This is it, the final mock. If you’re still here I hope you appreciated our mock drafts together and I hope you got a thing or two out of them. I hope you continue to stick around in season as our team has lots of great insightful content coming. Until then, here’s one last ride.
Previous Mock Draft Analysis
Mock Draft from the #1 Slot
The top spot in the draft. You get the top player, your pick of the entire litter to start. No player is unavailable to you. In return, it’s a long wait for 2.10 to come back around. Like with 1.10, I am not a fan of either bookend pick but every draft must have two of them.
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 1st 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 Tyreek Hill MIA – WR
1.05 Travis Kelce KC – TE
1.06 Nick Chubb CLE – RB
1.07 Austin Ekeler LAC – RB
1.08 Bijan Robinson ATL – RB
1.09 Cooper Kupp LAR – WR
1.10 Derrick Henry TEN – RB
MY PICK: Christian McCaffrey
In my final mock draft I unveil my pick at 1.01. Christian McCaffrey slots in as my number-one overall pick in standard leagues. He proved in only about half a season last year with the 49ers just what he’s capable of. With an entire off-season to get ready and for Kyle Shanahan to drop plays the ceiling almost feels limitless for CMC. He gives you value at the running back spot that nobody else does heading into this season. Austin Ekeler has been too touchdown dependent and Nick Chubb remains one dimensional. If you’re picking first overall it’s a binary choice, you either select Justin Jefferson and take a wide receiver first in a standard format or you take Christian McCaffrey.
ROUND 2
2.01 Stefon Diggs BUF – WR
2.02 Josh Jacobs LV – RB
2.03 Tony Pollard DAL – RB
2.04 Saquon Barkley NYG – RB
2.05 Davante Adams LV – WR
2.06 CeeDee Lamb DAL – WR
2.07 A.J. Brown PHI – WR
2.08 Amon-Ra St. Brown DET – WR
2.09 Garrett Wilson NYJ – WR
2.10 Jaylen Waddle MIA – WR
MY PICK: Jaylen Waddle
Surprisingly, this is the first time I’ve selected Jaylen Waddle. I like him, I have nothing against him. He’s just never wound up on my team. Waddle’s ceiling is limited by the presence of Tyreek Hill. It’s hard to imagine him finishing as a top-five wide receiver when there’s already a top-five wide receiver right next to him. Still, Jaylen Waddle’s floor feels very high. He gets the ball a ton but with his athleticism, he doesn’t need you in order to put up a lot of yardage. He’s a great find on the back end of round two as our first wide receiver off the board.
ROUND 3
3.01 Rhamondre Stevenson NE – RB
3.02 Joe Mixon CIN – RB
3.03 Najee Harris PIT – RB
3.04 Travis Etienne Jr. JAC – RB
3.05 Patrick Mahomes II KC – QB
3.06 Chris Olave NO – WR
3.07 Josh Allen BUF – QB
3.08 Amari Cooper CLE – WR
3.09 Jalen Hurts PHI – QB
3.10 Jahmyr Gibbs DET – RB
MY PICK: Rhamondre Stevenson
ROUND 4
4.01 DeVonta Smith PHI – WR
4.02 Tee Higgins CIN – WR
4.03 Deebo Samuel SF – WR
4.04 Jonathan Taylor IND – RB
4.05 Cam Akers LAR – RB
4.06 Dameon Pierce HOU – RB
4.07 Mark Andrews BAL – TE
4.08 Aaron Jones GB – RB
4.09 Kenneth Walker III SEA – RB
4.10 DK Metcalf SEA – WR
MY PICK: DK Metcalf
DK Metcalf was a weird player last season. He had career highs in targets and receptions but the TDs and yards weren’t there. It was almost the inverse of what we expect from Metcalf. It’s hard to imagine him replicating those targets and reception numbers just from the addition of Jaxon Smith-Njigba but it’s also harder to imagine he only finds the endzone 6 times. End of round four, a value like Metcalf makes for a great WR2 next to Waddle.
ROUND 5
5.01 Lamar Jackson BAL – QB
5.02 Miles Sanders CAR – RB
5.03 J.K. Dobbins BAL – RB
5.04 Breece Hall NYJ – RB
5.05 Calvin Ridley JAC – WR
5.06 James Cook BUF – RB
5.07 Keenan Allen LAC – WR
5.08 Alexander Mattison MIN – RB
5.09 James Conner ARI – RB
5.10 Joe Burrow CIN – QB
MY PICK: Lamar Jackson
Lamar Jackson is my QB again. He’s become one of my favorite QB selections with the additions of Odell Beckham Jr. and Zay Flowers (more on him in a bit). Lamar is an MVP-level QB and he’s never had targets like this. A new OC in Todd Monken should freshen up an offense that had grown stale in recent years. Lamar has a chance to earn his second MVP and it may come down to his health.
