July is here and with it, fantasy football draft season has arrived. To avoid making similar picks to Colin McTamany who will be handling the PPR Mock drafts, I’ll be working from the middle out with my weekly picks. Beginning with 1.06 and working towards 1.01. In my first mock draft, I make some bold picks early in the draft and continue to move forward from there.
Mock Draft from the Six Slot
This mock draft was for a hypothetical 10-team, standard-scoring league. 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 6th overall pick in this mock draft.
Ignoring what the talent at the top looks like and how that changes year to year, the middle of the draft tends to be my favorite position to draft from. Allowing me to analyze runs as they begin and avoid one causing me to miss out on a position I thought I could wait on. I’ll break down the first 10 rounds in this mock draft as well as my thought processes behind those selections and any interesting developments between picks. The full roster excluding the kicker and defense can be found below.
ROUND ONE
1.01 Christian McCaffrey SF – RB
1.02 Bijan Robinson ATL – RB
1.03 Austin Ekeler LAC – RB
1.04 Nick Chubb CLE – RB
1.05 Justin Jefferson MIN – WR
1.06 Ja’Marr Chase CIN – WR
1.07 Saquon Barkley NYG – RB
1.08 Jonathan Taylor IND – RB
1.09 Travis Kelce KC – TE
1.10 Cooper Kupp LAR – WR
MY PICK: Ja’Marr Chase
My first pick of this mock draft had me wrestling with the decision. I’m drafting for standard here and was tempted to take a running back such as Taylor, Barkley or Henry. With the gap between Chase and the other WRs and the RBs available, I felt most comfortable taking him in the first round. This pick will have ramifications down the road, beginning in round two.
ROUND TWO
2.01 Tyreek Hill MIA – WR
2.02 Stefon Diggs BUF – WR
2.03 Derrick Henry TEN – RB
2.04 Josh Jacobs LV – RB
2.05 Tony Pollard DAL – RB
2.06 CeeDee Lamb DAL – WR
2.07 Breece Hall NYJ – RB
2.08 Jahmyr Gibbs DET – RB
2.09Rhamondre Stevenson NE – RB
2.10 Kenneth Walker III SEA – RB
MY PICK: Tony Pollard
Tough break with both Henry and Jacobs going in front of me in the final two picks before the draft snakes back around to me. Either one would’ve been a steal in round two and allowed me to breathe a sigh of relief after taking Chase in round one in standard. Still, I’m happy with Pollard.
Last season, in the three games Ezekiel Elliott did not play, Pollard averaged over 19 touches per game, gained 6.6 yards per carry, and scored 6 TDs. He would’ve gained almost 1800 yards on the ground and scored 34 rushing touchdowns in a 17-game season at that pace. That’s an impossible pace to maintain but still one that leaves me feeling optimistic about Pollard being my top RB. Still, he isn’t allowing me to be as confident as I would be if I landed Jacobs or Henry.
ROUND THREE
3.01 Travis Etienne Jr. JAC – RB
3.02 A.J. Brown PHI – WR
3.03 Mark Andrews BAL – TE
3.04 Davante Adams LV – WR
3.05 Najee Harris PIT – RB
3.06 Garrett Wilson NYJ – WR
3.07 Josh Allen BUF – QB
3.08 Jaylen Waddle MIA – WR
3.09 Amon-Ra St. Brown DET – WR
3.10 Aaron Jones GB – RB
MY PICK: Garrett Wilson
We start to see the draft open up a little bit this round. With the exception of the exceptional Travis Kelce, we get our first few non-RB/WR picks. Andrews went ahead of me and Josh Allen is the first QB off the board with the pick immediately following mine.
Focusing on pick 3.06 I was torn here again because of the decision to take Chase in round 1. Normally I’d advise you to sure up your RB core quickly after passing on one in the top round but Garrett Wilson was too tempting a pick to pass on. As I laid out in detail on the WR rankings episode of The Fly Fantasy Football Podcast, Wilson truly has top-5 WR potential based on his numbers last season along with the addition of Rodgers. That kind of upside is impossible for me to say no to in round 3.
