2023 Fantasy Football Mock Draft: RotoGrinders NFL Experts Kick Off Round 1
The 2023 NFL season will be here in the blink of an eye! Do you know what that means? Fantasy football drafts, of course!
It’s amazing to reflect on the growth of the fantasy sports industry over the past couple of decades. It’s 2023 and fantasy football is as popular as ever. There are plenty of new platforms and game types, but nothing will ever truly replace a traditional re-draft league.
In just a few short weeks, some will be drafting in the backyard alongside family and friends with a half-barrel of domestic beer, a draft board with stickers, constant banter, and some Buffalo chicken dip staying warm in the crock pot.
Shout out to those keeping home leagues alive! There’s nothing better.
Final home league draft of the year
— Erik Beimfohr 🙌 (@erikbeimfohr) September 5, 2022
Shut down an old local bar in my hometown for an auction league
Got someone who comes in just to be the auctioneer
League started when I was in diapers & most fun draft of the year 🍻 pic.twitter.com/HphpTHxdBB
Others will be drafting in high-stakes leagues or competing in online draft lobbies across the country.
One thing is certain – you’ll have some competition wherever you’re drafting. According to a 2022 survey done by the Fantasy Sports & Gaming Association, an estimated 62.5 MILLION people were playing fantasy sports in the United States and Canada.
Remember the days of picking up a magazine in the grocery store and flipping through to the expert mock draft page? I’m still guilty of doing so. However, it’s 2023, and for the sake of modernization and accessibility, we’ve decided to host the first RotoGrinders expert NFL fantasy football mock draft online.
Our experts will be competing in a 12-team, PPR mock draft (traditional re-draft) on the Sleeper Fantasy app with an 8-hour timer. Stay tuned to RotoGrinders for round-by-round updates and analysis from the best in the business.
Editor’s note: Sleeper is your one-stop shop for season-long fantasy football and DFS pick’em. Use our Sleeper promo code when you download the app to get a $100 sign-up bonus for their new over/under prediction game!
Round One Fantasy Football Mock Draft Results
Pick 1 – Justin Jefferson (Derek Farnsworth)
Sleeper ADP: 1.9
“I’ll be honest- I’m not a best ball guy and usually only do one season-long draft every year. It’s my home league that I’ve done with friends for as long as I can remember. I typically don’t start my NFL research until August, so I was happy to get the first pick. Jefferson seems like the consensus No. 1 in PPR after finishing last season as the top-scoring receiver (even though he only scored eight touchdowns) and after winning the Offensive Player of the Year Award. The Vikings had one of the worst defenses in the NFL last season, and I’m not sure they’ve done enough to really improve on that front. This means the offense will have to score a lot of points, and naturally that’s good for Jefferson.” – Derek Farnsworth
Pick 2 – Christian McCaffrey (Andre Alford)
Sleeper ADP: 2.0
“In my opinion, Christian McCaffrey is easily the best fantasy play on the board to take at No 2. He should see 20-25 touches per game between rushing and receiving opportunities. He provides a lot of touchdown upside despite having Deebo Samuel and George Kittle as other red-zone options. CMC ranked first in target share, third in routes, and seventh in yards per reception (amongst RBs). Last year, he finished seventh in rushing yards, first in receiving yards, second in receptions, and third in total touchdowns amongst all running backs. He’s hard to pass up in PPR formats.” – Andre Alford
Pick 3 – Ja’Marr Chase (Keith Eyster)
Sleeper ADP: 3.0
“I knew I would be happy with the start of my draft after landing the three spot in the randomized order. I was totally fine with whomever of Justin Jefferson, Ja’Marr Chase, or Christian McCaffrey fell to me. Turns out Chase is the pick, who at just 23 years of age, has already established himself as one of the elite wideouts in the NFL. He is featured in one of the league’s top offenses (that happens to throw at an extremely high rate), and he has an elite QB throwing him the ball. He was actually second on my board, so I am happy to grab him here with the third pick.” – Keith Eyster
Pick 4 – Cooper Kupp (Erik Beimfohr)
