We have a brand new season of fantasy football on the horizon for 2023. After a wild NFL offseason and draft cycle, the dust has settled and we have a shifting NFL landscape that appears ripe for the picking for fantasy.

The attack plan for fantasy titles starts with the early rounds of your drafts. These early selections will build the backbone of your teams and influence how you approach the rest of your draft. Regardless of whether you love RB heavy, Zero RB, or somewhere in between, I’ve outlined my approach and targets for the late rounds and they can be tailored to fit any fantasy palate. Enjoy, and let’s have a banner year.

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DBro’s Late-Round Draft Targets (2023 Fantasy Football)

• Geno Smith: What does Chef Geno have to do? After posting a QB8 season last year, I would think fantasy GMs would be clamoring to draft Smith this year, but that is sadly not the case. Was he a flash in the pan? Possibly, but if he isn’t, he’ll be one of the best values on the board this year. Smith excelled in nearly every passing metric in 2022. He was fifth in big-time throw rate, fifth in adjusted completion rate, and 12th in fantasy points per dropback. Seattle added supreme prospects in Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Zach Charbonnet while also fortifying the offensive line depth with two late selections in the NFL Draft. There is a lot to like here, and Chef Geno should cook up an 18-week course of fantasy football goodness this year.
• Samaje Perine: Perine outplayed Joe Mixon last year in Cincinnati. Yeah, I said it. Perine should get the uptick in workload that he deserves this year in Denver. Last year, he was 24th in yards after contact per attempt and 30th in PFF’s elusive rating (minimum 75 carries). He’s displayed an excellent three-down skill set over the last two years. In the four games in which he played at least 60% of the snaps, he averaged 19.5 touches and 103.6 total yards with RB3, RB10, RB18, and RB2 finishes in weekly fantasy scoring. Denver could require his every down skill set for most of this season, depending on the health of Javonte Williams, who is still recovering from a catastrophic knee injury last year. With only Tony Jones Jr. and Tyler Badie behind him on the depth chart, Perine should have no problem capturing a 70% snap share in any games Williams misses as well as having a stand-alone role when Williams is active.

• Tank Bigsby: Bigsby got the draft capital nod from Jacksonville as they took him in the third round of the NFL Draft. The fact that the Jaguars chose to spend some significant capital on their backfield is interesting. Travis Etienne had a productive season last year, but Bigsby brings a different skill set to this running back room. Bigsby lives up to his first name as a mauler in the open field capable of blowing apart corners that try to take him down. He was top-15 in yards after contact per attempt and PFF’s elusive rating in two of the last three seasons (minimum 100 carries, per PFF). Bigsby could carve out a stand-alone role early as the team’s goal line hammer. Last season, Etienne was one of the worst backs in the NFL inside the red zone. In 2022, Etienne ranked 57th among 65 qualifying backs in red zone touchdown conversion rate. Bigsby can do the dirty work in close, leaving Etienne as an in-between-the-20s electric space back. Bigsby is an RB3/4 with high-end handcuff appeal.
• Rashod Bateman: Rashod Bateman looked like a receiver on his way to a breakout campaign before his season was derailed by a foot sprain in Week 4 and ultimately ended in Week 8 with a Lisfranc injury. In Weeks 1-3, he was the WR34 in fantasy points per game, with an 18.8% target share, a 30.3% air yard share, and 3.14 yards per route run. Bateman also only had a 72.7% route per dropback rate in that stretch. Bateman’s talent is real, but he needs his health to comply and this could be a breaking point season. The team signed Odell Beckham Jr. and drafted Zay Flowers in the first round of the NFL Draft. This will be the best collection of weapons Lamar Jackson has ever had, but that also means it’s the most competition for targets that Bateman has dealt with during his time in Baltimore. He has the talent to still emerge as the number one receiver in this offense and compete weekly for the team lead in targets with Mark Andrews. He’s a WR3/4 that could easily finish as a WR2.
• David Njoku: Last year, Njoku was the TE8 in fantasy, commanding an 18.6% target share (11th-best) with the second-most red zone targets among tight ends. Njoku’s stock will rise even further if Deshaun Watson does bounce back and resumes his standing among the league’s best quarterbacks. He was also tenth in yards per route run and 12th in fantasy points per route run. If Cleveland becomes an offensive juggernaut in 2023, Njoku is likely smashing his ADP.

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*All data utilized in this article courtesy of FantasyPros, PFF, Football Outsiders, and Playerprofiler.com unless otherwise specified.*