ROUND FOUR
4.01 Dameon Pierce HOU – RB
4.02 Patrick Mahomes II KC – QB
4.03 T.J. Hockenson MIN – TE
4.04 DeVonta Smith PHI – WR
4.05 Jalen Hurts PHI – QB
4.06 Joe Mixon CIN – RB
4.07 Miles Sanders CAR – RB
4.08 Cam Akers LAR – RB
4.09 Chris Olave NO – WR
4.10 George Kittle SF – TE
MY PICK: Jalen Hurts
For the second straight round, I go against conventional wisdom and do not take a second RB after passing on one in the first round. Like Garrett Wilson, Jalen Hurts is just too talented to pass on. I might have reconsidered if Dameon Pierce was still on the board or if the run on the top QBs hadn’t begun, but with Joe Mixon still potentially facing suspension, I couldn’t convince myself to select any of the RBs on the board over Jalen Hurts. Hurts is the last of the top-tier QBs on the board. If I pass and the run on QBs were to continue, I’d be left without one. The next 10 picks were going to be made by teams without a QB so I had to jump on one now or potentially find myself taking a lesser one later in the draft.
ROUND FIVE
5.01 Tee Higgins CIN – WR
5.02 J.K. Dobbins BAL – RB
5.03 Deebo Samuel SF – WR
5.04 DeAndre Hopkins FA – WR
5.05 Dalvin Cook FA – RB
5.06 Alexander Mattison MIN – RB
5.07 DK Metcalf SEA – WR
5.08 Amari Cooper CLE – WR
5.09 D’Andre Swift PHI – RB
5.10 Rachaad White TB – RB
MY PICK: Alexander Mattison
Again, another round where the two picks ahead of me take players I was targeting. I would’ve loved to get Cook in round 5. Instead, I take his replacement as my second RB to compliment Pollard. Like Pollard, Mattison provides the volume needed to be steady weekly plays against most teams. In the six games since 2020 where Dalvin Cook did not play,Mattison averaged over 23 touches per contest. Spread that out over a 17-game season, his averages would result in over 1,960 combined rushing and receiving yards, to go along with 14 touchdowns. To land an RB who could potentially put up those numbers in round five is a steal and allows me to breathe a sigh of relief knowing my top two RBs are locked in.
ROUND SIX
6.01 Kyle Pitts ATL – TE
6.02 James Conner ARI – RB
6.03 Isiah Pacheco KC – RB
6.04 Javonte Williams DEN – RB
6.05 Terry McLaurin WAS – WR
6.06 Joe Burrow CIN – QB
6.07 Darren Waller NYG – TE
6.08 Keenan Allen LAC – WR
6.09 Lamar Jackson BAL – QB
6.10 Calvin Ridley JAC – WR
MY PICK: Terry McLaurin
Most of the starting lineups in this mock are filled out at this point so we’ll see teams begin to draft based on needs and potentially passing on good players. That’s why I believe Terry McLaurin fell into my lap. The QB situation isn’t expected to be great in Washington this season but when was the last time that it was, “great” for Terry McLaurin?
Outside of games played by Taylor Heinicke, Washington has gotten far from even good QB play. McLaurin’s stats without Heinicke under center do take a dip. He averaged 68 yards per game in games without Heinicke since 2020 which isn’t great.
Even with that in mind, with McLaurin operating only as a flex, I’ll take the highs with the lows and play the matchup game. McLaurin, Chase, and Wilson give me a lethal top 3 WRs and give my team an identity and the flexibility to make a move for an RB or another position if I need to.
ROUND SEVEN
7.01 Trevor Lawrence JAC – QB
7.01 Christian Watson GB – WR
7.03 Justin Fields CHI – QB
7.04 Christian Kirk JAC – WR
7.05 DJ Moore CHI – WR
7.06 Dallas Goedert PHI – TE
7.07 Michael Pittman IND – WR
7.08 Justin Herbert LAC – QB
7.09 Jerry Jeudy DEN – WR
7.10 David Montgomery DET – RB
MY PICK: Dallas Goedert
This might go down as my favorite pick in the draft. Goedert is the last of the weekly starting quality TEs in my eyes, and if I missed on him it might be a position where I’d be forced to upgrade or play the hit-or-miss streaming game. In addition, Goedert paired with Hurts gives me a rare but effective QB-TE stack. I took a risk passing on Goedert and Darren Waller last round as the position got thin, but Goedert falling to me in round seven made for a no-doubter to round out my starting lineup.