ROUND 6
6.01 Javonte Williams DEN – RB
6.02 D’Andre Swift PHI – RB
6.03 Justin Fields CHI – QB
6.04 T.J. Hockenson MIN – TE
6.05 Justin Herbert LAC – QB
6.06 Rachaad White TB – RB
6.07 Alvin Kamara NO – RB
6.08 Trevor Lawrence JAC – QB
6.09 Darren Waller NYG – TE
6.10 DeAndre Hopkins TEN – WR
MY PICK: DeAndre Hopkins
I’m still all in on DeAndre Hopkins in 2023. No, I don’t think he’s too old, or that Tannehill isn’t good enough or on a team where WR careers go to die. Hopkins was still playing at a top-ten WR level as recently as last season. I expect the same in 2023 and finding that value at the end of round six is a robbery.
ROUND 7
7.01 George Kittle SF – TE
7.02 Deshaun Watson CLE – QB
7.03 David Montgomery DET – RB
7.04 Daniel Jones NYG – QB
7.05 Dalvin Cook NYJ – RB
7.06 Diontae Johnson PIT – WR
7.07 Terry McLaurin WAS – WR
7.08 Isiah Pacheco KC – RB
7.09 Christian Watson GB – WR
7.10 DJ Moore CHI – WR
MY PICK: George Kittle
As I laid out last week I think Kittle is the biggest winner in the 49ers QB competition. Purdy fits the Alex Smith mold vs Trey Lance who fit more of the Colin Kaepernick mold. Kittle’s skillset fits a more traditional pocket passer and I think this should be a boost to his targets. Last week I took a risk and waited two more rounds before taking him but I didn’t like anyone more than him on the board and made sure I landed Kittle. There’s no shame in reaching a bit for someone you really like.
ROUND 8
8.01 Khalil Herbert CHI – RB
8.02 Jerry Jeudy DEN – WR
8.03 Brandon Aiyuk SF – WR
8.04 Mike Williams LAC – WR
8.05 Mike Evans TB – WR
8.06 Christian Kirk JAC – WR
8.07 Antonio Gibson WAS – RB
8.08 Drake London ATL – WR
8.09 Brian Robinson Jr.WAS – RB
8.10 Marquise Brown ARI – WR
MY PICK: Marquise Brown
Marquise Brown is a risk/reward selection here. He has a chance to receive a boatload of targets in Arizona this year. The Cardinals clearly have their eyes on the 2024 draft and not on the 2023 season based on their recent moves. That means a lot of games trailing which also means a lot of games throwing. Brown is the clear number 1 target in Arizona with Hopkins cut this offseason. It might be ugly, especially if my hunch that we don’t see Kyler Murray in 2023 is true, but the volume and Brown’s talent might be enough to make up for it.
ROUND 9
9.01 Rashaad Penny PHI – RB
9.02 Brandin Cooks DAL – WR
9.03Tyler Lockett SEA – WR
9.04 Chris Godwin TB – WR
9.05 Jamaal Williams NO – RB
9.06 Jahan Dotson WAS – WR
9.07 George Pickens PIT – WR
9.08 Elijah Moore CLE – WR
9.09 Zach Charbonnet SEA – RB
9.10 AJ Dillon GB – RB
MY PICK: Rashaad Penny
Rashaad Penny could be the ultimate steal in fantasy. The Eagles were set to have him lined up as the new lead back in Philly until they acquired DeAndre Swift. Swift and Penny both have a bit of an injury history and a history of putting up big numbers when healthy and given enough volume. It could come down to who is healthy this season in Philly. Penny is worth holding onto even if he doesn’t see a lot of volume early because if Swift goes down, Penny becomes the lead back, playing behind one of the best offenses in football.
