I’ll be continuing my mock draft series working from the middle out with pick 1.07 this time. I’ll do my best to avoid selecting players I’ve already taken either Drafting from the Six Slot or the Five Slot. The result is certainly a draft that starts off on fire and doesn’t slow down from there.
Mock Draft from the #7 Slot
As we start to get further from the middle of the draft order we begin to get closer to the bookends. Meaning longer gaps between certain picks but an easier time reading the board to see what positions we can possibly wait on just one more round.
The hypothetical 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 7th overall pick in this mock draft.
I’ll again break down the first 10 rounds in this mock draft as well as my thinking behind each pick and any interesting developments between selections. The full roster excluding the kicker and defense can be found below.
ROUND ONE
1.01 Nick Chubb CLE – RB
1.02 Christian McCaffrey SF – RB
1.03 Austin Ekeler LAC – RB
1.04 Justin Jefferson MIN – WR
1.05 Ja’Marr Chase CIN – WR
1.06 Jonathan Taylor IND – RB
1.07 Bijan Robinson ATL – RB
1.08 Travis Kelce KC – TE
1.09 Cooper Kupp LAR – WR
1.10 Josh Jacobs LV – RB
MY PICK: Bijan Robinson
Bijan Robinson could easily be the first “controversial,” selection of any draft. Being only a rookie, no matter where he goes, there will be that one guy in every league who chimes in about how that’s too high to take a rookie. I am not that guy, pal.
It’s not hard to make the case behind taking Bijan #1 overall. Most won’t take him that high, but if you do I get it. A supreme talent, a run-heavy offense that had a lot of success in 2022 with less stellar backs. He can get a ton of work in the receiving game as well. He has all the makings of a 1.01 pick. This I think is the sweet spot for him. The more proven, “safer,” RBs and top two WRs are off the board. Bijan is a great pick to start off round 1.
ROUND TWO
2.01 Tony Pollard DAL – RB
2.02 Tyreek Hill MIA – WR
2.03 Saquon Barkley NYG – RB
2.04 Derrick Henry TEN – RB
2.05 Rhamondre Stevenson NE – RB
2.06 Stefon Diggs BUF – WR
2.07 CeeDee Lamb DAL – WR
2.08 Miles Sanders CAR – RB
2.09 Travis Etienne Jr. JAC – RB
2.10 Breece Hall NYJ – RB
MY PICK: Derrick Henry
If this is how all drafts are going to go, sign me up for the seventh pick in every 10-team league. I’m walking away with bell-cow RBs in two of the most run-heavy offenses in football to lead my team? How that was pulled off I’ll never be able to understand. King Henry is not expected to put up the same type of numbers this year that he’s put up in the past but he still reigns supreme as a back who will get the ball plenty in Tennessee. He and Robinson give me a loaded RB core that can compete with any team on any week.
ROUND THREE
3.01 Mark Andrews BAL – TE
3.02 Kenneth Walker III SEA – RB
3.03 Najee Harris PIT – RB
3.04 Jahmyr Gibbs DET – RB
3.05 Aaron Jones GB – RB
3.06 Deebo Samuel SF – WR
3.07 A.J. Brown PHI – WR
3.08 Davante Adams LV – WR
3.09 Josh Allen BUF – QB
3.10 Jaylen Waddle MIA – WR 3.10
MY PICK: A.J. Brown
Now that RBs are out of the way I can focus the rest of the draft on everything else. That begins with another steal of A.J. Brown in round 3. Brown saw a ton of volume in his first year in Philadelphia. Seeing the 10th most targets in the league last year while on his way to finishing 4th overall in standard-scoring leagues. To land last year’s 4th WR in round 3 is a steal. While there is some fear he might lose some targets to the emerging DeVontae Smith, it’s hard to believe he’ll lose so many targets it has a major impact on his output.
ROUND FOUR
4.01 T.J. Hockenson MIN – TE
4.02 Joe Mixon CIN – RB
4.03 Amon-Ra St. Brown DET – WR
4.04 Patrick Mahomes II KC – QB
4.05 James Conner ARI – RB
4.06 Dameon PierceHOU – RB
4.07 J.K. Dobbins BAL – RB
4.08 Garrett WilsonNYJ – WR
4.09 George Kittle SF – TE
4.10 Alexander Mattison MIN – RB
MY PICK: Patrick Mahomes II
Was my pick influenced by drafting while watching episode one of the new Netflix documentary Quarterbacks? Okay, maybe it was. Still, this is an awesome pick to make in this spot. Mahomes is arguably the top QB in fantasy football heading into this season even without the Chiefs making a big addition to the WR room. Adding him to my team just continues to add to the star power assembled. Two bell cow RBs, last year’s WR4 and QB1? There is a lot to love about how this team is built thus far four rounds into the draft.
