[brid autoplay=”true” video=”1385528″ player=”10951″ title=”2023 Fantasy Football Rookies” duration=”173″ description=”0:24 Jahmyr Gibbs 1:05 Kendre Miller 1:54 Jaxon Smith-Njigba ” uploaddate=”2023-08-19″ thumbnailurl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/9233/snapshot/1385528_th_64e0200ad8139_1692409866.jpg” image=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/9233/snapshot/1385528_sd_64e0200ad8139_1692409866.jpg” contenturl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/9233/sd/1385528.mp4″ width=”480″ height=”270″]
I have written about positional tiers, fades, late-round targets, and overall ADP-based analysis provided to frame your draft day strategy. Now, the time has come to flag plant players. Of course, we all would like a roster full of first round talent, but let’s be real…that ain’t happening. So, what you will see is my ideal lineup, noting where I think you can reasonably draft these players.
The lineup below is based on full PPR with the following roster settings: 1QB, 2RB, 3WR, 1TE, 1FLEX, 1K, 1DST. You read that right. I will drop my ideal K/DST to be targeted with your final two picks. I will not go into detail on bench players to save time and space and respect your time as you read this opinion piece.
However, I will list five bench players you can draft before the final two rounds (K, DST). For context, I will use consensus ADP from six sites to justify the rounds noted below.
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Round 1: Nick Chubb, RB, CLE
Round 2: Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR, DET
Round 3: Chris Olave, WR, NO
Round 4: Aaron Jones, RB, GB
Round 5: Darren Waller, TE, NYG
Round 6: James Conner, RB, AZ
Round 7: Brandon Aiyuk, WR, SF
Round 8: Courtland Sutton, WR, DEN
Round 9: Daniel Jones, QB, NYG
Round 10: Samaje Perine, RB, DEN
Round 11: Jaylen Warren, RB, PIT
Round 12: Nico Collins, WR, HOU
Round 13: Brock Purdy, QB, SF
Round 14: Daniel Carlson, K, LVR
Round 15: New Orleans Saints, DST
The above is a legitimate roster you can build based on aggregated ADP data from the leading fantasy football draft sites. Tell me you could not live with this squad, and I will call you a liar. This lineup has the potential to run the table and will be at least competitive every week. For fans of RBs, you have a true bell cow, alpha RB1 in Chubb, who is flying up draft boards and has found himself at the end of the first round of late. If, for some reason, Chubb slips to the second round, you must jump at the chance to roster him.Â
Following Chubb, you have two WR1s in St. Brown and Olave who will gobble up receptions. When A. Jones is added in the fourth round. You have a dual-threat RB that can (will) make up for the lack of receptions from Chubb.
The fifth round is where this lineup gets exciting for me. I have Waller usurping Kelce for the TE1 spot this season. If Waller stays healthy, he is not only comeback player-of-the-year material, but he is a potential league winner. That brings me to the guy in the ninth round, Daniel Jones, who completes our first of two stacks. Jones appears to have a lot of weapons at WR, but I do not see it that way. Jones has a lot of middling NFL WRs that will be afterthoughts to Waller and Saquon Barkley. Jones loves the TE. Just look at his statistics from 2022 to lock in this stack!
In Rounds 6-8, James Conner is simply an RB who scores points regardless of the QB situation and is not record-dependent. He gets his whether the Cardinals are winning or losing. This is a steal of a pick. Mix in borderline WR1s on their respective teams with Sutton (Jeudy is down with a hamstring issue) and Aiyuk, who I believe will outscore Deebo Samuel in 2023. Aiyuk plus Brock Purdy (Round 13) is the second stack and should prove to be profitable, especially at their current ADP. As I wrote earlier this month, take the 27-pick discount on Aiyuk over Deebo.
Samaje Perine is a perfect Zero RB name for those subscribing to the process. Perine proved valuable even when Joe Mixon played and will do the same in Denver. He may even see an increased workload as the Broncos are careful with Javonte Williams. Another PPR RB on the roster!
Round 11 is brought to you by the most valuable RB handcuff in fantasy. Playing behind Najee Harris (Round 3 ADP) for now, Warren could end up as the RB1 in Pittsburgh by mid-season if Harris continues to put up abysmal rushing (3.7 YPC) and receiving (5.7 YPC) stats. Warren is a classic draft-and-stash name for me this season.
My final flag plant is a WR. I will roster everywhere possible. The WR1 for Houston, Nico Collins, is poised for a breakout season with the rookie QB looking his way early and often. If I miss on Collins, it only costs me a 12th-round selection. I can live with that knowing the strength of the overall roster. Draft Collins and thank me later. I will be here for all the @’s.
With your second-to-last selection, grab Daniel Carlson, who finished the preseason with a 62-yard bomb. He does not miss and has a massive leg. Then, end your draft with the New Orleans Saints DST. In their first nine weeks, this DST is plug-and-play, considering the only challenging games are Weeks 3 at Green Bay and 7 at home versus the Jags. This is a good NFL defense that happens to line up incredibly well for the first ten weeks of the fantasy season. They will be ignored in many drafts. Do not be that guy.
Follow me @stiles08 on Twitter/X and send questions and comments at the bottom of this article. Make sure you jump around the Razzball site for all your fantasy football needs.
-Mitch-
