2023 Fantasy Football Mock Draft: Strategy and Cheatsheet for Opening Rounds

Kristopher KnoxAug 24, 2023

When it comes to preparing for fantasy football drafts, there are several tools at a manager's disposal. Checking the injury reports, diving into depth charts and perusing the latest preseason buzz is a great way to expand one's knowledge beyond what last year's stats sheets might provide.

Managers can also use mock-draft tools like FantasyPros' Mock Draft Simulator to get a feel for how this year's crop of potential fantasy stars is being valued.

To demonstrate, we've run a full 12-team, point-per-reception (PPR) mock using FantasyPros' toolkit. We'll run down the first three rounds, analyze the trends from our mock, and dive into a few strategies for getting the most out of your own mock drafts.

You'll also find a quick-reference cheat sheet for the top skill players that should be under consideration in the early rounds.

Three-Round PPR Mock

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AP Photo/Paul Sancya

Vikings WR Justin Jefferson

Round 1

Team 1: Justin Jefferson, WR, Minnesota Vikings

Team 2: Ja'Marr Chase, WR, Cincinnati Bengals

Team 3: Christian McCaffrey, RB, San Francisco 49ers

Team 4: Austin Ekeler, RB, Los Angeles Chargers

Team 5: Tyreek Hill, WR, Miami Dolphins

Team 6: Cooper Kupp, WR, Los Angeles Rams

Team 7: CeeDee Lamb, WR, Dallas Cowboys

Team 8: Travis Kelce, TE, Kansas City Chiefs

Team 9: Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR, Detroit Lions

Team 10: Stefon Diggs, WR, Buffalo Bills

Team 11: Saquon Barkley, RB, New York Giants

Team 12: Bijan Robinson, RB, Atlanta Falcons

Round 2

Team 12: Nick Chubb, RB, Cleveland Browns

Team 11: Derrick Henry, RB, Tennessee Titans

Team 10: Jonathan Taylor, RB, Indianapolis Colts

Team 9: Davante Adams, WR, Las Vegas Raiders

Team 8: A.J. Brown, WR, Philadelphia Eagles

Team 7: Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City Chiefs

Team 6: Garrett Wilson, WR, New York Jets

Team 5: Tony Pollard, RB, Dallas Cowboys

Team 4: Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills

Team 3: Josh Jacobs, RB, Las Vegas Raiders

Team 2: Joe Mixon, RB, Cincinnati Bengals

Team 1: Chris Olave, WR, New Orleans Saints

Round 3

Team 1: Najee Harris, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers

Team 2: DeVonta Smith, WR, Philadelphia Eagles

Team 3: Jaylen Waddle, WR, Miami Dolphins

Team 4: Rhamondre Stevenson, RB, New England Patriots

Team 5: Keenan Allen, WR, Los Angeles Chargers

Team 6: Travis Etienne Jr., RB, Jacksonville Jaguars

Team 7: DK Metcalf, WR, Seattle Seahawks

Team 8: Jahmyr Gibbs, RB, Detroit Lions

Team 9: Aaron Jones, RB, Green Bay Packers

Team 10: Jalen Hurts, QB, Philadelphia Eagles

Team 11: Calvin Ridley, WR, Atlanta Falcons

Team 12: Mark Andrews, TE, Baltimore Ravens

Analysis and Strategies

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Leon Halip/Getty Images

Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown

Since FantasyPros' Mock Draft Simulator bases picks off of the average draft position from multiple sites, it can paint a fairly accurate picture of how players and positions are being valued.

In our simulated draft, pass-catchers were the hot ticket in Round 1, with only four running backs being selected. Unsurprisingly, all four RBs—Christian McCaffrey, Austin Ekeler, Saquon Barkley and Bijan Robinson are expected to have a ton of PPR upside in 2023.

Kicking off a draft with a high-volume pass-catcher like Justin Jefferson, Ja'Marr Chase or Travis Kelce is a great way to go. Snagging two within the first three rounds can also be smart.

There are only a handful of truly elite running backs in the NFL, but there's a wide second tier. Team 2, for example, partnered Ja'Marr Chase and DeVonta Smith with Joe Mixon. Chase and Smith both have Pro Bowl potential, while the next RB taken after Smith, Rhamondre Stevenson, might not be dramatically better than Kenneth Walker III, who went in the fifth round of our mock.

Stevenson initially projected as an every-down back, but after the New England Patriots added Ezekiel Elliott, he's likely to again find himself in a committee. The good news for Stevenson (and Elliott) managers is that New England should lean heavily on its backfield.

"This is definitely a team that wants to run the ball and wants to be balanced," Elliott told team reporter Tamara Brown.

Again, knowing what roles players will fill is important.

Doubling up on running backs—as Teams 11 and 12 did—is an older strategy, but it can still be viable if done correctly. The challenge is finding high-volume pass-catchers in the middle rounds.

Team 12's tandem of Bijan Robinson and Nick Chubb is promising, as both project as high-volume players. Mark Andrews is an elite PPR tight end, and it's a solid trio. However, Team 12 must get a little lucky and get legit WR 2 production out of fourth- and fifth-round receivers Tee Higgins and Chris Godwin.

Note that Kelce and Andrews are really the only tight ends worth grabbing in the first three rounds.

With the NFL continuing to be a pass-first league, quarterbacks are beginning to go earlier in drafts than they did a few years ago. High-floor signal-callers Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen and Jalen Hurts all went in the first three rounds of our mock, and that's where they're sure to go in several real-world drafts.

Managers not keen on taking a signal-caller early, though, shouldn't fret. There are enough starting-caliber fantasy quarterbacks that one can usually be found after Round 5. Jared Goff and Derek Carr, for example, are ranked QB17 and QB19, respectively, in FantasyPros' consensus rankings.

Managers not taking a quarterback early should strive for at least one running back and one receiver (Kelce/Andrews included) while doubling up at one of those positions in the first three rounds. Teams 4 and 7 were the only ones in our mock to not take at least one receiver and one running back, and both took quarterbacks.