Fantasy Football 2023: Examining Preseason Mock Draft and Cheatsheet

Zach BuckleyAug 9, 2023

It's Week 1 of the 2023 NFL preseason.

Fantasy football managers recognize this time as one of cram-session studying and mock-drafting.

Most leagues will start drafting for real sooner than later. It's best to get your plans in order now, so that you can spend the remaining time before your talent grab tinkering and adjusting to find the ideal formula.

To help get your draft plans in place, we'll run through a three-round mock and examine some of its biggest debates, then provide a helpful cheatsheet with player rankings and bye weeks.

3-Round, 12-Team, PPR Mock Draft

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EAGAN, MN - JULY 31: Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson (18) catches a pass during Minnesota Vikings Training Camp at TCO Performance Center on July 31, 2023 in Eagan, Minnesota.(Photo by Nick Wosika/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Round 1

1. Christian McCaffrey, RB, San Francisco 49ers

2. Justin Jefferson, WR, Minnesota Vikings

3. Ja'Marr Chase, WR, Cincinnati Bengals

4. Tyreek Hill, WR, Miami Dolphins

5. Cooper Kupp, WR, Los Angeles Rams

6. Travis Kelce, TE, Kansas City Chiefs

7. Austin Ekeler, RB, Los Angeles Rams

8. Bijan Robinson, RB, Atlanta Falcons

9. Stefon Diggs, WR, Buffalo Bills

10. Saquon Barkley, RB, New York Giants

11. CeeDee Lamb, WR, Dallas Cowboys

12. Tony Pollard, RB, Dallas Cowboys

Round 2

13. A.J. Brown, WR, Philadelphia Eagles

14. Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City Chiefs

15. Jonathan Taylor, RB, Indianapolis Colts

16. Davante Adams, WR, Las Vegas Raiders

17. Derrick Henry, RB, Tennessee Titans

18. Nick Chubb, RB, Cleveland Browns

19. Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR, Detroit Lions

20. Rhamondre Stevenson, RB, New England Patriots

21. Garrett Wilson, WR, New York Jets

22. Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills

23. Chris Olave, WR, New Orleans Saints

24. Joe Mixon, RB, Cincinnati Bengals

Round 3

25. Breece Hall, RB, New York Jets

26. Mark Andrews, TE, Baltimore Ravens

27. Josh Jacobs, RB, Las Vegas Raiders

28. Jaylen Waddle, WR, Miami Dolphins

29. DK Metcalf, WR, Seattle Seahawks

30. Keenan Allen, WR, Los Angeles Chargers

31. DeVonta Smith, WR, Philadelphia Eagles

32. Travis Etienne Jr., RB, Jacksonville Jaguars

33. Aaron Jones, RB, Green Bay Packers

34. Jalen Hurts, QB, Philadelphia Eagles

35. Tee Higgins, WR, Cincinnati Bengals

36. Najee Harris, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers

Mock Draft Debates

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ARLINGTON, TX - DECEMBER 04: Jonathan Taylor #28 of the Indianapolis Colts warms up against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium on December 4, 2022 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)

Until we get more clarity on Jonathan Taylor's situation with (or without) the Colts, he'll always be a name to watch in mock draft rooms.

The talented running back, who has requested a trade and is now rehabbing an ankle injury away from the team, per ESPN's Stephen Holder, made it to the 15th pick in this mock, which was completed with FantasyPros' mock draft simulator.

That's a bit of a discount from where you'll often find Taylor in mocks, but that might not be a big enough price drop given the uncertainty around him. Hopefully, you'll have a better idea of what his future holds by the time you're drafting, but for now, he might be the biggest wild card in the first two rounds.

This mock started with more receivers than most (four of the first five picks), which always creates a fascinating situation for fantasy managers. Should you get in on the early run, or are you better off snatching up the players at other positions who slipped a bit?

The receiver position was hit pretty hard throughout the first two-and-a-half rounds, leading to some excellent values elsewhere. Getting Austin Ekeler in a PPR league without a top-six pick is tremendous. Snatching up Josh Jacobs or Travis Etienne Jr. in the third round had to feel just as sweet.

Lastly, as always, it's important to take note of the quarterback spot. As our rankings indicate, the top QBs went earlier than we'd take them—Patrick Mahomes at No. 14 and Josh Allen at No. 22—but that just goes to show if you want one of these signal-callers, you can't risk waiting for them beyond the second round.

Maybe they'll fall in your league—Jalen Hurts made it to the back end of the third round—but you shouldn't count on that if getting one of these three is a primary part of your draft strategy.

Cheatsheet

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EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - AUGUST 01: Saquon Barkley #26 of the New York Giants during training camp at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center on August 1, 2023 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Top-30 PPR Rankings

1. Justin Jefferson, WR, Minnesota Vikings

2. Christian McCaffrey, RB, San Francisco 49ers

3. Austin Ekeler, RB, Los Angeles Chargers

4. Ja'Marr Chase, WR, Cincinnati Bengals

5. Cooper Kupp, WR, Los Angeles Rams

6. Saquon Barkley, RB, New York Giants

7. Travis Kelce, TE, Kansas City Chiefs

8. Bijan Robinson, RB, Atlanta Falcons

9. Tyreek Hill, WR, Miami Dolphins

10. Jonathan Taylor, RB, Indianapolis Colts

11. Derrick Henry, RB, Tennessee Titans