We have arrived at the final two mock drafts. Draft season is here and soon it will be behind us. In this mock, I draft from the first of two bookend picks as I start at the back of the order this time.
Previous Mock Draft Analysis
Mock Draft from the #10 Slot
Personally, I loathe drafting from the 10th slot. You have last licks at the first-round talent and after each of your back-to-back choices, it takes forever to get back to you. Yes, you can take two players each time but I always feel split between three so that advantage is a wash. At least with the first overall pick you have the top player available to you. The last pick is awful but somebody has to do it.
As always we will be drafting for a hypothetical standard league where the roster consists of 1 quarterback, 2 running backs, 2 wide receivers, 1 tight end, and 1 RB/WR/TE Flex position. I drafted from the 10th overall pick in this mock draft.
Once again I will be breaking down the first 12 rounds of this mock draft. The full roster excluding the kicker and defense can be found below.
ROUND 1
1.01 Christian McCaffrey SF – RB
1.02 Justin Jefferson MIN – WR
1.03 Ja’Marr Chase CIN – WR
1.04 Travis Kelce KC – TE
1.05 Austin Ekeler LAC – RB
1.06 Tyreek Hill MIA – WR
1.07 Saquon Barkley NYG – RB
1.08 Nick Chubb CLE – RB
1.09 Bijan Robinson ATL – RB
1.10 Derrick Henry TEN – RB
MY PICK: Derrick Henry
Finding Derrick Henry here at the very end of round 1 in this mock draft feels like a blessing from the Fantasy Football Gods. As I’ve said before he’s as reliable as they come, DeAndre Hopkins should help lighten the box in front of him and in light of the Jonathan Taylor and Josh Jacobs situations, Henry is rising up draft boards. Even in standard scoring, depending on what’s out there, you may be forced to take two top-end WRs or reach for a RB who otherwise be around at 3.10. That’s a long wait with 18 picks until you pick again so if an RB you like is available take him with one of your bookend picks.
ROUND 2
2.01 Cooper Kupp LAR – WR
2.01 Jonathan Taylor IND – RB
2.02 A.J. Brown PHI – WR
2.03Travis Etienne Jr. JAC – RB
2.03 Stefon Diggs BUF – WR
2.04 CeeDee Lamb DAL – WR
2.07 Tony Pollard DAL – RB
2.08 Amon-Ra St. Brown DET – WR
2.09 Davante Adams LV – WR
2.10 Josh Jacobs LV – RB
MY PICK: Cooper Kupp
Another great find after one complete round. In fact, Cooper Kupp has the potential to finish as the top receiver in football on a points-per-game basis, as he was last season. Despite only playing 9 games last year, Cooper Kupp finished the season averaging 14.3 ppg in standard leagues. He also only played two-thirds of the snaps in his final game before going down with a season-ending injury, so that 14.3 ppg could’ve been even higher. He scored double-digit points in every full game he played last season and if he does so again he has a real chance of finishing as the top receiver in football.
ROUND 3
3.01 Patrick Mahomes II KC – QB
3.02 Jahmyr Gibbs DET – RB
3.03 Rhamondre Stevenson NE – RB
3.04 Garrett Wilson NYJ – WR
3.05 Josh Allen BUF – QB
3.06 Jalen Hurts PHI – QB
3.07 Najee Harris PIT – RB
3.08 Jaylen Waddle MIA – WR
3.09 Miles Sanders CAR – RB
3.10 Chris Olave NO – WR
MY PICK: Chris Olave
ROUND 4
4.01 Joe Mixon CIN – RB
4.02 Tee Higgins CIN – WR
4.03 Kenneth Walker III SEA – RB
4.04 Amari Cooper CLE – WR
4.05 Breece Hall NYJ – RB
4.06 DeVonta Smith PHI – WR
4.07 Deebo Samuel SF – WR
4.08 Cam Akers LAR – RB
4.09 Aaron Jones GB – RB
4.10 Mark Andrews BAL – TE
MY PICK: Joe Mixon
Four rounds in and balance is the approach thus far. Each pick is interchangeable with the one adjacent to it but so far one RB and one WR has been the strategy. The reason for that has little to do with any deliberate plan to approach the bookend pick but it does keep things flexible moving forward.
Joe Mixon is the choice to start off round four. He had quite the rollercoaster of an offseason. He was involved in an incident that ended with a child being shot but avoided criminal charges and a suspension from the league. His contract also made him a prime candidate to be cut until he signed a new one. Now he finds himself safely on the Bengals with an upgraded offensive line and no Samaje Perine taking carries from him. Mixon could’ve found himself in Free Agency RB Purgatory along with Kareem Hunt and Leonard Fournette but instead, he could be primed for a big season. That upside along with a high-floor safely in his role makes him a great RB2 next to Henry.
