With nearly a third of the 2023 regular season in the books, there are some Fantasy Football managers riding high, while others are the butt end of jokes from league mates. Back in the summer when drafts were going on, it was a crapshoot to know how things would turn out.
Injuries have played a huge part in taking out some of the top picks of drafts. Ineffective offenses have played a part in others, making what looked like the perfect draft strategy at the time into a mess.
What would have been the perfect draft outcome? Scott Pianowski of Yahoo! Sports broke down how a perfect, 12-team draft would unfold today. He used the No. 8 spot in the draft to select from and got things started with Atlanta Falcons running back, Bijan Robinson.
At that spot in the draft, other guys such as Saquon Barkley, Austin Ekeler, and Nick Chubb were being picked. All three have missed multiple games, with Chubb being sidelined for the season.
Robinson an elite dual-threat playing in a run-heavy offense whose schedule is lightening up. Fantasy Football managers who snagged him to anchor their teams are feeling good right about now. In the second round, the perfect pick would have been Davante Adams of the Las Vegas Raiders.
Adams remains an elite WR1 in Fantasy Football despite the Raiders being shaky this season. An injury to Jimmy Garoppolo and sometimes inefficient offense has been unable to slow Adams down.
A realistic pairing with Adams at wide receiver is Keenan Allen of the Los Angeles Chargers. Allen has been incredible, fitting well in Kellen Moore’s new offense. Health has been important as he fills the role CeeDee Lamb did in years past when Moore was with the Dallas Cowboys.
Using a three-wide receiver roster alignment, the fourth pick for this team is another pass catcher, D.J. Moore of the Chicago Bears. He has exploded the last two weeks with Justin Fields hitting his stride for historic Fantasy Football outputs. Over the last four weeks, he has been WR1 as he is taking to his new surroundings.
With the fifth pick, Pianowski landed his second running back; Breece Hall of the New York Jets. With his restrictions lifted in Week 5, Hall responded with a monster game against the Denver Broncos. He has RB1 potential for the remainder of the season even with some upside being capped because of Aaron Rodgers’ injury.
The next pick fills out the tight end spot, landing George Kittle of the San Francisco 49ers. No one has figured out how to slow down Kyle Shanahan’s offense led by Brock Purdy and Kittle has been productive.
Another option for that spot in the draft is David Montgomery, who has a stranglehold on the Detroit Lions’ lead back role. People who waited in Fantasy Football to land a tight end were likely fortunate enough to come away with Montgomery’s teammate Sam LaPorta, who has been putting up record numbers for a rookie tight end.
Still needing a starting quarterback, that void is filled with pick No. 80 as Tua Tagovailoa of the Miami Dolphins comes off the board. Fortunately, he has remained healthy after head injuries derailed his 2022 campaign and he has been as productive as ever. Everyone from this Dolphins’ offense has been money for Fantasy Football owners in 2023, except for Jaylen Waddle who has yet to heat up.
Looking to start filling out the flex and bench spots, Carolina Panthers wide receiver Adam Thielen and Houston Texans wide receiver Nico Collins are next off the board. Thielen is the go-to target for No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young, while Collins is enjoying the veteran-like presence C.J. Stroud has brought to Houston.
Rounding out this hindsight draft, we head back to Miami. Selecting either of their running backs, Raheem Moster or De’Von Achane would be the call with pick No. 113. Both have been magnificent this season with the only deterrent being Achane being placed on IR this week. Those two ended any speculation of the Dolphins needing running back help and have been carrying Fantasy Football teams across the interwebs.
