Fantasy Football 2023: PPR Cheatsheet and Mock Draft Strategy

It’s that time, fantasy fans. The Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions will kick off the 2023 NFL season next Thursday, meaning this is the final weekend to conduct season-long fantasy drafts.

With the preseason in the rear view, managers should have a good idea of how rosters are shaping up and what roles some of the league’s biggest stars are set to fill. That’s a huge part of the equation, but it never hurts to do a little last-minute draft prep.

One great strategy involves creating a personalized big board based on the overall draft landscape, the latest intel and, of course, the players you like most.

Running a few mock drafts with a tool like FantasyPros’ Mock Draft Simulator can help. Not only can it paint a picture of how players are being valued, but it can also show if certain draft plans are viable.

Here, we’ll run through a two-round mock draft, examine some tips and tricks for getting the most out of a post-preseason mock and dive into our latest point-per-reception (PPR) rankings.

Round 1

1. Ja’Marr Chase, WR, Cincinnati Bengals

2. Justin Jefferson, WR, Minnesota Vikings

3. Christian McCaffrey, RB, San Francisco 49ers

4. Austin Ekeler, RB, Los Angeles Chargers

5. Cooper Kupp, WR, Los Angeles Rams

6. Bijan Robinson, RB, Atlanta Falcons

7. Tyreek Hill, WR, Miami Dolphins

8. CeeDee Lamb, WR, Dallas Cowboys

9. Stefon Diggs, WR, Buffalo Bills

10. Travis Kelce, TE, Kansas City Chiefs

11. Tony Pollard, RB, Dallas Cowboys

12. Davante Adams, WR, Las Vegas Raiders

Round 2

1. Saquon Barkley, RB, New York Giants

2. A.J. Brown, WR, Philadelphia Eagles

3. Nick Chubb, RB, Cleveland Browns

4. Jaylen Waddle, WR, Miami Dolphins

5. Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR, Detroit Lions

6. Garrett Wilson, WR, New York Jets

7. Derrick Henry, RB, Tennessee Titans

8. Josh Jacobs, RB, Las Vegas Raiders

9. Chris Olave, WR, New Orleans Saints

10. DeVonta Smith, WR, Philadelphia Eagles

11. Keenan Allen, WR, Los Angeles Chargers

12. Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City Chiefs

Prep for the Prep

When eyeing mock drafts as a preparation tool, it’s important to have a plan. Before diving into your first mock, make sure to familiarize yourself with your league’s scoring parameters and roster guidelines.

The vast majority of mock draft apps allow managers to customize settings before setting the clock. By having settings that match those you’ll use in your real-world league, you can get a more accurate picture of player values and how different strategies work.

Start with a preliminary draft board, have a notepad handy, and monitor where players are going if a particular strategy isn’t landing.

Try Different Approaches

Running a single mock draft won’t provide much value unless you’re brand new to fantasy and need to understand the timing and the nuances of drafting. By running multiple mocks, you can learn if, say, Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Pollard is consistently going in Round 1 or if one draft was an outlier.

Taking scoring and roster settings into account, try different approaches to your mock drafts. If you’re in a three-WR league, it can be worth kicking off a mock with Justin Jefferson, Garrett Wilson and Mike Williams. If you try a three-receiver start a few times and are constantly left without a viable starting RB, however, it may be time to try a different strategy.

Make a note of which approaches seem to yield well-rounded rosters. Keep a couple of them in your back pocket, and be prepared to pivot between them on draft day.

Create Tiered Rankings

Basic draft rankings are a nice starting point, but every manager should have a more personalized list that takes factors like preferred draft targets, mock-draft trends and tiered value into account.

The basic concept of a tiered system is to identify groups of players with equal value and target those groups instead of individual players.

If, for example, Pollard, Derick Henry, Nick Chubb and Josh Jacobs make up your second tier of RBs, landing any one of them in Round 2 should be acceptable—if that’s where you plan to find a running back. If two of them are available at the bottom of Round 2, and you believe you can land one early in Round 3, it may be better to pivot to a Tier-2 receiver and try coming back to for an RB.

Mock draft trends—Henry consistently going in Round 2, for example—can help with the tier-making process.

Incorporate the Latest Information

Mock drafts can paint a fairly accurate picture of draft trends because they typically utilize consensus rankings from a variety of sources. However, they’re not perfect. Some sources may not be up-to-date, which can skew mocks.

Jacobs, for example, may be going later in mocks than he will in your real-world draft. His value took a hit during his offseason holdout, but the reigning rushing champ and 2022 scrimmage-yard leader is back with the Las Vegas Raiders and ready to go.

“I came in and it didn’t feel like I missed a step,” Jacobs said, per ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez.

Spend a few minutes before each mock studying depth charts and checking the new wire, take mock results with a grain of salt and adjust your rankings accordingly.

Quarterback

1. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs

2. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills

3. Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles

4. Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals

5. Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens

6. Justin Fields, Chicago Bears

7. Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers

8. Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars

9. Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys

10. Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins

11. Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks

12. Kirk Cousins, Minnesota Vikings

13. Daniel Jones, New York Giants

14. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers

15. Deshaun Watson, Cleveland Browns

Running Back

1. Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers

2. Austin Ekeler, Los Angeles Chargers

3. Saquon Barkley, New York Giants

4. Tony Pollard, Dallas Cowboys

5. Bijan Robinson, Atlanta Falcons

6. Josh Jacobs, Las Vegas Raiders

7. Derrick Henry, Tennessee Titans

8. Nick Chubb, Cleveland Browns

9. Rhamondre Stevenson, New England Patriots

10. Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit Lions

11. Najee Harris, Pittsburgh Steelers

12. Joe Mixon, Cincinnati Bengals

13. Aaron Jones, Green Bay Packers

14. Travis Etienne Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars

15. Kenneth Walker III, Seattle Seahawks

16. Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Colts

17. Breece Hall, New York Jets

18. James Conner, Arizona Cardinals

19. J.K. Dobbins, Baltimore Ravens

20. Dameon Pierce, Houston Texans

Wide Receiver

1. Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings

2. Ja’Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals

3. Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams

4. Tyreek Hill, Miami Dolphins

5. CeeDee Lamb, Dallas Cowboys

6. Stefon Diggs, Buffalo Bills

7. Davante Adams, Las Vegas Raiders

8. Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions

9. A.J. Brown, Philadelphia Eagles

10. Jaylen Waddle, Miami Dolphins

11. Garrett Wilson, New York Jets

12. DeVonta Smith, Philadelphia Eagles

13. Keenan Allen, Los Angeles Chargers

14. Tee Higgins, Cincinnati Bengals

15. Chris Olave, New Orleans Saints

16. DK Metcalf, Seattle Seahawks

17. Amari Cooper, Cleveland Browns

18. Calvin Ridley, Jacksonville Jaguars

19. D.J. Moore, Chicago Bears

20. Chris Godwin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tight End

1. Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs

2. Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens

3. T.J. Hockenson, Minnesota Vikings

4. George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers

5. Darren Waller, New York Giants

6. Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons

7. Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles

8. Evan Engram, Houston Texans

9. Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers

10. Tyler Higbee, Los Angeles Rams

11. Dalton Schultz, Houston Texans

12. Chigoziem Okonkwo, Tennessee Titans

13. Cole Kmet, Chicago Bears

14. David Njoku, Cleveland Browns

15. Gerald Everett, Los Angeles Chargers