With the NFL Draft now behind us and offseason team workout programs ramping up, the 2023 fantasy football season is right around the corner. As such, there is no better time to start preparing for your live drafts than practicing with FantasyPros’ Mock Draft Simulator to quickly and effectively trial different strategies, including mapping out your primary plan and practicing how to adapt if and when things change from your expectations.
Every season, something unexpected occurs during your league drafts, so you should take this preliminary time to prepare different strategies to avoid getting nervous or scrambling, thus making your decisions more instinctual and seamless. Let’s say a competitor reaches for someone you least expect, or your top sleeper gets snatched up right before you’re about to take him.
These are two of the more common situations that seemingly happen every year and preparing yourself as best as you can for these unforeseen situations by mock drafting and testing different scenarios helps enable you to draft more calmly and effectively when it matters. As I say in every mock draft article I’ve written, regardless of how well this mock draft turns out, you should remember that it’s critical to know your league’s specific rules and scoring distinctions and analyze your league mates’ tendencies from prior years or drafts so you develop more accurate expectations and can adapt when things don’t go as planned.
- More Fantasy Football Advice
- Snake Draft Pick Strategy: Early | Middle | Late
- Draft Targets for Every Round: Early | Middle | Late
- Fantasy Football Draft Strategy
Standard Fantasy Football Mock Draft
Strategy
In this standard mock draft, I’ll draft from the 10th spot in a 12-team league. Since receptions aren’t granted bonus points in a standard scoring setting, as opposed to those in points-per-reception leagues, I’ll target a running back early (i.e., in Rounds 1 or 2) and then look for high-upside wide receivers with greater reliance on touchdowns and big plays than simply tons of short and intermediate targets. Hopefully, the one or two RBs that I draft will be able to anchor my squad, with the WRs adding elite scoring potential in any given week to buoy my team to victory. Ideally, I’ll be able to draft Bijan Robinson, Jonathan Taylor, or Saquon Barkley in my first-round pick and then complement them with someone like Nick Chubb, Derrick Henry, or Tony Pollard in Round 2.
The Mock Draft
- Mock Draft Settings: 12-Team, 0 PPR, 10th Position, Snake Format
- Roster Format: 1QB/2RB/3WR/1TE/1FLX/6BN
Round 1.10 – Derrick Henry (RB – TEN)
After all three of my preferred Round 1 targets were taken prior to my pick, I opted for the next best available RB: Derrick Henry. I’m content with this selection as Henry offers a ton of rushing volume and touchdown upside on a run-heavy Tennessee Titans offense. He is the heart of that team, and they will continue to feed him into this season. His receiving numbers have also improved over the years, so if he were to play more third downs and draw additional targets, he could easily finish as THE RB1 this year. My biggest worry, however, is his age and mileage since he’s entering eighth season in the NFL and amassed more than 300 touches in three of the last four seasons (with the one time he didn’t hit 300 being in 2021 when he had 237 touches through just eight games).
Other Players Considered: Josh Jacobs, Tony Pollard, Cooper Kupp, Tyreek Hill
Round 2.03 – Cooper Kupp (WR – LAR)
With Jacobs, Pollard, and Hill all being drafted among the four picks since my last choice, this pick was extremely easy to make. I took Kupp without a second thought, as he was the clear next-best WR on the board and was on a tear last year before being shut down halfway through the 2022 season with an ankle injury. He was easily the fantasy WR1 at that point in the season, after running away with the WR1 performance in 2021. After making this pick, however, my team does have some risk as both of my foundational players are on the older side.
Other Players Considered: Stefon Diggs, Mark Andrews, Davante Adams
Round 3.10 – Joe Mixon (RB – CIN)
Since I drafted a balanced foundation for my team in the first two rounds, I had many options in Round 3. I could continue overloading on RBs and WRs, as they’re positions that are generally scarcer and more critical in standard fantasy leagues (i.e., as opposed to Superflex or tight-end premium leagues). Or I could select a premier fantasy quarterback or TE and get that starter out of the way before overloading on RBs and WRs in later rounds. I chose the former, taking the player with the highest volume potential: Joe Mixon. Mixon returns to one of the top offenses in the league, led by Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase. There should be ample scoring opportunities for Mixon and with the departure of Samaje Perine, Mixon’s primary handcuff last year, Mixon should easily outpace his 2022 performance where he finished as the RB14 in standard.