“Kupp was just as dominant as ever last season prior to his injury. He was the WR2 through 9 weeks (behind Tyreek Hill), and he projects to continue to be right there as the most elite asset in fantasy, as both he and Matthew Stafford return to full health.” – Erik Beimfohr
Sleeper ADP: 6.2
Pick 5 – Tyreek Hill (Nick Galaida)
Sleeper ADP: 7.0
“In the first round, I target a player who has both a high floor and a top-tier ceiling – Tyreek Hill checks both of those boxes for me. In seven seasons, Hill has played at least 15 games six times. In 2022, Hill proved that he can be trusted, no matter who is throwing him the football, making him one of the safest picks on the board going into 2023.” – Nick Galaida
Pick 6 – Travis Kelce (Charlie Wright)
Sleeper ADP: 5.3
“Once you get past Jefferson/Chase/McCaffrey, it’s time to think about Kelce. He’s a unicorn tight end and offers an unrivaled advantage at the position. I considered Ekeler here, but I’m comfortable with the RBs available in rounds 2-4.”- Charlie Wright
Pick 7 – Austin Ekeler (Chris Prince)
Sleeper ADP: 4.4
“I love having a top-7 pick in drafts this season. I think there is a clear top 7, and you get the last of that top-tier picking at 1.07. I was thrilled to land Austin Ekeler, who should continue to be a PPR monster and can threaten CMC for RB1 this season. I’m expecting an explosive Chargers offense with new OC Kellen Moore in town, so anything Chargers is a strong investment strategy this draft season.” – Chris Prince
Pick 8 – A.J. Brown (Dean Shavelson)
Sleeper ADP: 13.7
Underdog ADP: 9
“Originally I was going to reach a little on Patrick Mahomes in the hopes of starting a mini quarterback run, but I pivoted to Brown with the thought of correlating him with Jalen Hurts. Have I mentioned that I really don’t like drafting out of the 8-hole?” – Dean Shavelson
A.J. Brown: “Whatever happened last year doesn’t matter…We gotta earn respect all over again…Everybody know what the goal is around here. We didn’t even got to speak on it.” 💯pic.twitter.com/vP5dQw522A
— SPORTSRADIO 94WIP (@SportsRadioWIP) July 26, 2023
Pick 9 – Stefon Diggs (Justin Carlucci)
Sleeper ADP: 8.9
“There seems to be a negative stigma following Diggs with the whole contract situation, but I’m with Josh Allen – I think his unhappiness is blown out of proportion. Diggs has been arguably the most consistent PPR WR since joining Buffalo, and there are plenty of paths for him to be the #1 scoring wide receiver any given year in a pass-happy offense with an all-world quarterback. Diggs tallied NINE PPR scoring weeks of 20+ points last season when compared to some of his ADP peers like A.J. Brown (four weeks of 20+) or Amon-Ra St. Brown (five weeks of 20+), who had a few monster spike weeks that helped their accumulative totals. I’m likely going to shoot for a running back in Round 2, as I like that possible group of players more than the WRs that could potentially be available then.” – Justin Carlucci
Pick 10 – Jonathan Taylor (Justin Van Zuiden)
Sleeper ADP: 11.7
“There’s definite bust potential for Taylor (especially in PPR with a first-round ADP), but he’s a guy that we know can handle 200 carries and score 15 touchdowns, and I’ll take that secure workload at the 10th pick over the unproven Bijan Robinson. I seriously considered Barkley over him though and feel like Barkley is probably the PPR choice if you want safety.” – Justin Van Zuiden
Pick 11 – Saquon Barkley (Kyle Murray)
Sleeper ADP: 10.7
“Saquon stands out as one of the few true bell cows left in the NFL. He was a volume king last year with no significant competition behind him, as Barkley accounted for 58% of the team’s carries and 16% of the targets. We saw his efficiency drop as the year went on with the team failing to have a true passing threat until later in the year, but I am optimistic we see better efficiency with a more productive pass game this season. With the contract talks resulting in a one-year deal, I’d expect the Giants to heavily rely on Barkley once again, and for him to have a chip on his shoulder for this upcoming season.” – Kyle Murray
Pick 12 – Bijan Robinson (TJ Zwarych)
Sleeper ADP: 8.5
“While I wouldn’t be taking him early in the first few picks, Bijan Robinson is a player that needs to be taken in the first round regardless of if your league is PPR or standard scoring. He’s going to be Atlanta’s top offensive threat this year, and even if the team is playing from behind frequently, the talented rookie is expected to be heavily involved in the passing game. If he slips to the end of Round 1 or early Round 2, don’t let him pass you by.” – TJ Zwarych