We have a brand new season of fantasy football on the horizon for 2023. After a wild NFL offseason and draft cycle, the dust has settled and we have a shifting NFL landscape that appears ripe for the picking for fantasy.
The attack plan for fantasy titles starts with the early rounds of your drafts. These early selections will build the backbone of your teams and influence how you approach the rest of your draft. Regardless of whether you love RB heavy, Zero RB, or somewhere in between, I’ve outlined my approach and targets for the late rounds and they can be tailored to fit any fantasy palate. Enjoy, and let’s have a banner year.
- More Fantasy Football Advice
- Snake Draft Pick Strategy: Early | Middle | Late
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DBro’s Final Round Draft Picks
*All data utilized in this article courtesy of FantasyPros, PFF, Football Outsiders, and Playerprofiler.com unless otherwise specified.*
DeWayne McBride: With Dalvin Cook out of Minnesota, don’t rule out McBride stealing the early down role away from Alexander Mattison by the end of the season. Mattison is the biggest hurdle McBride has to jump to grab the role, but Mattison isn’t insurmountable. His per-carry efficiency has been dropping since he hit the league. His yards after contact per attempt and breakaway percentage have dropped in each of his four seasons in the NFL. In 2022, Mattison ranked 41st in yards after contact per attempt and 60th in breakaway percentage among 61 rushers with at least 70 rushing attempts (per PFF). On paper, McBride is one of the best tackle-breaking backs from this draft class. Over the last two years in college, McBride has ranked top-12 in yards after contact per attempt, breakaway rate, and PFF’s elusive rating (minimum 100 carries). Mattison feels like a classic dead zone back that I’m ok with heavily fading this year, especially with McBride as a late-round option.
Rashid Shaheed: Rashid Shaheed quietly had one of the most impressive rookie seasons of 2023. While his 488 receiving yards and two scores won’t perk up many eyebrows, I love Shaheed in 2023 in all formats. After earning at least a 60% route per dropback rate last year, Shaheed was an impact player with three top-36 wide receiver weeks over his final seven games. In 2022, Shaheed ranked fourth in yards per route run and 22nd in PFF receiving grade (minimum 30 targets, per PFF). Those numbers jump off the page. If Michael Thomas can’t make it back on the field at this point in his career, Shaheed could finish second in targets on the Saints in 2023.
Puka Nacua: I don’t normally have a heavy infatuation with a wide receiver taken in the fifth round of the NFL Draft, but I do for Puka Nacua. I won’t apologize for falling head over heels for a wide receiver that you can easily draft with your final pick in best ball and redraft that ranked second and sixth in yards per route run over the last two years (minimum 50 targets, per PFF). Nacua has highlight-reel body control and strong mitts. Last year, he ranked 17th in contested catch rate (minimum ten contested targets, per PFF). Nacua has a fairly easy path to playing time this season, with only Ben Skowronek and Tutu Atwell ahead of him to start camp. He could get some Robert Woods-esque handoffs this year after amassing 357 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns at BYU. Nacua is a smash pick.
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