Earlier this week, we completed a full point per reception (PPR) mock draft from the 1.11 that ended up being an extremely strong and diverse squad. Today, I will attempt to replicate that success out of the middle of a half-point PPR format, my favorite position in all of fantasy football for 2023. I went through this mock draft as if I were in a high-stakes league, attempting to balance upside guys and high-floor players to even out a true contender’s roster.
Let’s take a look at how it all went down.
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Fantasy Football Mock Draft
ESPN 0.5 PPR Middle Draft Position (6th selection) in a 12-team format
*Note: we will be excluding D/ST and kicker picks for this mock
1.06 Travis Kelce (TE – KC)
Given this is a middle-pick article, we decided to go with the most centered pick out of the six-hole, where several tantalizing targets remained on the board. This included Rams’ WR Cooper Kupp, Falcons’ rookie RB Bijan Robinson, Chiefs’ TE Travis Kelce, and Dolphins’ WR Tyreek Hill. After minutes of pondering, I had narrowed my selection down to either Kelce or Hill but ultimately decided to go with the tight end for the sake of the draft.
My logic is what most know at this point- selecting Kelce essentially gives this team the ultimate edge at tight end, a position that lacks depth year in and year out amongst the fantasy landscape. Kelce is a true man amongst boys and the clear-cut annual leader at the position, and picking him here allows me to avoid having to even think about the tight end position throughout the 2023 season (barring injury, of course).
Kelce is a true plug-and-play option who will be able to provide the steadiest weekly floor at the position while also having the most upside.
2.07 Garrett Wilson (WR – NYJ)
In my prior mock draft, I took Amon-Ra St. Brown at the 2.02, so seeing him available at 2.07 here was enticing. That said, I opted to go with the second-year receiver Garrett Wilson instead. Wilson is a high-upside pick as the clear number-one pass-catching option on the Jets, and he will be blessed with the QB arm and savvy of Aaron Rodgers in 2023.
Rodgers has already been noted multiple times as comparing Wilson’s capabilities to his former number-one receiver in Davante Adams. This is pretty freaking high praise for a guy just entering his sophomore season. That said, Wilson was extremely impressive as a rookie when he went for an 83-1103-4 line en route to a 2022 Offensive Rookie of the Year campaign. Wilson should easily be able to surpass 1,000 yards receiving again this year, and his touchdown numbers are all but assured to rise.
3.06 DeVonta Smith (WR – PHI)
The third round has been my favorite for redraft mock leagues this offseason, as superstar-caliber players are still available throughout. I wanted to double down at receiver here, and among options of Chris Olave, Tee Higgins, DeVonta Smith and DK Metcalf, I decided to snag Smith.
For the record, I would say I leaned 51% Smith to 49% Metcalf here, as I also love DK this year in what should be another strong offensive campaign for Seattle. That said, I want as many pieces of the Eagles’ offense as possible in 2023, and Smith is a WR1 playing as the WR2 in Philly.
Smith has undeniable contingent value should A.J. Brown go down at any point, but he also has standalone value regardless. That is obvious, considering he topped 1,000 receiving yards with seven scores this past season. Philly should see some positive regression in terms of passing touchdowns this year, as their schedule is no longer the easiest in the NFL, and they will certainly have some closer scoring affairs. DeVonta Smith has already proven that he is the real deal and the best “number two” receiver in all of football.
4.07 Kenneth Walker (RB – SEA)
It was really, REALLY difficult for me to pass on Calvin Ridley (who I’ve previously touted and love this season) here, but I did to balance out my roster construction a bit. The pick I made was the man who finished runner-up to Garrett Wilson in the Rookie of the Year voting last season in, Kenneth Walker. Walker is a steal to me in the fourth round, especially given the half-PPR scoring format of this league.
Walker was a dominant rushing force as a rookie, as he compiled 1,050 yards on the ground and nine scores while starting just 11 games. His 4.6 Y/A epitomized his ability to connect for big plays — his longest run of the campaign was a 74-yard dash.
The market has been down on Walker this offseason following the selection of Zach Charbonnet in this year’s NFL draft. Before that pick, Walker was being drafted at the end of the first round in fantasy. A three-round dip makes him an auto-click for me at this point of the draft. There is no need to overlook his talent here, as well as Walker’s draft pedigree (41st overall in 2022).
The Seattle offensive line has improved for 2023, and their offense should be strong once again with added weapons in year three of OC Shane Waldron’s system.
5.06 Lamar Jackson (QB – BAL)
I have slowly but surely gotten on board with the formerly-discredited-and-now-once-again-new-age draft recommendation of selecting an elite quarterback when the opportunity presents itself. In my previous mock draft, we took this same man at the 4.02- in this one, we secured Ravens’ QB Lamar Jackson at the 5.06 (!!), or a whopping 20 picks after his average draft position (ADP) of 36.0. This has to be considered the steal of the draft in my case.
As I previously mentioned, Jackson is due for a major bounce-back campaign, which should happen in 2023. He’ll be working with a new system under Todd Monken and has a plethora of new weapons to work with. I think we just won the league championship.
6.07 Cam Akers (RB – LAR)
Next up, we secured Rams’ rusher Cam Akers as our RB2. This was definitely the scariest pick to this point, as Akers’ range of outcomes is wider than anyone we previously selected. That said, he had a phenomenal finish to the 2022 campaign and has absolutely no competition in the Los Angeles backfield to kick off this season.
