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Following up on my first foray into the fantasy football draft season, I am going to lean on the @Razzball average draft position (ADP) as of July 24th, 2023. My plan will be to draft from several slots and publish via a few articles. This will be the second article and focuses on the most current ADP as of the day I am drafting my article.
Since nobody should use ADP as their end all do all, I will give myself a little latitude of two-up and two-down while building my roster. The last thing I want to do is provide you, the reader, with a mock line-up with four TEs just because that is how the names fell to me in the eighth slot.
Scoring for this mock will be relatively standard with a 12-team league consisting of 1QB, 2 RB, 2WR, 1TE, and 1 FLEX (plus five bench players). I will do the smart thing and avoid K and DST, as none of you really care about those during this exercise, and we will certainly cover those two positions during our Sunday morning Start or Sit podcast, which will be back during the season.
I will assume four points per TD pass and six points for all other TDs. One point per 20 points passing and one point per 10 yards rushing/receiving. I will also use full point per reception (PPR) for this draft. I will ignore bye weeks for this draft. During our Sunday morning podcast, we will address questions for all kinds of league scoring systems, including dynasty, Superflex, etc., so tune in and fire off some questions. Alas, that is still a couple of months away, but we are all getting excited about getting the band back together as @BobbyLaMarco, @SkyGuasco, @Derek_Favret, and myself, @Stiles08, will do our best to help you win each week.
Round 1, Pick 1.08 – Bijan Robinson, RB, ATL: Well, well, well, the current fantasy darling lands in my (draft) lap at the eighth overall pick, and I am less than ecstatic about this selection. Robinson is flying up ADP boards, and I am simply not a fan of an unproven RB this high, especially with a lackluster offense surrounding said RB. The QB play was abysmal in 2022, and I do not see a marked improvement coming in 2023 which means defenses will (should) stack the box against Robinson. I can lament this pick all day or simply move on to the next round and hope for a better outcome.
Round 2, Pick 2.05 – Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR, DET: I feel much better about this selection than I did my round one pick of Bijan Robinson. I usually prefer to go WR/WR if the names are right, but I will do my best to stick to the current ADP. With the addition of St. Brown, the first selection stings a little less. I see St. Brown as a top-five WR in 2023, and his current ADP has him in at the WR9, so I love the value. A lot rests on both the arm of Jared Goff (my home league sleeper QB) and the offense in the shaken-up NFC North. As a Packers fan, I normally fade players like Goff, but I think the division is up for grabs, and there will be a ton of passing in Detroit. With that, give me all the St. Brown I can draft!
Round 3, Pick 3.08 – Najee Harris, RB, PIT: Two RB in my first three rounds is very much different from my published strategy of WR/WR to start, but I cannot pass on another one of the names I am high on for 2023. I love Harris to be an RB PPR machine in 2023, and I look for his rushing numbers to improve in the second’ish year in the Kenny Pickett experiment. HC Mike Tomlin loves his RBs, and Harris fits the mold of RBs that can both run and catch, and we should all covet those RBs in full-PPR leagues. I see Harris well above 50 receptions which are akin to free points from the RB position.
Round 4, Pick 4.05 – T.J. Hockenson, TE, MIN: Back to the NFC North for another stud pass catcher as I lock up TE1 for this team. I have not made a pivot yet, and am a little leery of not having my WR2 yet, but that player will most certainly end up being on the squad soon enough. I have Hockenson in the second tier of TEs, with Kelce being all alone in Tier 1. In the next group, I have Andrews, Hockenson and Kittle, so I am excited to welcome my overall TE3 to the team. The Vikings and Kirk Cousins proved they can throw the football and score a lot of points. With Justin Jefferson taking so much of the attention from opposing defenses, we saw Cousins look to Hockenson as his secondary option, and I think that continues in 2023. Fingers crossed, I can nab a true WR in Round 5.
Round 5, Pick 5.08 – Trevor Lawrence, QB, JAX: Here is my first reach. I decided to pass on Drake London and Chris Godwin at this point to nab a stud QB with some running ability. As much as I am sold on Lawrence taking a leap forward in 2023, I am as much unimpressed with both London and Godwin based on their uncertainties at QB and overall offense. Needless to say, I will need Lawrence to be a high-volume passer in a winnable division and must hope there are adequate WRs to come in the next few rounds.
