Fantasy Football Picks 2023: 2-Round Mock Draft, Top Keeper Rankings and Advice
It's peak draft season in the fantasy football world.
With the third (and final) week of NFL preseason action remaining, it's time to put all of that pre-draft studying and strategizing you've (hopefully) been doing to good use.
As you put the finishing touches on your draft plan, though, allow us to help by running through a two-round mock (12-team, point-per-reception format), laying out our top-30 rankings for keeper leagues and then offering some advice for draft day.
2-Round Mock Draft
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Round 1
1. Christian McCaffrey, RB, San Francisco 49ers
2. Justin Jefferson, WR, Minnesota Vikings
3. Ja'Marr Chase, WR, Cincinnati Bengals
4. Austin Ekeler, RB, Los Angeles Chargers
5. Saquon Barkley, RB, New York Giants
6. Bijan Robinson, RB, Atlanta Falcons
7. Cooper Kupp, WR, Los Angeles Rams
8. Tyreek Hill, WR, Miami Dolphins
9. Travis Kelce, TE, Kansas City Chiefs
10. Stefon Diggs, WR, Buffalo Bills
11. Nick Chubb, RB, Cleveland Browns
12. CeeDee Lamb, WR, Dallas Cowboys
Round 2
13. Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR, Detroit Lions
14. Derrick Henry, RB, Tennessee Titans
15. A.J. Brown, WR, Philadelphia Eagles
16. Tony Pollard, RB, Dallas Cowboys
17. Garrett Wilson, WR, New York Jets
18. Jonathan Taylor, RB, Indianapolis Colts
19. Davante Adams, WR, Las Vegas Raiders
20. Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City Chiefs
21. Josh Jacobs, RB, Las Vegas Raiders
22. Jaylen Waddle, WR, Miami Dolphins
23. DeVonta Smith, WR, Philadelphia Eagles
24. Rhamondre Stevenson, RB, New England Patriots
Keeper Rankings
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1. Justin Jefferson, WR, Minnesota Vikings
2. Bijan Robinson, RB, Atlanta Falcons
3. Ja'Marr Chase, WR, Cincinnati Bengals
4. Breece Hall, RB, New York Jets
5. Garrett Wilson, WR, New York Jets
6. CeeDee Lamb, WR, Dallas Cowboys
7. Jonathan Taylor, RB, Indianapolis Colts
8. Saquon Barkley, RB, New York Giants
9. Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR, Detroit Lions
10. Christian McCaffrey, RB, San Francisco 49ers
11. Jahmyr Gibbs, RB, Detroit Lions
12. A.J. Brown, WR, Philadelphia Eagles
13. Chris Olave, WR, New Orleans Saints
14. Jaylen Waddle, WR, Miami Dolphins
15. Tyreek Hill, WR, Miami Dolphins
16. Cooper Kupp, WR, Los Angeles Rams
17. Josh Jacobs, RB, Las Vegas Raiders
18. DK Metcalf, WR, Seattle Seahawks
19. Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City Chiefs
20. DeVonta Smith, WR, Philadelphia Eagles
21. Austin Ekeler, RB, Los Angeles Chargers
22. Tee Higgins, WR, Cincinnati Bengals
23. Stefon Diggs, WR, Buffalo Bills
24. Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Seattle Seahawks
25. Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills
26. Drake London, WR, Atlanta Falcons
27. Davante Adams, WR, Las Vegas Raiders
28. Travis Kelce, TE, Kansas City Chiefs
29. Travis Etienne Jr., RB, Jacksonville Jaguars
30. Rhamondre Stevenson, RB, New England Patriots
Draft Advice
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Know your league settings.
The simplest sounding advice is often the smartest. If you do nothing else between now and the start of your league's draft, make you sure you study up on the specific settings of your fantasy league.
Even something as basic as the size of your league could have huge ramifications for projected draft costs and your willingness to take risks. In shallow leagues, you can (and should) grab some risk-reward fliers while knowing that the waiver wire should offer potential pivots if you need them. In deeper leagues, the roster you draft might wind up essentially being the one you use all season.
Do you get a full point, a half-point or no additional bonus per reception? Answer that question, and you'll know just how much of a priority to place on pass-catchers. If your league includes bonuses for chunk plays (10-yard rush, 25-yard reception), make you sure you add some home-run hitters.
Have a draft plan but stay flexible.
It's smart to take some type of strategy into the draft. That could be as specific as targeting individual players or it might be something more generic, like wanting two running backs within the first three rounds.
Executing said strategy is ideal, but remember that the direction of your draft room might not make that possible. Average draft positions might give you an idea of which players are available when, but that doesn't mean your leaguemates will follow that order.
If there's an earlier than expected run on specific position groups, you should have an idea of how you want to react. You could pounce on the position to avoid the risk of being left behind, but if you have a few later round sleepers you like, you could also add impact players at other positions who could become real values as others are pushed up the board.
Wait on quarterbacks.
If you're a regular fantasy football player, then this surely isn't the first time you've been advised to wait before selecting a quarterback. Still, there's a reason this strategy has become so common.
The temptation of adding an elite quarterback like Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen or Jalen Hurts will be strong, but the opportunity cost at other positions is too steep to justify adding a quarterback early. Even just waiting until the fifth round might allow you to add someone like Justin Fields or Trevor Lawrence while using your first four picks to add impact players at the other skill positions.
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