The 2023 regular season is almost here! That means fantasy football drafts are happening around the clock. The best way to prepare for your fantasy draft is to use the FantasyPros mock draft simulator.
Today, I have a 12-team 1QB half-point PPR mock draft. The roster construction for this mock draft is one quarterback, two running backs, two wide receivers, one tight end, two flex spots, one D/ST, and six bench spots. There isn’t a kicker spot in this mock draft.
I used a streaming defense strategy for this mock draft, so I didn’t draft a D/ST until the final round with a focus solely on Week 1. Let’s see how it turned out, picking from the No. 7 spot.
- Snake Draft Pick Strategy: Early | Middle | Late
- Draft Targets for Every Round: Early | Middle | Late
- Fitz’s Draft Primers: QB | RB | WR | TE
- 2023 Fantasy Football Draft Kit
Mock Draft: Streaming D/ST Strategy (2023 Fantasy Football)
Round 1, Pick 7 – Travis Kelce (TE – KC)
Kelce is worthy of a top-six draft pick. The veteran gives fantasy players a significant weekly advantage at the tight end position. He scores like a top-10 wide receiver or running back every year. Furthermore, the future Hall of Famer averaged 15.4 fantasy points last season, four fantasy points per game more than any other tight end.
Round 2, Pick 18 – Patrick Mahomes (QB – KC)
Rarely will I draft a quarterback in the first few rounds. However, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to stack Mahomes with Kelce. The superstar quarterback led the NFL in passing yards (5,250) and touchdowns (41) last season. Furthermore, he has averaged at least 20.5 fantasy points per game every year as the starter. Mahomes is the clear-cut QB1.
Round 3, Pick 31 – Jonathan Taylor (RB – IND)
The superstar running back was a first-round pick two months ago. However, the concerns about his ankle and contract have pushed Taylor’s ADP down the board. Yet, he is too talented to pass up in the third round. Taylor was the RB6 as a rookie and the RB1 in 2021. If he is healthy, the superstar is a league-winner at this point of the draft.
Round 4, Pick 42 – Calvin Ridley (WR – JAC)
Unfortunately, we’ve seen Ridley play only five games over the past two years. However, the former Alabama star was outstanding in 2020. He was the WR4 that year, averaging 15.8 half-point PPR fantasy points per game. Some will argue that Ridley had a massive target share, yet the veteran finished 10th among wide receivers in target share that season. He will have a top-15 year in Jacksonville.
Round 5, Pick 55 – James Cook (RB – BUF)
Cook is one of my favorite breakout candidates this season. Last year, he struggled as a rookie. However, the former Georgia running back has been the star of Buffalo’s training camp. Josh Allen recently talked about how much Cook would be involved in the run and pass game. Don’t be surprised when he is this year’s Rhamondre Stevenson.
Round 6, Pick 66 – Diontae Johnson (WR – PIT)
The veteran is one of my favorite wide receivers to draft in the middle rounds this year, especially in any type of PPR scoring leagues. Johnson had an excellent 2021 season, finishing the year as the WR9 and averaging 13.8 fantasy points per game. However, he struggled last season because of bad luck scoring touchdowns. Had Johnson scored six receiving touchdowns (his career average was 6.7 per season before last year), he would have finished the season as the WR20.
Round 7, Pick 79 – Tyler Lockett (WR – SEA)
While the Seahawks added Jaxon Smith-Njigba during the 2023 NFL Draft, Lockett still has significant fantasy value. The veteran wide receiver has averaged at least 12.1 fantasy points per game in five straight seasons. Furthermore, he has totaled at least 1,000 receiving yards and eight touchdowns in four consecutive years. Getting Lockett as the 34th wide receiver off the board is a steal.
Round 8, Pick 90 – Antonio Gibson (RB – WAS)
Gibson was a top-12 running back as a rookie and in 2021. While he had the worst year of his career last season, the former Memphis star is due for a bounce-back year. Last year, Eric Bieniemy turned Jerick McKinnon into a low-end RB2 with only 72 rushing attempts thanks to his role in the passing game. With J.D. McKissic off the roster, Gibson will take on the McKinnon role in Bieniemy’s offense for the Commanders.