Round 6, Pick 6.05 – Tyler Lockett, WR, SEA: My WR2 is a name I really liked last year and has the same affinity headed into 2023. As with my previous draft from the fourth slot, where I selected DK Metcalf, I am high on the Seahawks’ offense from a fantasy perspective. I like Geno to continue to play well, with the WR corps being the beneficiary of his play to be the top two WRs. Looks for Lockett to reel in at least 90 balls with an outside chance at double-digit TDs.
Round 7, Pick 7.08 – George Pickens, WR, PIT: Passing on Alvin Kamara in this round may come back to haunt me, but I am OK doing so to nab a WR1 and, right on queue, a WR1 drops right into my lap in the form of the guy that appears to have usurped Diontae Johnson at the WR1 for the Steelers. As of today, Johnson is being drafted 12 spots ahead of Pickens. I am not a fan of the potential suspension looming for Kamara and do not necessarily need an RB here, so Pickens is the name. The wild card with this pick is Kenny Pickett. Can he take the next step and become a viable NFL QB that produces top-flight fantasy WR stats?
Round 8, Pick 8.05 – Brandin Cooks, WR, DAL: At this spot, the name that fell to me is Jordan Addison, but I am going to pass on a second pass catcher from MIN with Hockenson already rostered. Cooks killed a few of my teams in 2022, and he may be a little bit of a WR diva, but his talent is undeniable, and he lands in a solid position as WR2 in Dallas. I will take Dak throwing to him all day over the mess of QB play Cooks saw in Houston last season. At this spot in the draft, this is a very small pivot. Kadarius Toney and Treylon Burks are in this small grouping with Cooks and Addison, and I will happily draft any of the four, with Burks being the one name currently rising up my board a little.
Round 9, Pick 9.08 – Rashaad Penny, RB, PHI: This position, RB, always requires depth for a fantasy football team, and I am happy to select Penny, the RB that took first-team reps for the Eagles today. Penny has proven to be a game-altering RB with significant injury concerns. My hope is that I only need to lean on him when Robinson/Harris are on their bye week. One of my goals is to stay away from prior injuries as much as possible, but here in Round 9, I am OK with taking a little bit of a risk with Penny.
Round 10, Pick 10.05 – Zay Flowers, WR, BAL: Truth be told, I knew very little about Flowers until the NFL draft. That is when I heard comparisons to Tyreek Hill, especially strength and run-after-the-catch ability. In Round 10, with a QB like Lamar Jackson under center, give me all of the Flowers you can pick from the garden of rookie WRs. With the RB situation appearing to always be an issue in Baltimore and Lamar wanting (needing) to prove his worth (again), I look for a lot of passing yards for the rookie WR. I do not expect Odell Beckham to get in the way of Flowers, except for some early reps. Once Flowers proves to be the better option, look for him to be target No. 2 for Lamar after Mark Andrews.
Round 11, Pick 11.08 – Chigoziem Okonkwo, TE, TEN: I would have been more excited for this pick prior to the Titans signing Nuk Hopkins, but I do need a second TE, and I like Chig just fine here. I was hoping to get a viable backup QB, but there is not one available in/around this pick based on ADP, so I will the roster slot with Chig over the likes of Kmet and Dulcich.
Round 12, Pick 12.05 – Derek Carr, QB, NO: Rounding out my twelve-player lineup (no K/DST) is my backup QB, Derek Carr. To obtain Carr, I had to pass on some skill position players, but I have no problem doing so with the names available here and the fact my roster is well-rounded and has depth at each position. Much of Carr’s success will come down to the Kamara suspension discussed above and the willingness of Michael Thomas to just play football like he did a few years ago. Carr will not have Davante Adams to rely on and needs to justify the hefty contract we are collecting from the Saints. Another player in a winnable division, so I expect Carr to be a suitable backup to Trevor Lawrence for this team.
What do we think of this lineup? Are there any reaches you do not like? Is the roster construction one you can live with? Send your thoughts below, and let’s have a discussion.
Thank you for coming back to read our stuff and be a part of the podcast by listening and commenting. We are here for you!
-Mitch-
For more from Colt and his Razzball content, find him on Twitter @Stiles08.
