR9 in these scoring settings, so this looks like a steal on paper. However, a deeper look into his 2022 numbers will leave you a bit concerned.

Cooper averaged 13.61 points in 11 games without Deshaun Watson and only 9.88 points in the quarterback’s six starts. A rusty start was expected for someone out of the league for as long as he was, but there needs to be a drastic improvement for Cooper to reach those lofty numbers again. Still, the value is too much to pass up at this point in the draft.

5.01 Lamar Jackson (QB – BAL)

I’m not against waiting on your QB1, but I thought the value of Lamar Jackson here was too good to pass up. Jackson’s rushing ability gives him QB1 upside every time he steps on the field.

I know last year was a rough ride for Lamar Jackson drafters, but you can’t give up on the talent and upside after a rough patch. Jackson has a massive new contract, a new offensive coordinator, and a handful of new weapons at his disposal.

6.12 Tyler Lockett (WR – SEA)

Needing to add to my wide receiver depth, I lock in on Seahawks wide receiver Tyler Lockett in the sixth round. Pick Insights alerted me to the fact that Lockett was the only wide receiver remaining from Tier 4, which made the decision even easier.

7.01 Darren Waller (TE – NYG)

Looking back at the draft, this is probably the one misstep. Don’t get me wrong, I love Darren Waller and think he has the opportunity to lead the Giants’ pass-catchers in targets. I just think I could have drafted another depth piece here and waited another round or two on my starting tight end.

8.12 Alvin Kamara (RB – NO)

With running backs flying off the board, I have to settle for Saints running back Alvin Kamara as my RB3. This would normally be an amazing value, but the legal issues surrounding Kamara make it a risky pick. Hopefully, we know more about a potential suspension before actual draft season.

9.01 Khalil Herbert (RB – CHI)

I didn’t love my WR options here, so I doubled down on running back and selected Chicago’s Khalil Herbert as Alvin Kamara’s suspension insurance. I have my doubts about this Bears backfield, so I’ve mostly been avoiding it, but ECR had Herbert as the overwhelming pick here.

10.12 Nico Collins (WR – HOU)

11.01 Zay Jones (WR – JAC)

I’m grouping Houston wide receiver Nico Collins and Jacksonville wide receiver Zay Jones into the same blurb. I needed wide receiver depth and FantasyPros’ Pick Insights alerted me to the fact that Collins and Jones were the last remaining wide receivers from Tier 6.

12.12 Anthony Richardson (QB – IND)

After drafting Lamar Jackson in the fifth round, I didn’t necessarily need a backup quarterback. However, with Lamar’s injury history, this value on Richardson was too good to pass up. Richardson has QB1 upside, thanks to his incredible rushing ability.

13.01 D’Onta Foreman (RB – CHI)

It was my last pick, so I wanted to pick someone with starting upside. I already drafted Khalil Herbert, so this allows me to see how the Bears’ backfield situation plays out.

Conclusion

For this draft, we received an A grade with an overall grade of 96 out of 100. We’re projected to finish first in the league with 975 total points. Selecting Brandon Aiyuk in the seventh round and Evan Engram in the 11th round would have seen an increase of 44 points, but you can never get mad at receiving an A grade.

For full draft results, CLICK HERE.

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