The League Winners are back with another fantasy football rookie mock draft. If you missed our first mock draft, you can view Round 1 here, and Round 2 here. For this exercise, we will be drafting based on PPR Superflex leagues.
2023 Rookie Mock Draft 2.0 – Round 1
1.01 (-) – Bijan Robinson, RB, Texas (Sheldon Hand)
I was thinking of getting cute and going with C.J. Stroud, but without landing spots I’d rather go with Robinson and just keep it simple. The hype surrounding the QBs isn’t as high, whereas Robinson seems to be that can’t miss prospect. If you need QB at 1.01 you should trade back a pick or two, one of them will want Robinson.
Bijan Robinson has some absolutely insane carries. I am blown away. pic.twitter.com/MMoPZeqZuS
— Brenden Deeg (@BrendenDeeg_) April 7, 2023
1.02 (-) – C.J. Stroud, QB, Ohio State (Nick Pellegrini)
Managers with the 1.02 have a serious decision on their hands this draft season; and when put in that position I selected CJ Stroud over Bryce Young. Assuming Stroud goes to Carolina and Young ends up with Houston, both will have similarly strong offensive lines and equally underwhelming receiving options pending the draft.
Stroud has the accuracy but Young is more athletic, with absolute ceilings comps of Joe Burrow and Russell Wilson, respectively. I ended up leaning towards Stroud due to Young’s size concerns, my general distrust of the Texans organization, and the 6 point per passing TD league this mock was set up for. Preference aside, I think both of these players are going to be multi-year starters and eventual top-20 dynasty assets.
1.03 (+1) – Bryce Young, QB, Alabama (Joe Arledge)
This selection was between two players – Bryce Young and Anthony Richardson. Young has the top two overall draft capital locked up. There are concerns about his size, but I expect him to continue succeeding in the NFL.
Young’s best trait is his accuracy. He’s an advanced passer which will help him succeed at the next level. I’d happily have any top-five picks in fantasy football rookie drafts this year. Five elite players are at the top, so it is all about preference.
Bryce Young’s skillset and football IQ give him a great shot at succeeding at the next level. Plus, we have seen Young grow at Alabama throughout his time there.
1.04 (-1) – Anthony Richardson, QB, Florida (Tanner Ward)
The 1.04 position in a Superflex rookie draft should be easy. Take the remaining QB between Young, Stroud and Richardson. In this case, I am happy to land Richardson, who has the widest range of outcomes between the three. His insane athletic profile gives him the highest ceiling of the draft class, while his accuracy issues gives him the lowest floor. We will see just how much NFL teams value the talent of AR when the draft kicks off, and the 6’4” product out of Florida could be a league winner sitting there for you at fourth overall.
1.05 (-) – Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Ohio State (Hunter Greene)
JSN is the WR1 in this class. To me, he’s a top tier level WR in a similar level to Stefon Diggs, Garrett Wilson, or Amon-Ra St. Brown. JSN could be the WR1 on his team and a great player for fantasy football every year. If JSN ends up like those three and is a low end WR1 each year, he’s worth the fifth overall pick in this class. He’s a similar height and weight to the three I mentioned and his unofficial 40-yard dash time puts him on par with Stefon Diggs’ 40 time. Give me JSN at the 1.05 all day.
1.06 (+1) – Jahmyr Gibbs, RB, Alabama (Aaron St. Denis)
The 1.06 in superflex rookie drafts isn’t really a decision point. It’s more a case of taking whoever falls to you. Whether it be Gibbs, JSN or Anthony Richardson will be a matter of your league mates. Simply draft whichever one falls to you and don’t over think it.
Jahmyr Gibbs’ ranks as a pass catcher since 2020:
🔥 1,215 Yards (2nd)
🔥 8 Touchdowns (1st)
🔥 39 Missed Tackles Forced (1st)
🔥 92.6 PFF Grade (1st) pic.twitter.com/upejrpIMk1— PFF College (@PFF_College) April 12, 2023
1.07 (-1) – Quentin Johnston, WR, TCU (Thomas Christopher)
In our last rookie mock draft, I took Quentin Johnston at the 1.06. This time, I’m taking him one spot later at the 1.07 and couldn’t be happier. To me, QJ is the WR1 of this receiving class. His ability after the catch is second to none, and I think the concerns regarding his talent are being overblown and nitpicked. To me, QJ has the highest ceiling out of all the WRs in this draft class, and I’ll be riding the QJ train where ever it goes.
Among all 511-qualifying Power 5 WRs since at least 2014, Quentin Johnston ranks:
+ best in career missed tackles forced per reception
+ 18th-best in career yards after the catch per receptionThe latter seems a little more predictive, but QJ is an all-time freak nonetheless pic.twitter.com/3ni1H67U6h
— Scott Barrett (@ScottBarrettDFB) April 12, 2023
1.08 (-) – Jordan Addison, WR, USC (Jeremy Shulman)
The 2021 Biletnikoff Award winner has somewhat fallen out of favor lately. With a poor combine showing resulting in a disappointing 5.80 Relative Athletic Score (RAS), and a 2022 that fell short of expectations, many are questioning if Addison can really make the leap to elite WR in the NFL.
You can count me in that group as well; but when looking at Levis, Charbonnet, and Zay Flowers, Addison is still the safest bet to earn targets at the next level. His tape shows a consistent ability to get open. His production profile remains very good, and he’s shown an impressive nose for the end zone, posting 29 TDs in 35 games. Give me the safety of Addison at this stage over other prospects with question marks here at the 1.08.
1.09 (+2) – Will Levis, QB, Kentucky (Erika Brown)
I love Levis’ prototypical QB size. He’s 6’4” and has a strong arm. He had some trouble with turnovers and inaccuracies, but sitting behind a veteran for a year would help ease him in. While I don’t see him as a long-term QB option for fantasy football, he has the opportunity to be an eventual starter for a QB needy team.
1.10 (-1) – Zach Charbonnet, RB, UCLA (Mikey Cannavo)
There’s a clear tier break at running back after Zach Charbonnet. He has the prototype size for a work horse back, but needs the draft capital to back it up. Charbonnet checks a lot of boxes you want in a lead role for a backfield. With all the projected first round quarterbacks off the board and plenty of wide receiver depth available, he was the easy pick at the 1.10.
1.11 (+1) – Zay Flowers, WR, Boston College (Jesse Moeller)
1.12 (+2) – Josh Downs, WR, UNC (Calvin Kirton)
Since this fantasy football mock draft was before the NFL Draft, I based my pick on my evaluation of each player. Josh Downs has a smaller size, which suggests he’s only a slot WR; however, I beg to differ. Downs can play all WR positions due to his elite agility, burst, speed and intelligence. His main gift is making his QBs job easier to perform. Downs’ contested catch rate was 72.9% last season, ranking eighth among 2023 NFL WR draft prospects. He also had a 92.1 PFF grade against man coverage, which ranked first in the NCAA.