Round 9, Pick 103 – Rashod Bateman (WR – BAL)
Unfortunately, Bateman only played six games last year because of a foot injury. However, the former Minnesota star averaged 2.35 yards per route run last season. Furthermore, he averaged 3.62 fantasy points per reception over the first four weeks of the year before suffering the foot injury. Zay Flowers is currently the No. 1 wide receiver in Baltimore. Yet, that could change if Bateman returns to his early-season-form from a year ago.
Round 10, Pick 114 – De’Von Achane (RB – MIA)
The rookie could be this year’s Dameon Pierce given his competition in the backfield. Last year, Miami’s running backs combined to score 352.2 fantasy points. If one player had earned only 60% of that fantasy production, he would have been the RB12 last season and the RB8 the year before. While Achane suffered a shoulder injury during the preseason, he should be ready for Week 1. It’s only a matter of time until he takes over the Dolphins’ backfield.
Round 11, Pick 127 – Nico Collins (WR – HOU)
Last year, Collins was the WR48 on a points-per-game basis, averaging 7.9 fantasy points per contest, only 0.4 fewer than George Pickens. He also finished second in contested catch rate (66.7%) among wide receivers despite Davis Mills ranking 43rd in catchable pass rate. The former Michigan star is an under-the-radar third-year breakout candidate and one of my favorite late-round wide receiver targets.
Round 12, Pick 138 – Roschon Johnson (RB – CHI)
Khalil Herbert will begin the year as the starting running back. However, Johnson has already earned the No. 2 spot and will eventually become the starter. The rookie would have been a second-round pick if he didn’t split the Texas backfield with Bijan Robinson. Johnson had a higher percentage of his rushing attempts go for 15 or more yards (9.6%) than Robinson (8.2%) last season.
Round 13, Pick 151 – Ty Chandler (RB – MIN)
With Dalvin Cook in New York, Alexander Mattison is now the starting running back in Minnesota. Meanwhile, Chandler has secured the No. 2 role in the backfield. The former UNC star was explosive in the receiving game, catching all four targets for 29 receiving yards in the Week 1 preseason matchup. Even if Mattison plays all 17 games this year, Chandler could have a role as a change of pace and pass-catching back.
Round 14, Pick 162 – Rashee Rice (WR – KC)
After landing Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes with my first two picks, I added to my Kansas City stack with the addition of Rice. While Skyy Moore should be the first Chiefs wide receiver drafted this year, Rice has a strong case to be the second. The rookie led the team in receptions, targets, and receiving yards during the preseason. More importantly, Rice finished third among wide receivers in college football with at least 90 targets last year in yards per route run (3.05).
Round 15, Pick 175 – Washington Commanders D/ST
The Commanders should have one of the top defenses in the NFL this year. Chase Young appears 100% healthy after suffering a torn ACL in 2021. Meanwhile, the team added Emmanuel Forbes during the 2023 NFL Draft. The former Mississippi State star had 14 interceptions in his college career, including six returned for a touchdown. More importantly, Washington faces the Arizona Cardinals in Week 1. Fantasy players should try to stream their defenses against the Cardinals this season.
Mike Fanelli is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @Mike_NFL2.
Fantasy Football Mock Drafts
- PPR: 12-Team, Early Pick (v2, v3)
- PPR: 12-Team, Middle Pick (v2, v3, v4, v5)
- PPR: 12-Team, Late Pick (v2, v3, v4)
- 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, Early Pick
- 2023 Fantasy Football Draft Kit
- 2023 Fantasy Football Draft Kit (v2, v3)
- 2023 Fantasy Football Draft Kit (v2, v3)
- 2023 Fantasy Football Draft Kitv2)
- PPR: 12-Team, Early Pick
- 2023 Fantasy Football Draft Kitv2)
- PPR: 12-Team, Early Pick
- PPR: 12-Team, Early Pick
- FFPC Main Event
- FFPC: Middle Pick
- FFPC: Late Pick
- PPR: 12-Team, Early Pick
- 2QB Mock Draft
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