2023 Dynasty Football Rookie Mock Draft: Bijan Robinson, Jahmyr Gibbs Lead The Way!
With the 2023 NFL Draft completed dynasty rookie drafts are taking place in full force. This is our first rookie mock draft of the season. We drafted one round and based this on a single-quarterback format.
2023 Dynasty Rookie Mock Draft
1 RB Bijan Robinson, Atlanta Falcons
The first overall pick in this draft is an easy one. Robinson will be overwhelmingly the consensus top rookie pick in all formats this year. He is the top running back prospect since Saquon Barkley and could very well be better. It will be rare this season that you see anyone else going in this spot.
2 RB Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit Lions
Not many running backs get drafted in the first round, especially in the top 12. So, you have to imagine the Lions have big plans for Gibbs. After they traded away D'Andre Swift it became abundantly clear that they were all in on Gibbs and he shot up the rankings. These top backs are key building blocks and he has to be the second pick in this mock draft.
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3 QB Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis Colts
We know this pick is contrary to most of the content we have put out this draft season. No, we don't suddenly believe in Richardson and think he'll be great. However, there is no denying he has the most upside of any quarterback in this rookie class. He legitimately has the potential to be the next Cam Newton, Lamar Jackson, or Jalen Hurts. His size and speed combination is rare and he has a cannon on his shoulder. Whether or not he can put it all together is a whole other question, but he's worth the risk here.
He also ended up with the best landing spot. Despite being a project quarterback, odds are we will see him starting sooner rather than later this season. It's just the nature of the league when a guy is picked this high. Of the first-round QBs in 2023, he will be gifted the best offensive line and the best weapons as well. The Colts' offensive line is just a year removed from being considered elite and he will be out there with Michael Pittman and Jonathan Taylor. Richardson has to be the top QB off the board.
4 WR Zay Flowers, Baltimore Ravens
This pick is similar to the previous pick. While we may not be all in on Flowers as a player he clearly has the most upside in this group of rookie wideouts. You could be getting a young Tyreek Hill type of game-breaking player. This kid is that dynamic. Of all the first-round rookie wideouts in this draft, he is also the only guy who has a legitimate shot to be his team's WR1 this season. He is only contending with Rashod Bateman who has struggled to stay healthy so far in his career and has underwhelmed when he's out there, and an old Odell Beckham Jr. who is on the wrong side of 30, apparently may or may not have an ACL, and has been a true WR1 in about half of a decade. There will be plenty of debate over who the top wideout in this draft should be, but we are swinging for the fences.
5 WR Quentin Johnston, Los Angeles Chargers
This is probably going to be one of our more controversial picks going with Johnston over JSN. We graded him out as our top wide receiver in this draft, and we'd rather go with the player who if successful will be linked with Justin Herbert for the next decade over a guy who could be linked to Geno Smith for a few years and then whoever the Seahawks end up with after that. Many will disagree here but are rolling with our gut here and trusting ourselves on this pick.
6 WR Jaxson Smith-Njigba, Seattle Seahawks
Next, we have JSN who was the first wideout taken in the 2023 NFL Draft. He appears to be the eventual replacement for Tyler Lockett in the Seahawks' offense. There is no denying his talent and he's probably the safest receiver in this rookie class. Both the upside and floor are there for him, however, we do expect it to be at least a year before he has a chance at even being the WR2 in Seattle, and we aren't sure he'll be able to overtake D.K. Metcalf as true WR1 anytime soon.
7 QB Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers
Young is the safest and best QB in this draft. We do not expect him to be a bust based on his talent. His size does concern us though, and he doesn't have the upside of Richardson. We do like his landing spot long-term despite the current lack of support. That coaching staff will get it figured out down in Carolina even if it is a few-year process. We are nowhere near the finished product for the Panthers, but if Young can stay healthy he has the ability to be a very good starting QB in this league for a long time.
8 WR Rashee Rice, Kansas City Chiefs
Other than Flowers this is the one other guy who has a shot to be their team's WR1 this season, and it's with Patrick Mahomes. We graded him higher than wideouts drafted in the first round this season and we expect his stock to rise all summer. He is immediately the best wideout on the Chiefs' roster and is a better prospect than Skyy Moore was. Long-term he could become Mahomes' top weapon with Travis Kelce turning 34 this season.
9 TE Dalton Kincaid, Buffalo Bills
The Bills traded up to get Kincaid in this draft so they obviously have big plans for him despite still having Dawson Knox in the mix. He has big upside as a pass-catcher and sounds like he was the clear TE1 on most team's boards based on what we've heard since the draft. It's not too often a TE goes round one. Like just about every rookie TE, we do expect there to be a waiting period for success here, but hopefully, he is well worth the wait as the top TE in a loaded rookie class.
10 RB Zach Charbonnet, Seattle Seahawks
We are just going to trust the talent here. Landing on a team who just drafted Kenneth Walker last year isn't ideal, but we aren't going to let that discourage us away from the player we believe Charbonnet can be. Despite a solid rookie year from Walker, there is a real chance that Charbonnet is still the better of the two backs. While this backfield is going to be a mess to figure out in redrafts, we can't pass up on the talent here in dynasty.
11 QB C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans
Stroud is a very good quarterback, he just lacks the flair of the two QBs we drafted before him. He feels like a safe pick but without the massive upside. It doesn't help how little faith we have in the Texans to build a team around him either. They have shown us nothing to make us confident that they can successfully build around a young QB. This team seems to forever be in turmoil and it sounds like the issues start at the top and that's never a good thing.
12 WR Jordan Addison, Minnesota Vikings
We reluctantly take Addison with the last pick in the first round essentially based on draft capital. The Vikings drafted him in Round 1, so he will have every opportunity to succeed. However, we don't believe in the talent here and we already kind of regret going with him here, but this is the pick we eventually landed on.
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