ROUND FIVE
5.01 Chris Olave NO – WR
5.02 Tee Higgins CIN – WR
5.03 Amari Cooper CLE – WR
5.04 Jalen Hurts PHI – QB
5.05 Cam Akers LAR – RB
5.06 Christian Watson GB – WR
5.07 Rachaad White TB – RB
5.08 D’Andre Swift PHI – RB
5.09 DeVonta Smith PHI – WR
5.10 DK Metcalf SEA – WR
MY PICK: Rachaad White
Taking a third RB before taking a second WR sounds dumb, but there is a reason. Rachaad White is starting to feel like one of those guys where the discussion around him is suspiciously quiet. Nobody is fading him, he’s hardly the first name that comes out of people’s mouths when you ask for their favorite sleeper picks. He’s just there.
White has all the makeup of having a big 2023 season. Last year, in an offense that had the most pass attempts in NFL history, White had 481 yards after spending the first half of the season as the backup. White also got a ton of work in the passing game. With only Chase Edmonds as his competition for touches, White could take on an even bigger role than he had in the back half of 2022.
Now here is where playing the board came into the decision to pass on a WR. I look at the available WRs on the board still and see guys like Metcalf, Moore and Smith available and I think I can land one of them when the draft comes back around. Having AJ Brown I crossed off Smith off my board. Also with two of the three teams having already taken two RBs, I figured it was less likely three of the next six picks after me would be WRs as opposed to RBs. Turns out my hunch was right.
ROUND SIX
6.01 Isiah Pacheco KC – RB
6.02 Dalvin Cook FA – RB
6.03 Joe Burrow CIN – QB
6.04 D.J. Moore CHI – WR
6.05 Kyle Pitts ATL – TE
6.06 Lamar Jackson BAL – QB
6.07 Keenan AllenLAC – WR
6.08 Dallas Goedert PHI – TE
6.09 Calvin RidleyJAC – WR
6.10 Terry McLaurin WAS – WR
MY PICK: D.J. Moore
The score sits three RBs off the board and two WRs. The last man standing thankfully wasn’t Smith but instead D.J. Moore. I would’ve loved if DK Metcalf would have been the one who fell to me, as he would’ve been my choice of the three last round but I’m not complaining. Moore should be in line for a huge amount of targets this season. The Bears had the fewest pass attempts of any team last season and while they have other decent targets. None of them are on the same level as DJ Moore. Moore should command a large share of the targets from the dynamic Justin Fields who with an improved offensive line in front of him, should pass more in 2023. He’ll be my WR2 next to AJ Brown all season long.
ROUND SEVEN
7.01 Justin Herbert LAC – QB
7.02 Justin Fields CHI – QB
7.03 Trevor Lawrence JAC – QB
7.04 DeAndre Hopkins FA – WR
7.05 David Montgomery DET – RB
7.06 Daniel Jones NYG – QB
7.07 Darren Waller NYG – TE
7.08 Jerry Jeudy DEN – WR
7.09 Michael PittmanIND – WR
7.10 Dak Prescott DAL – QB
MY PICK: Darren Waller
The missing piece of the starting lineup and boy did I get lucky he was still available. Four of the six teams that were set to pick twice before I picked again were in need of a tight end, like myself. Two came off the board in the first six picks and with only 3 decent ones left, I was admittedly nervous.
Darren Waller had a down year in 2022. He was hurt and missed a lot of games last season and also in 2021 to a lesser extent. Even when he was healthy he wasn’t his usual self. His 17-game average would’ve only gained him just over 700 yards and 6 scores. However, with the New York Giants he gets a fresh start and once again finds himself as his team’s alpha dog pass catcher. With the amount of work he’s expected to get, health might be the only thing that keeps him from a top 3 TE season. I got one by the skin of my teeth and if healthy I got a really good one too.
