• Multiple wide receiver options available in the first round: Cooper Kupp and Tyreek Hill highlight the best options in the first round to give a fantasy football team a solid foundation.
• Add two top-10 running backs: Great running back options should be available both near the end of the second round and near the start of the third, making running back a strength of this team.
• Fantasy draft approaching? Use PFF’s AI-powered Live Draft Assistant to win the draft and dominate your 2023 fantasy football league.
Estimated reading time: 15 minutes
The perfect 2023 fantasy football draft series combines current average draft positions from expert and casual drafts to see which players should be available at each pick, and then we make the best picks given that information.
To try out a draft strategy for specific picks in different league sizes, check out our new mock draft simulator. For help in other formats, rankings or for more details about the players, check out the rest of my summer content below.
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Breakouts: Top-5 | QB | RB | WR | TE
Position Draft Strategy: QB | RB | WR | TE
16-Team Draft Strategy: Overall strategy
14-Team Draft Strategy: Overall strategy
12-Team Draft Strategy: Overall strategy | Picks 1-3 | Picks 4-6 | Picks 7-9 | Picks 10-12
10-Team Draft Strategy: Overall strategy | Picks 1-3 | Picks 4-7 | Picks 8-10
Preseason Recaps: Week 3 | Week 2 | Week 1 | Hall of Fame Game
Last updated: 7:15 a.m., Saturday, September 2
Round 1, Picks 4-6: Draft a wide receiver
There are plenty of options to pick from. There is also the possibility that Christian McCaffrey, Austin Ekeler, one of the top-tier wide receivers or Travis Kelce falls.
This is the only time someone can consider Kelce, but there is more value in targeting the position later on. It can often be good to consider a quarterback in Round 2, but a quarterback can also be found at a good value later.
Drafting a wide receiver allows a team to start with two running backs and a wide receiver without worrying about the other positions, and the best way to add that combination is by starting at wide receiver.
Top Target: Cooper Kupp
Kupp will be looking to rebound after missing the second half of the 2022 season with an ankle injury.
- At full health, he's been the best wide receiver in fantasy football for the last two seasons. He’s averaged 106.1 yards, 0.85 touchdowns and 24.65 PPR points per game in that time.
- It will be a little more difficult for Kupp to score this season. The other receiving options aren’t as strong, the Rams' offensive line is a work in progress and the team's defense lost key members.
- Usually, that combination could lead to increased targets for a wide receiver, but it will be harder for Kupp’s target share to be much higher than it has been.
- Kupp recently turned 30, while his quarterback, Matthew Stafford, is 35.
- He would ordinarily be at No. 1 by a distance, but all the factors potentially working against him this season drag him down to No. 3.
Possible Targets: Tyreek Hill, Stefon Diggs, CeeDee Lamb, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Davante Adams
Round 2, Picks 19-21: Draft a quarterback or wide receiver
The options here are between an elite quarterback and a top wide receiver. If one of the elite wide receivers falls, it’s worth picking him. However, the chances are that the best receivers will all be gone and a top-three quarterback will remain.
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