ROUND 5
5.01 DK Metcalf SEA – WR
5.02 J.K. Dobbins BAL – RB
5.03 Lamar Jackson BAL – QB
5.04 Dameon Pierce HOU – RB
5.05 Javonte Williams DEN – RB
5.06 Alexander Mattison MIN – RB
5.07 DeAndre Hopkins TEN – WR
5.08 Justin Herbert LAC – QB
5.09 T.J. Hockenson MIN – TE
5.10 James Conner ARI – RB
MY PICK: James Conner
James Conner is being supremely undervalued in fantasy this season. He is a workhorse back and that alone should have his value sky high. He is on a team without a good QB to start the season so they will be relying on him plenty. Honestly, in light of the Cardinal’s recent moves, it appears they are truly all in on taking in 2023. With that in mind, would it be that shocking if we never see Kyler Murray play this season? I wouldn’t be surprised, I almost expect it at this point. Conner could find himself as the main focal point in the offense and he’s almost available in round six. Those are the kinds of picks that can win you your league.
ROUND 6
6.01 Justin Fields CHI – QB
6.02 Joe Burrow CIN – QB
6.03 Isiah Pacheco KC – RB
6.04 Kyle Pitts ATL – TE
6.05 Alvin Kamara NO – RB
6.06 Rachaad White TB – RB
6.07 Drake London ATL – WR
6.08 Dalvin Cook NYJ – RB
6.09 Darren Waller NYG – TE
6.10 D’Andre Swift PHI – RB
MY PICK: Justin Fields
Again another run on QBs happened between my pairings of selections. This forced my hand here because if I risk waiting any longer in this mock draft to take a QB I could find myself scraping the bottom of the barrel. Justin Fields was a really nice fantasy QB last season. That production was mostly reliant on his ability to run with the football and next to nothing came from his arm. That won’t be the case in 2023. DJ Moore elevates this passing game and every other pass catcher around him too. Chase Claypool and Darnell Mooney will now get the 2nd and 3rd corners on them while DJ Moore draws the top assignee each week. If Justin Fields can see a moderate boost in his passing stats while maintaining his production on the ground, his fantasy value will explode.
ROUND 7
7.01 Calvin Ridley JAC – WR
7.02 David Montgomery DET – RB
7.03 DJ Moore CHI – WR
7.04 Trevor Lawrence JAC – QB
7.05 James Cook BUF – RB
7.06 Brandon Aiyuk SF – WR
7.07 Deshaun Watson CLE – QB
7.08 Terry McLaurin WAS – WR
7.09 Jerry Jeudy DEN – WR
7.10 Keenan Allen LAC – WR
MY PICK: Keenan Allen
I’m glad I got Keenan Allen here because I still feel like I haven’t spoken about him enough. He doesn’t get the love that he should this season. He used to be universally considered a fringe WR1 but after last season people have soured on him surprisingly. I understand the Chargers selected his potential long-term replacement in the first round this season when they took Quentin Johnson out of TCU but do we really think he’s also a short-term replacement for Allen too? Johnson’s skill set is different than that of Allen and when all three are on the field together I think Mike Williams loses out more than Allen will. A healthy start to the season for Allen should be a big boost for him this year and gives me a nice rotation in the flex spot when James Conner faces a stout run defense.
ROUND 8
8.01 Christian Watson GB – WR
8.02 Tyler Lockett SEA – WR
8.02 Khalil Herbert CHI – RB
8.04 Jahan Dotson WAS – WR
8.05 Mike Williams LAC – WR
8.06 Christian Kirk JAC – WR
8.07 Brian Robinson Jr. WAS – RB
8.08 Rashaad Penny PHI – RB
8.09 Mike Evans TB – WR
8.10 Chris Godwin TB – WR
MY PICK: Christian Watson
This was an absolutely greedy draft selection. My WRs already include Cooper Kupp, Chris Olave and Keenan Allen. I have no need for Watson but for some reason I wanted him. Why? This feels like the perfect roster to draft him onto. Watson might be the most polarizing player in fantasy this draft season. If you think his target share is bound to go up you love him. If you think it will stay the same and his reception/TD ratio will drop you probably refuse to draft him. Here I can bet on the former without risking being in a bind if I get the latter. He’s my fourth-string WR. Even if he’s terrible and I have an injury I still have James Conner as a viable flex. In the best-case scenario, I have a lethal WR core. Worst case, I’m no worse off.