ROUND EIGHT
8.01 Chris Godwin TB – WR
8.02 James Cook BUF – RB
8.03 Mike Williams LAC – WR
8.04 Drake London ATL – WR
8.05 Brandon Aiyuk SF – WR
8.06 Tyler Lockett SEA – WR
8.07 Marquise Brown ARI – WR
8.08 Treylon Burks TEN – WR
8.09 Jamaal Williams NO – RB
8.10 Jameson Williams DET – WR
MY PICK: Brandon Aiyuk
Continuing to build on the WR depth I’ve built early on, Bradon Aiyuk is a natural selection here. Aiyuk is one of my favorite WR sleepers and the upside he provides only adds more to my team’s strength. Additionally, by landing four of my favorite WRs in the draft, I can now focus on building the rest of my team while ignoring the WR position.
ROUND NINE
9.01 Mike Evans TB – WR
9.02 Diontae Johnson PIT – WR
9.03 George Pickens PIT – WR
9.04 AJ Dillon GB – RB
9.05 Brian Robinson Jr. WAS – RB
9.06 Alvin Kamara NO – RB
9.07 Jaxon Smith-Njigba SEA – WR
9.08 Jahan Dotson WAS – WR
9.09 Khalil Herbert CHI – RB
9.10 Antonio Gibson WAS – RB
MY PICK: Alvin Kamara
Here I start rounding out the rest of my bench based on who I have on my roster. I begin a personal run on RBs with the high-risk, high-reward pick of Alvin Kamara. Kamara might night return to his old form and even worse he may still find himself beginning the season suspended. Yet, with my earlier picks of Mattison and Pollard, I’m not reliant on Kamara. If he returns to top-10 RB form that’s a huge steal for me but I won’t be lost out of the gate if he doesn’t.
ROUND TEN
10.01 Kadarius Toney KC – WR
10.02 Samaje Perine DEN – RB
10.03 Rashaad Penny PHI – RB
10.04 Jordan Addison MIN – WR
10.05 Damien Harris BUF – RB
10.06 Courtland Sutton DEN – WR
10.07 Tua Tagovailoa MIA – QB
10.08 Elijah Mitchell SF – RB
10.09 Gabe Davis BUF – WR
10.10 Tyler Allgeier ATL – RB
MY PICK: Damien Harris
The mini-run of RBs continues in my mock draft with a lower upside but lower risk pick. Harris isn’t facing a suspension, but unlike Kamara, doesn’t present top-10 upside even if the stars align. Harris is my safety net should Pollard or Mattison go down with an early season injury, or if Kamara does indeed get suspended. I know I have a warm body I can play with the hopes of vulturing a TD or two on a talented Bills offense.
STARTING LINEUP
QB – Jalen Hurts
RB – Tony Pollard, Alexander Mattison
WR – Ja’Marr Chase, Garrett Wilson
TE – Dallas Goedert
FLEX – Terry McLaurin
Bench: Brandon Aiyuk, Alvin Kamara, Damien Harris, Zach Charbonnet (11.06), Jeff Wilson Jr. (12.05) Aaron Rodgers (13.06)
Mock Draft 1.0 CONCLUSION
Bold moves early complimented with numerous late-round bets give me a lot of confidence with this roster.
I’ve landed the best WR core in the league with Chase and Wilson as a set-it and forget-it starter duo and Terry McLaurin and Brandon Aiyuk playing in the flex spot depending on who has the friendlier matchup.
Hurts and Goedert provide a powerful QB/TE stack, and Hurts is one of the premiere fantasy QBs from whom I can regularly expect big outputs.
My RBs are certainly the weakness of the team if you view the glass as half empty. That being said Pollard and Mattison will both get a ton of volume and should be reliable. I built in an insurance policy late in the draft by taking RBs four rounds in a row. Not all of them will stick around on the roster but multiple lottery tickets offer higher odds of one of them being a diamond in the rough.
That doesn’t mean this team is certainly perfect. Not every risk paid off with a couple of just missed opportunities in rounds two and five.
For more great rankings and analysis, make sure to check out our 2023 Fantasy Football Draft Kit!
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— Lisa Ann (@thereallisaann) May 6, 2023