It’s mock draft season, and startups are right around the corner. The best thing you can do is mock draft before drafting, no matter how long you have been playing. Mock drafts allow you to get a free practice run, try different builds, and get an idea of player value.
We will be doing mock drafts every week during the offseason; make sure you join our discord channel. The mock drafts will be for startups and rookie drafts.
In this mock draft, we did a 12-team startup with a Superflex format. This was a slow draft, and we added kickers in place of the rookie picks.
Some people do the rookie picks after the draft, so we decided to add them in. Sleeper recently did add the 2023 rookies, and I went back and added them in.
During the draft, we drafted the rookies as we were drafting. The hope here is to get an early idea of where player values are as well as where the rookie picks fall in. Let’s take a look at the draft.
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2023 Superflex Mock Draft – Dynasty Startup
Rookie Mock Draft Results
1.01 – RB, Bijan Robinson – Texas
1.02 – QB, Bryce Young – Alabama
1.03 – QB, C.J. Stroud – Ohio State
1.04 – WR, Jaxon Smith-Njigba – Ohio State
1.05 – RB, Jahmyr Gibbs – Alabama
1.06 – RB, Zach Evans – Ole Miss
1.07 – RB, Sean Tucker – Syracuse
1.08 – RB, Tank Bigsby – Auburn
1.09 – WR, Quentin Johnston – TCU
1.10 – WR, Jordan Addison – USC
1.11 – WR, Josh Downs – North Carolina
1.12 – RB, Zach Charbonnet – UCLA
2.01 – RB, Kendre Miller – TCU
2.02 – WR, Jalin Hyatt – Tennessee
2.03 – RB, Israel Abanikanda – Pittsburgh
2.04 – QB, Will Levis – Kentucky
2.05 – WR, Kayshon Boutte – LSU
2.06 – RB, Tyjae Spears – Tulane
2.07 – TE, Michael Mayer – Notre Dame
2.08 – QB, Anthony Richardson – Florida
2.09 – RB, Devon Achane – Texas A&M
2.10 – WR, Zay Flowers – Boston College
2.11 – QB, Hendon Hooker – Tennesee
2.12 – WR, Rashee Rice – SMU
Reactions
No surprise at the top, Bijan Robinson is still king, even in Superflex. The hype on this class has really died down a bit from last year. Last year this was said to be the next big class, and almost the opposite for the 2023 class. There are still outstanding players, but the confidence levels in some have dipped.
It was interesting to see these rookies paired up next to the 2022 players to see where they would go. You can see how they matched and how Robinson was the clear-cut top of both classes.
But Olave, Wilson, Walker, and Hall are all holding really high value. Other players like Drake London, George Pickens, Jameson Williams, and Christian Watson all have very high value in comparison to the 2023 picks.
Another thing that I would notice is that people should have drafted more picks. There is no way that you could trade some of these players in the range that the picks were drafted.
This is a mock; you will see it similar in your drafts if you include startup picks. I like using this as a guide to help construct trades in my other leagues. Knowing that 2.02 went near a few players tells me that is the cost.
Top 12 Quarterbacks
1.01 – Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
1.02 – Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
1.03 – Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles
1.04 – Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers
1.05 – Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals
1.07 – Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
1.09 – Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals
1.10 – Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars
1.12 – Justin Fields, Chicago Bears
2.01 – Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
3.06 – Deshaun Watson, Cleveland Browns
3.11 – Trey Lance, San Francisco 49ers
Reactions
This was a very interesting year for Superflex due to all of the injuries. We saw over 70 quarterbacks start a game, and the confidence level for a lot of the 2022 starters is up in the air.
There are already rumors that Rodgers and Carr will be traded. We don’t know for sure what is going on in San Francisco, or at least the guy drafting Lance at QB12 doesn’t.
Lamar Jackson, Daniel Jones, and Geno Smith are all free agents. The Commanders are expected to release Carson Wentz. Ryan Tannehill’s future has some question marks.
This is going to be a wild offseason, and QBs 11-24 will be very interesting all year. If you don’t get some of these top guys in your draft, you will be carrying a lot of risks. The rookies could save us, but the confidence level in them, based on the picks, is not high either.
Top 12 Running Backs
2.03 – Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Colts
2.04 – Breece Hall, New York Jets
2.08 – Bijan Robinson, TBD
2.09 – Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers
2.12 – Travis Etienne, Jacksonville Jaguars
3.02 – D’Andre Swift, Detroit Lions
3.05 – Ken Walker III, Seattle Seahawks
3.07 – Joe Mixon, Cincinnati Bengals
3.08 – Saquon Barkley, New York Giants
3.09 – Javonte Williams, Denver Broncos
4.06 – Austin Ekeler, Los Angeles Chargers
4.10 – Najee Harris, Pittsburgh Steelers
Reactions
This was a surprise, and I think if this draft were today would be different. Bijan is the RB1 everywhere else, but here he went, RB3. You could trade 1.01 for Breece Hall or JT, plus more from what I am seeing.
D’Andre Swift still maintains top value despite being disappointing again. Great to see Walker and Hall in the top 8, a lot of youth at the top.
Ekeler and McCaffrey are the elder statesmen in this group and still show trade value. No quarterbacks in the first round are something to note, but this is Superflex.
Top 12 Wide Receivers
1.06 – Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings
1.08 – Ja’Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals
1.11 – CeeDee Lamb, Dallas Cowboys
2.02 – A.J. Brown, Philadelphia Eagles
2.05 – Jaylen Waddle, Miami Dolphins
2.10 – Tee Higgins, Cincinnati Bengals
2.11 – Tyreek Hill, Miami Dolphins
3.01 – Garrett Wilson, New York Jets
3.03 – Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions
3.04 – D.K. Metcalf, Seattle Seahawks
3.10 – Drake London, Atlanta Falcons
3.12 – Chris Olave, New Orleans Saints
Reactions
Not one, but three 2022 rookie wide receivers in the top 12 are great to see. This class got a lot of hate, and they are now getting a lot of love.
Two Dolphins drafted in the top seven shows there should be confidence in Tua, but he was not drafted in the top 12 quarterbacks.
That situation will be one to watch all off-season. Also, will Waddle rebound from a bad second half of the season? His targets and opportunities went down quite a bit when this offense slowed down.
None of the 2023 rookie WRs made this grouping. These top 12 are all about youth. Seeing Diggs and Adams outside of the top 12 will become the norm.
Top 12 Tight Ends
2.06 – Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens
2.07 – Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons
4.05 – Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
4.12 – George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers
5.05 – T.J. Hockenson, Minnesota Vikings
6.02 – Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles
7.02 – Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers
7.04 – Dalton Schultz, Dallas Cowboys
8.03 – Cole Kmet, Chicago Bears
10.01 – David Njoku, Cleveland Browns
10.03 – Evan Engram, Jacksonville Jaguars
11.06 – Darren Waller, Las Vegas Raiders
12.02 – Greg Dulcich, Denver Broncos
Reactions
Travis Kelce in the 4th is a steal, even with his age. I love the value of Hockenson in the 5th and Dulcich in the 12th. This group has a clear king at the top and down the stretch and had some solid performers.
Next year will be interesting to see what happens with free agents Schultz and Engram. A change at quarterback will help Kyle Pitts, we hope.
