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.
Be sure to pair this with my early-round draft strategy to DOMINATE your league this year.
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Andrew Erickson’s Players to Target
Here are players I’m targeting.
Justin Herbert is my favorite “elite” quarterback to draft. As I have echoed numerous times in my QB Best Ball Primer, the name of the game with the quarterback position is still value drafting. And the fact that one can draft Herbert – who scored the second-most fantasy points among all players in 2021, averaging 23.3 points per game – as the QB7 off the board is beyond elite fantasy value. Keep in mind that last season, Herbert played just four games with a fully healthy combination of Keenan Allen and Mike Williams. He also suffered a rib injury which further limited his fantasy production.
Considering all the injuries, it should surprise no one that Herbert posted a career-low 3.6% TD rate, nearly two percentage points down from the previous season. As a result, Herbert also failed to eclipse 22 fantasy points per game, a mark he surpassed as a rookie and in his second season. But with fully healthy weapons, first-round pick Quentin Johnston added to the fold, and Kellen Moore taking over as the offensive play caller, there’s never been a better time to BUY Herbert’s suppressed ADP. In Moore’s first season as the Cowboys offensive coordinator, Dak Prescott finished second in the NFL in passing yards (4,902).
And as I mentioned earlier, only Josh Allen scored more fantasy points than Herbert did in 2021. The Chargers quarterback is being drafted outside the top-65 picks after a down year. But all indications are he should bounce back in a big way, giving fantasy managers a mega edge selecting outside the top-6 quarterbacks per ADP. Consider this. Herbert has the second shortest odds on some sportsbook to lead the NFL in passing yards. Makes sense considering he has tossed for 4,700-plus yards in back-to-back seasons. Over the last five seasons, no quarterback that had led the NFL in passing yards has finished outside the top-5 at the position, with four of the five finishing inside the top 3.
Herbert provides fantasy managers the easiest path to elite quarterback fantasy production that doesn’t require a Round 2 or 3 pick.
Watson seems like a potential fantasy football quarterback winner if he can recapture a QB1 overall form from his days with the Houston Texans. His return in 2022 was horrible, but it’s excusable based on so much missed time. He has weapons ranging from Amari Cooper, Donovan Peoples-Jones, Elijah Moore, Cedric Tillman, Nick Chubb and David Njoku. Plus, Watson will benefit from an entire offseason to prepare as the Browns’ full-time starter in 2023.
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