Other Players Considered: Aaron Jones, Patrick Mahomes II, Josh Allen
Round 4.03 – Josh Allen (QB – BUF)
This was the first pick I made in which I hesitated a bit. Aaron Jones went undrafted in the four picks after I took Mixon, so it was incredibly enticing to take the value here and draft him. Jones has been phenomenal when healthy since entering the league, but with Aaron Rodgers no longer entering the season as the QB for the Green Bay Packers for the first time in more than a decade and with the shared backfield with A.J. Dillon, I am worried about Jones’ 2023 production, considering his cost. As such, I took the best player available: Josh Allen. Allen has finished as a top-six fantasy QB every year since his rookie season, including a top-two final rank in each of the last three seasons. Barring injury, Allen should return as the QB1 or QB2 in fantasy, at worst finishing as the QB3 if Jalen Hurts, Burrow or Justin Herbert were to surprise folks. With my starting QB and RB roles now filled, along with a solid WR1 on my team, I will target WRs aggressively in the coming rounds and hold off on a TE until one falls into the middle-to-later parts of the draft.
Other Players Considered: Aaron Jones, Jalen Hurts
Round 5.10 – Christian Watson (WR – GB)
I’m not in love with this pick of presumed WR1 for the Packers, Christian Watson, as my fears around the aforementioned Aaron Jones are assuredly present here. I don’t think I had many other good options aside from Kyle Pitts, who underwhelmed last season in then-new Head Coach Arthur Smith’s run-first offense in which he was heavily underfeatured in the Falcons’ game plan. I think Pitts will certainly bounce back in 2023 but after taking Allen with my last pick, I don’t think I have the luxury of avoiding the WR group again in Round 5. Nonetheless, Watson offers great upside after playing well as a rookie, and with Kupp holding my WR group down, I am more willing to make a high-upside, high-risk pick in Watson.
Other Players Considered: Kyle Pitts, Mike Williams, James Conner, D’Andre Swift
Round 6.03 – D’Andre Swift (RB – PHI)
After taking a high-upside WR with my last pick, I had a bit more flexibility here in Round 6. Even though Pitts was not selected with those four picks since my selection of Watson, I again chose someone else over him. This time, I opted for the ever-efficient but often-injured D’Andre Swift. Swift has flashed when on the field over the past three seasons since being drafted in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He’s generally finished as an RB2 each season of his career but that’s largely been due to missing at least three games each year. With Detroit’s surprising trade during the 2023 NFL Draft in which they sent Swift off to Philadelphia after selecting Jahmyr Gibbs with the 12th overall pick, Swift’s average draft position (i.e., ADP) has dropped to the sixth or seventh rounds. He offers immense upside, even in a split backfield with MVP-caliber QB Hurts siphoning touchdowns as well. As my RB3, Swift offers solid value with RB1 upside if things go well this season for him.
Other Players Considered: Kyle Pitts, Mike Williams, Mike Evans
Round 7.10 – Darren Waller (TE – NYG)
Despite wanting to wait to draft a starting TE for my team until later in the draft, it was hard to pass on Darren Waller in Round 7 since many of the top remaining WRs were selected after I took Swift. With not many great options available here, Waller was a relatively easy pick for me. Similar to Swift, he was traded this offseason and enters his new team as the clear starter at his position. Furthermore, with New York Giants QB Daniel Jones improving in 2022 and with a lackluster group of proven WRs on the team, Waller should immediately step in as the top receiving target in this offense. As such, I was happy to make this pivot and will now almost exclusively focus on WRs and, perhaps, an RB in the next few rounds.
Other Players Considered: Jahan Dotson, Treylon Burks, Javonte Williams, Kadarius Toney, Gabe Davis
Round 8.03 – Kadarius Toney (WR – KC)
This was a really tough pick to make as there were a number of high-upside young WRs available for me to take. Namely, first-round picks from the 2022 NFL Draft Jahan Dotson and Treylon Burks were both there staring me in the eye, along with high-upside pick Gabe Davis. However, I went with the former first-round pick, Kadarius Toney, who has always shown potential when he’s on the field but has struggled to be healthy through his first two seasons in the NFL. After being traded midseason in the 2022 NFL season to the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, Toney may enter in as the top WR on the team and the second target to Travis Kelce for Patrick Mahomes II. In Round 8, I’m willing to take this risk to target Toney and I’ll continue focusing on WRs in future rounds to hedge against the risk of him busting like in prior seasons.
Other Players Considered: Jahan Dotson, Treylon Burks, Gabe Davis
Round 9.10 – Jameson Williams (WR – DET)
Similar to my last pick, I targeted another high-upside and young WR who was taken in the first round of the NFL Draft: Jameson Williams. Williams missed much of the 2022 season while recovering from an ACL tear and will serve a six-game suspension to start the 2023 season. I’m hoping that my current group of WRs can hold tight until Williams returns in game seven. Nonetheless, Williams offers elite speed and will be the WR2 on a Detroit Lions offense that surprised many in 2022 and may finish again in 2023 as a top-scoring team in the NFL. This does make the WR3 role on my team a bit suspect, so I’ll have to focus on quantity and upside going forward.