ROUND 10
10.01 Raheem Mostert MIA – RB
10.02 Samaje Perine DEN – RB
10.03 Gabe Davis BUF – WR
10.04 San Francisco 49ers DST
10.05 Jordan Addison MIN – WR
10.06 Michael Pittman IND – WR
10.07 Jaylen Warren PIT – RB
10.08 Courtland Sutton DEN – WR
10.09 Damien Harris BUF – RB
10.10 Elijah Mitchell SF – RB
MY PICK: Elijah Mitchell
One of the best handcuffs in fantasy, I love acquiring Elijah Mitchell in deeper leagues, even if I don’t have Christian McCaffery. I’m usually not a huge fan of taking the handcuff of an RB you don’t own because it’s like taking an insurance policy out on your friend’s car instead of your own. However if that insurance policy pays out, Mitchell is an RB2 easily. That’s where he was before he got hurt and lost his job to Christian McCaffrey. Some people think he might have stand-alone value and I could see that if the talent on the 49ers offense wasn’t so vast. CMC isn’t the only mouth to feed. Deebo, Aiyuk, Kittle. It’s hard to imagine all of them getting their touches and Mitchell having value.
ROUND 11
11.01 Zay Flowers BAL – WR
11.02 Treylon Burks TEN – WR
11.03 Jakobi Meyers LV – WR
11.04 Jaxon Smith-NjigbaSEA – WR
11.05 De’Von Achane MIA – RB
11.06 Ezekiel Elliott NE – RB
11.07 Jerick McKinnon KC – RB
11.08 Rashod Bateman BAL – WR
11.09 Kyle Pitts ATL – TE
11.10 Michael Thomas NO – WR
MY PICK: Zay Flowers
You didn’t think I’d let the last mock draft go by without taking Zay Flowers, right? Do you want to know exactly how high I am on Flowers? Look below.
➡️ @SMalone27
➡️ @BrandonBlancoFF pic.twitter.com/p9T8M9tz4R— Fantrax (@Fantrax) August 30, 2023
ROUND 12
12.01 Tank Bigsby JAC – RB
12.02 Dallas Goedert PHI – TE
12.03 Quentin Johnston LAC – WR
12.04 JuJu Smith-Schuster NE – WR
12.05 D’Onta Foreman CHI – RB
12.06 Kenneth Gainwell PHI – RB
12.07 Anthony Richardson IND – QB
12.08 Kadarius Toney KC – WR
12.09 Dak Prescott DAL – QB
12.10 Skyy Moore KC – WR
MY PICK: Skyy Moore
Personally, I’m surprised we haven’t seen Skyy Moore’s value climb through the offseason. He is shaping up to be the top WR target of Patrick Mahomes. Patrick Mahomes. Top WR target. That alone means something. Juju Smith-Shuster saw his career revived because of finding himself in that same exact position. If your round twelve selection ends the season on your roster that’s a win. Should he become a matchup-worthy starter that’s a massive victory. If he becomes a flex, that’s the kind of pick that can make the difference in your season. I think Moore, if it all falls into place for him, could finish even better than that.
STARTING LINEUP
QB – Lamar Jackson
RB – Christian McCaffrey, Rhamondre Stevenson
WR – Jaylen Waddle, DK Metcalf
TE – George Kittle
FLEX – DeAndre Hopkins
Bench: Marquis Brown, Rashaad Penny, Elijah Mitchell, Zay Flowers, Skyy Moore, Pat Freiermuth (13.1), Tua Tagovailoa (14.10).
Mock Draft 10.0 CONCLUSION
My final mock draft and I come away with some of my favorites in my last go around.
Although I knew with the number 1 pick there was zero chance I landed Garrett Wilson but Waddle and Metcalf followed by some of my sleepers in Hopkins, Flowers, Moore, and Brown for good measure is a deep unit.
My RBs leave more to be desired. If I have an injury to Stevenson I might be forced to deal one of those WRs for an RB but landing CMC and his handcuff in Mitchell is always a great RB tandem.
Kittle is a set it and forget it TE. Freiermuth is a sturdy backup should Kittle go down.
The QBs give me the chance for two stacks. Jackson and Flowers and Tua and Waddle. Stacks are fun, its risky but when the risk pays off there’s nothing better than seeing your score go up ten points just from one touchdown without any yardage factored in too.
For more great rankings and analysis, make sure to check out our 2023 Fantasy Football Draft Kit!
GIVEAWAY ALERT! 🚨📷
We are excited to be launching another giveaway, where ONE lucky winner will receive an Official NFL Justin Herbert Signed Jersey!
DETAILS TO ENTER BELOW! pic.twitter.com/0nMqnWMJ4w
— Fantrax (@Fantrax) August 3, 2023