A true three-down workhorse, in my opinion, Akers will rarely leave the field as the Rams will attempt to bounce back from their worst spell since 2016.
7.06 Javonte Williams (RB – DEN)
Following the Akers selection, I felt riskier than usual, so I decided to take a stab at another question mark running back in Javonte Williams. Like Akers, Williams is returning from a major lower extremity injury that cost him almost all of the 2022 season. Reports out of Denver are that he is well ahead in his recovery after it was expected that he might miss a bunch of games this year.
It now looks like there’s a chance he could be back on the football field by Week 1 of the regular season. We all know how talented Williams is, and for that reason, I am willing to take a shot at him in the seventh round here.
8.07 Jaxon Smith-Njigba (WR – SEA)
Filling our third starting WR spot is the rookie artist known as “JSN.” As mentioned, I do think the Seattle offense will be able to replicate their 2022 success and even improve on it to a degree. Smith-Njigba is one of the most highly touted receiving prospects to ever come out of Ohio State, and I am betting on his production from the get-go.
He is the perfect WR3 to start the season with, even as he gets up to speed at the professional level. Once he takes off (and he will), this team will be golden.
9.06 JuJu Smith-Schuster (WR – NE)
Going with our first bench receiver here, I picked JuJu as a high-floor option and the surefire WR1 in New England. Listen, I get it, the Patriots could suck again, and they could suck badly. Still, all that means is that Smith-Schuster is going to be on the field even more as New England is forced to throw the ball 35-plus times per game.
And who knows, maybe new OC Bill O’Brien will be able to bring this Pats’ offense closer back to what it was in 2021 when QB Mac Jones finished as the runner-up Rookie of the Year.
10.07 Jameson Williams (WR – DET)
With four strong receiver options already banked, I’m willing to take Williams here for the tantalizing upside following his six-game suspension. The sophomore pass-catcher is the perfect guy to hang onto on the bench until his return. The Lions’ offense is expected to take another step forward in 2023, and Williams should be the team’s immediate WR2 when he gets back.
Extremely fast and super productive in college, Williams’ lone catch as a rookie went for a 41-yard house call. He is a perfect fit in this formatted style for fantasy scoring.
11.06 Jonathan Mingo (WR – CAR)
The benefit of not needing to think about taking another onesie position (QB, TE) allows me to simply grab WRs and RBs for the remainder of this draft. That is why I was more than willing to snag another risky high-upside option here in rookie receiver Jonathan Mingo. I have been higher than consensus on Mingo all offseason, and think he belongs right up there with JSN, Jordan Addison, and Quentin Johnston in terms of rookie-year production.
A second-round selection by Carolina back in April, Mingo arguably will slide in as the WR1 starting in Week 1 and should be QB Bryce Young‘s favorite target off of the bat. Another Ole Miss alum with profile comparisons to A.J. Brown and Anquan Boldin, I’m willing to die on the Mingo hill if I must.
12.07 Tank Bigsby (RB – JAC)
Normally I would have selected Saints’ rookie RB Kendre Miller here as he was available, but I took him in the last mock and wanted to mix it up here. For that reason, I selected a different first-year back entering the league in Jacksonville’s Tank Bigsby. The Bigsby hype train has recently taken off down in Duval County, and it sounds like the third-round draft selection will be a part of the Jaguars’ offense from the jump. And this is an offense it makes sense to want pieces of.
Doug Pederson’s offense is expected to be one of the fastest and most efficient across the NFL, and Bigsby profiles as the goal-line back for what could be a high-scoring team. I love this pick in the second-to-last round.
13.06 Marquez Valdes-Scantling (WR – KC)
To finish, I decided to go with the current healthiest Chiefs’ receiver, who should get the most playing time as the regular season kicks off in Marquez Valdes-Scantling. MVS is no longer exciting. He could be considered a boring player, but he will play the highest percentage of snaps for Kansas City. Obviously, this is another offense we want pieces of, and MVS is an extremely cheap way to get there.
If he breaks out in any way, shape, or form, he will be a steal at his current price. There isn’t too much depth or star-receiving talent in the Kansas City receiving room at the moment that should allow him ample opportunity.
Recap
For the second straight mock, my draft grade was a “B,” or 83 out of 100, according to the API results.
I do think this team checked off all the boxes I was gunning for in some high-floor guys surrounded by high-upside potential. Securing an elite QB and TE made the remainder of the draft much easier and allowed for added depth on the bench.
I look forward to running back similar simulations with alternative roster constructions in the coming days/weeks.
More Fantasy Football Mock Drafts
- PPR: 12-Team, Early Pick (v2, v3)
- PPR: 12-Team, Middle Pick (v2, v3, v4)
- PPR: 12-Team, Late Pick (v2, v3)
- PPR: 12-Team Superflex Early Pick
- PPR: 12-Team Superflex Late Pick
- PPR: 10-Team Superflex
- PPR: 12-Team 2QB
- Half-PPR: 12-Team, Superflex
- Half-PPR: 12-Team, Early Pick (v2)
- Half-PPR: 12-Team, Middle Pick (v2)
- Half-PPR: 12-Team, Late Pick
- Standard: 12-Team, Middle Pick (v2)
- Standard: 12-Team, Late Pick
- Standard: 10-Team, Middle Pick
- FFPC: Middle Pick
- FFPC: Late Pick
- FFPC Expert Mock Draft
- 2QB Mock Draft
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