Other Players Considered: Antonio Gibson, Elijah Mitchell
Round 10.03 – Antonio Gibson (RB – WAS)
After selecting a WR with each of my last two picks, I returned to the RB group in Round 10. Despite disappointing many in 2022 and being supplanted as the lead RB by Brian Robinson in Washington, Antonio Gibson may return to his RB2 performances from his first two seasons in the league. Over his first two seasons in the league, Gibson functioned as the primary early-down RB in the Washington Commanders offense despite presenting a unique receiving prowess. With former Chiefs Offensive Coordinator Eric Bienemy joining Washington this offseason, many expect a boon to the offense in 2023 with Gibson leading the way as the primary receiving back after the team released J.D. McKissic. Gibson will play most passing downs and may even supplant Brian Robinson as the primary rusher for the team. This is another high-upside pick in the middle-to-late rounds of this mock draft.
Other Players Considered: Elijah Mitchell, Zay Flowers, Nico Collins
Round 11.10- Donovan Peoples-Jones (WR – CLE)
Unfortunately, every WR that I was targeting for this round was taken after I selected Gibson in Round 11, including my top options in Zay Flowers and Nico Collins. Nonetheless, I knew I had to take a WR here to continue reinforcing my weakest position. As such, I took Donovan Peoples-Jones, who flashed a bit in 2022 and has slowly improved each season since entering the league. I’m not enthusiastic about this pick, but I believe it was the best choice available. I would have taken Zay Jones normally, but the return of Calvin Ridley should only dampen Jones’ WR26 finish from 2022.
Other Players Considered: Zay Jones, Adam Thielen, Devon Achane, Kenneth Gainwell, Roschon Johnson
Round 12.03 – Roschon Johnson (RB – CHI)
With neither Jones nor Adam Thielen selected in the four picks since my last choice, I was torn here on who to draft. With the limited RBs available, I pivoted a bit and went with a young RB who could push for a starting gig in a run-first offense in Chicago: Roschon Johnson. Johnson played a secondary role to Texas stand-out Bijan Robinson but is no slouch himself. This could be a nice value pick while increasing my RB corps depth on the team.
Other Players Considered: Zay Jones, Adam Thielen, Kendre Miller, Chigoziem Okonkwo
Round 13.10 – Zay Jones (WR – JAC)
After passing on Jones in each of the past two rounds, I finally selected him here in Round 13 after he fell. Although my hesitancies from the prior rounds about Jones remain, in the second-to-last round, I’m happy to take the value here and draft the best player available at a position of need for my team. With five RBs and six WRs now drafted to my team, I will use my last pick of the mock draft to target another WR or TE in Round 14.
Other Players Considered: Gerald Everett, Tyler Higbee, John Metchie III, Wan’Dale Robinson
Round 14.03 – John Metchie III (WR – HOU)
With my last pick of the mock draft, I went with a high-upside, low-risk player in John Metchie III, the stud WR out of Alabama who missed all of the 2022 season after battling and recovering from his cancer diagnosis. Although he’s reportedly had some hamstring issues in preliminary organized team activities (i.e., OTAs), Metchie III should be good to go by the beginning of training camp and may push Nico Collins and Robert Woods as the WR1 for the Houston Texans. With the team selecting QB C.J. Stroud with the second pick of the 2023 NFL Draft, Metchie III could be a great pick considering his extremely low ADP. I was close to taking 2022 first-round pick Wan’Dale Robinson here, but since I already had Waller on my team and considering Robinson’s current injury concerns, I didn’t want to limit my upside by hedging with another Giants receiver.
Other Players Considered: Gerald Everett, Tyler Higbee, Wan’Dale Robinson
Results
The simulator graded my draft as 89/100 (B+) and projected me to finish second out of the 12 teams. My starting group was definitely stronger than my bench players, so I believe that with some luck, my bench can be the difference maker for my season-long team. If one or two of my WR sleepers were to show up and realize their high-upside potential, then this team could easily push for a fantasy football championship in 2023. Overall, I believe this team is very balanced across all starting positions and presents the necessary upside to win in any given week.
More Mock Drafts
- PPR: 12-Team, Early Pick
- PPR: 12-Team, Early Pick
- PPR: 12-Team, Middle Pick
- PPR: 12-Team, Middle Pick
- PPR: 12-Team, Late Pick
- PPR: 12-Team, Late Pick
- PPR: 10-Team Superflex
- PPR: 12-Team 2QB
- Half-PPR: 12-Team, Superflex
- Half-PPR: 12-Team, Middle Pick
- Standard: 12-Team
- FFPC: Middle Pick
- FFPC: Late Pick
- FFPC Expert Mock Draft
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | SoundCloud | iHeartRadio
Jared Lese is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Jared, check out his archive and follow him @JaredL_FF.