ROUND 9
9.01 Marquise Brown ARI – WR
9.02 Samaje Perine DEN – RB
9.03 Jamaal Williams NO – RB
9.04 AJ Dillon GB – RB
9.05 Antonio Gibson WAS – RB
9.06 Michael Pittman IND – WR
9.07 Odell Beckham BAL – WR
9.08 Diontae Johnson PIT – WR
9.09 George Pickens PIT – WR
9.10 George Kittle SF – TE
MY PICK: George Kittle
Here’s the only risk I took by drafting Watson last round. I risked missing a good TE. Now I know the draft room at his point, as I’ve seen in previous mock drafts TEs are very undervalued in this league. So I knew I could wait till later to take one. Picks like this one are why I always preach to know the room. Kittle is an amazing value in round 9 and a player I like more than this time a week ago. I love Kittle’s value more with Brock Purdy as his QB than I did if Trey Lance won the starting job. With Lance unable to land even the backup job, I know that we won’t see a QB who will take targets away from Kittle by stretching the field to WRs and running with the ball more. Kittle turns 30 this season so it’s a stretch to say he’s old but he isn’t young anymore either. Still if healthy, you can expect Kittle to have his typical top 5 TE season once again in 2023.
ROUND 10
10.01 Zay Flowers BAL – WR
10.02 Jeff Wilson Jr. MIA – RB
10.03 Gabe Davis BUF – WR
10.04 De’Von Achane MIA – RB
10.05 Jaxon Smith-Njigba SEA – WR
10.06 Jordan Addison MIN – WR
10.07 Brandin Cooks DAL – WR
10.08 Courtland Sutton DEN – WR
10.09 Treylon Burks TEN – WR
10.10 Damien Harris BUF – RB
MY PICK: Zay Flowers
Just draft Zay Flowers and thank me later.
ROUND 11
11.01 Kadarius Toney KC – WR
11.02 Gus Edwards BAL – RB
11.03 Elijah Mitchell SF – RB
11.04 Tyler Allgeier ATL – RB
11.05 Tank Bigsby JAC – RB
11.06 Michael Thomas NO – WR
11.07 Zach Charbonnet SEA – RB
11.08 Elijah Moore CLE – WR
11.09 Allen Lazard NYJ – WR
11.10 Daniel Jones NYG – QB
MY PICK: Daniel Jones
I say this at the risk of jinxing things but Daniel Jones has looked really good this preseason. Almost too good to be true. It makes sense as to why, he is coming off his best season as a pro where he made a huge leap. He has his best weapon in TE Darren Waller, his deepest WR core, another year in the Dabble/Kafka offense and the best offensive line in his career as well. Offensively it’s still going to run through Saquon Barkley but Jones has the chance to take an even bigger leap this year with that supporting cast. He’s likely going to go as a backup QB or fringe starter in most ten-team leagues but the upside is enough that everybody should want him this late.
ROUND 12
12.01 Dallas Goedert PHI – TE
12.02 Raheem Mostert MIA – RB
12.03 Skyy Moore KC – WR
12.04 Anthony Richardson IND – QB
12.05 JuJu Smith-Schuster NE – WR
12.06 Romeo Doubs GB – WR
12.07 Rashod Bateman BAL – WR
12.08 D’Onta Foreman CHI – RB
12.09 Dak Prescott DAL – QB
12.10 Jerick McKinnon KC – RB
MY PICK: Dallas Goedert
Like Daniel Jones Dallas Goedert is going to be drafted as a fringe starter in most leagues of this size. Unlike Jones I don’t see any reason to believe Goedert is going to make a massive leap in 2023. We know who he is and his value likely won’t change much without an injury. Goedert’s ceiling is limited by the talent the Eagles have at WR and a running QB which is why he is consistently being drafted after Waller, Kittle and Pitts to name a few. Still for a backup TE, you can’t go wrong with someone reliable. It’s sometimes hard to find one reliable TE to be your starter, let alone a backup.
STARTING LINEUP
QB – Justin Fields
RB – Derrick Henry, Joe Mixon
WR – Cooper Kupp, Chris Olave
TE – George Kittle
FLEX – James Conner
Bench: Keenan Allen, Christian Watson, Zay Flowers, Daniel Jones, Dallas Goedert, Jaylen Warren (13.10), Tyjae Spears (14.01).
Mock Draft 9.0 CONCLUSION
The WRs dominate this team once again but there isn’t any true weakness here. I felt like a common theme in this mock draft was players being overlooked for no apparent reason. Almost like an island of misfit fantasy picks.
RB is solid up top with Henry, Mixon and Conner. Young players like Warren (whose standalone value has been gaining steam of late) and Tyjae Spears offer upside as handcuffs.
Justin Fields and Daniel Jones are two of the top rushing QBs in fantasy and those hidden rushing stats can make a world of difference when games come down to the wire.
The TE position is also sure up nicely with consistent players like Kittle and Goedert.
As for the WRs, Kupp, Olave, Allen, Watson and Flowers may not be the best WR core I’ve drafted but it’s up there. It’s a beautiful blend of veterans like Kupp and Allen with up-and-comers like Olave and Watson.
For more great rankings and analysis, make sure to check out our 2023 Fantasy Football Draft Kit!
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— Fantrax (@Fantrax) August 3, 2023