ROUND EIGHT
8.01 Mike Williams LAC – WR
8.02 Chris Godwin TB – WR
8.03 Javonte Williams DEN – RB
8.04 Brandon Aiyuk SF – WR
8.05 Christian Kirk JAC – WR
8.06 Drake London ATL – WR
8.07 Tyler Lockett SEA – WR
8.08 Jahan Dotson WAS – WR
8.09 Jaxon Smith-Njigba SEA – WR
8.10 Kadarius Toney KC – WR
MY PICK: Brandon Aiyuk
I’m trying my best to avoid being repetitive but Aiyuk is someone I’m very big on in 2023, especially if I can land him in this draft slot. Some depth behind your weakest starter group is always key for me in fantasy. It’s the odds game. Increase the odds of successfully finding starting quality players by taking more. Aiyuk is my ace in the hole if White can’t improve his YPC or if the Bear’s passing attack is still poor.
ROUND NINE
9.01 Jameson Williams DET – WR
9.02 Jordan Addison MIN – WR
9.03 Marquise Brown ARI – WR
9.04 James Cook BUF – RB
9.05 Mike Evans TB – WR
9.06 Diontae Johnson PIT – WR
9.07 George Pickens PIT – WR
9.08 AJ Dillon GB – RB
9.09 Alvin KamaraNO – RB
9.10 Treylon Burks TEN – WR
MY PICK: George Pickens
George Pickens is not the Steelers WR I wanted to come away with in this round. The one I wanted was selected one pick ahead of me. Looking to continue to bulk up my WR depth, I was down to Pickens vs Treylon Burk. My issue with Burk isn’t even him, it’s the unknown surrounding him and who his fellow WR might be Week 1.
The Titans are becoming the favorite to land DeAndre Hopkins and if they do, Burk’s value will sink. His ballooned by the fact that he is the only pass catcher on Tennessee worth drafting currently. As for Pickens, he’s already a WR2 and holds a similar value. I’ll mitigate the risk here and take Pickens as my 4th WR.
ROUND TEN
10.01 Brian Robinson Jr. WAS – RB
10.02 Jamaal Williams NO – RB
10.03 Courtland Sutton DEN – WR
10.04 Odell Beckham Jr. BAL – WR
10.05 Damien Harris BUF – RB
10.06 Khalil Herbert CHI – RB
10.07 Brandin Cooks DAL – WR
10.08 Samaje Perine DEN – RB
10.09 Rashaad Penny PHI – RB
10.10 Antonio Gibson WAS – RB
MY PICK: Odell Beckham Jr.
This late in the draft is all about the upside and that’s what this pick represents. OBJ is my safety valve to my safety valve to my safety valve. Having him on my team gives me yet another chance of hitting it big at WR. If Odell can return to his old form I just landed a top 20 WR in round ten. If not, to waivers he goes. Odell has the chance to be the top dog in Baltimore, especially early in the season before Zay Jones gets his NFL legs under him and as Rashod Bateman continues to recover from his Lisfranc foot injury that cost him the rest of his 2022 season. A hot start is key to Odell but if all works out he is an unbelievable find at this spot.
STARTING LINEUP
QB – Patrick Mahomes II
RB – Bijan Robinson, Derrick Henry
WR – AJ Brown, DJ Moore
TE – Darren Waller
FLEX – Rachaad White
Bench: Brandon Aiyuk, George Pickens, Odell Beckham Jr., Tyler Allgeier (11.07) Pat Freiermuth (12.04), Aaron Rodgers, (13.07), Skyy Moore (14.04)
Mock Draft 3.0 CONCLUSION
This is a team that started hot out of the gate and took some risky picks to round out the starting lineup but the bench mitigates most of those risks.
Coming away with two of the top standard-scoring RBs, last year’s WR4 and QB1 feels like a robbery. That’s the type of lineup that gives you the feeling that you can contend with anyone on any week.
White, Moore, and Waller come with more risk. We’re hoping for better per-touch production, improvement around them, and a return to good health respectively in 2023. That is where the bench comes into play.
I loaded my team up with WRs so if Moore is slow out of the gate, I have plenty of other options to rotate in based on matchups until one emerges. Waller’s health concerns are alleviated with the reliable Pat Freiermuth backing him up. Landing Robinson’s handcuff in Tyler Allegeier was a nice insurance policy in case Robinson gets hurt. This is the formula of a winning team. Star power at the top, strength in numbers in the position of weakness. If these are the types of teams that you can build with the 7th pick, it may become my preferred draft slot.
For more great rankings and analysis, make sure to check out our 2023 Fantasy Football Draft Kit!
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— Fantrax (@Fantrax) July 4, 2023