Here is my approach to 2023 fantasy football drafts. Feel free to use this to help in the preparation for your draft, but also keep it handy as your cheat sheet come draft day. You’ll find my overall fantasy football draft strategy as well as sleepers to target and potential landmines to avoid when making your picks.
- Draft Targets for Every Round: Early | Middle | Late
- Fitz’s Draft Primers: QB | RB | WR | TE
- Fantasy Football Draft Strategy
- 2023 Fantasy Football Draft Kit
Pat Fitzmaurice’s Overall 2023 Fantasy Football Strategy
Check out Pat Fitzmaurice’s Perfect 2023 Fantasy Football Draft for a complete breakdown of my draft strategy. That article will be updated throughout the preseason to ensure you have everything you need come draft day.
But I know some of you would appreciate a condensed version of my draft plan, so here it is:
Try not to divorce yourself from the realities of the regular season. You’ll likely lose players to injuries, so build a robust roster that can withstand the absence of a top player. And don’t go overboard on stash-type players who may have to be dropped in the early weeks of the season when you need to replace injured players with waiver pickups who get playing time.
Know your league settings and tailor your draft strategy accordingly. The most important league setting is the number of wide receivers you’re required to start. If you have to start three WRs each week, the wide receiver becomes the most important position on your team, and you should attack that position early and often. (Generally, four of your first seven picks should be WRs.) Your goal should be a decisive advantage over your competitors at wide receiver. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking the WR position is deep.
Running backs are unstable assets, and it’s unwise to invest heavily in unstable assets. Aside from kickers and defenses, RB is possibly the least predictable position in fantasy football. Injury and bust rates are high, and we routinely see running backs taken in the mid to late rounds of fantasy drafts emerge as impactful performers. Hunt for value at the position and draft running backs opportunistically.
Waiting to draft a quarterback used to be a prudent strategy, but rushing production from the QB position is valuable, and the proliferation of running quarterbacks now provides an incentive to get a top quarterback. I’m not spending a second round on Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, or Jalen Hurts because the opportunity cost is too steep. The sweet spot is the QB4-QB8 range with Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, Justin Fields, Justin Herbert, and Trevor Lawrence, who typically come off the board from the late third to the late fifth round.
Be flexible at the TE position. Getting a top tight end can give you a big competitive advantage, but there’s an opportunity cost to drafting Travis Kelce in the first round or Mark Andrews in the second or third round. If you miss out on Kelce and Andrews, patience is advised. Don’t pass up a potential difference-maker at running back or wide receiver to draft a middle-class tight end. It’s fine to go dumpster-diving at TE and work the waiver wire in-season if you’re stockpiling talent at other positions during your draft.
Pat Fitzmaurice’s 2023 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet
QB Sleepers:
QB Busts (in relation to where they’re being drafted):
RB Sleepers:
RB Busts (in relation to where they’re being drafted):
WR Sleepers:
WR Busts (in relation to where they’re being drafted):
TE Sleepers:
TE Busts (in relation to where they’re being drafted):
Early-Round Value Picks (Rounds 1-5):
Mid-Round Value Picks (Rounds 6-10):
- Drake London, Christian Watson, Rachaad White, Rashaad Penny, Kyle Pitts
Late-Round Value Picks (Round 11 or later):
Deep-League Value Picks:
Backup RBs to Target:
- Tyler Allgeier, Samaje Perine, Chase Brown, Jerome Ford
Backup RBs to Avoid:
Rookies to Target:
- QBs: Anthony Richardson, Bryce Young
- RBs: Bijan Robinson, De’Von Achane, Chase Brown, DeWayne McBride
- WRs: Jordan Addison, Jayden Reed, Josh Downs, Michael Wilson
- TEs: Sam LaPorta, Michael Mayer
Rookies to Avoid:
- QBs: C.J. Stroud
- RBs: Tank Bigsby, Zach Evans
- WRs: Rashee Rice, Tank Dell
- TEs: Dalton Kincaid, Luke Schoonmaker
D/STs to Target:
- New York Jets, Denver Broncos
D/STs to Avoid:
- Buffalo Bills, Jacksonville Jaguars
Five-Word Draft Tip: Don’t overinvest in running backs.
Pat Fitzmaurice’s Fantasy Football Draft Rankings
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