Dynasty Rookie Mock Draft: Superflex, 5 Rounds (2023 Fantasy Football) (2024)

The 2023 NFL Draft is in the books. With the NFL Draft comes dynasty rookie draft season! We have you covered with our dynasty rookie draft coverage, and of course, you can complete fast and FREE dynasty rookie mock drafts using our mock draft simulator. While you take that simulator for a spin to prepare for your dynasty rookie mock drafts, check out our latest dynasty rookie mock and analysis from our analysts.

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Dynasty Rookie Mock Draft

1.08 – Quentin Johnston (WR – LAC)

Quentin Johnston has easy and immediate speed that jumps off the screen on film. Johnston is a RAC specialist. With his loose hips, he transitions from receiver to runner fluidly. His burst is automatic. His juice and his upper body strength make him a frustrating player for defenders to wrap up consistently. Johnston ranked 11th in missed tackles forced and sixth in YAC per reception last season (minimum 50 targets). Johnston has all the raw skills to fulfill his potential as a No. 1 option in a passing game as an X receiver. He still has plenty of development hurdles to cross to get there, though. Johnston isn’t a nuanced route runner. While his first step is explosive, allowing him to gain immediate separation on drive routes, he lacks the extra polish that could really make him shine. Johnston doesn’t consistently stack corners on nines. While he won in college by running by corners, that won’t be as easy in the NFL. He ran primarily comebacks, gos and crossers toward daylight at TCU. When he’s changing direction on posts and corners, he needs to do a better job selling the vertical stem. The same can be said for comebacks and curls. While Johnston can flip his hips easily, he needs to do a better job selling the vertical element. His jab steps are pronounced. His sloppiness with these routes allows corners to hang with him or close quickly. Johnston’s physicality after the catch doesn’t show up at the catch point. Considering his size, he needs to be stronger at the point of attack. He limped to 34.8% and 36.8% contested catch rates over the last two years. He also dealt with concentration drops at times.

Dynasty Outlook: Johnston is now tied to the rifle arm of Justin Herbert for the foreseeable future. That is not too shabby for a wide receiver that had been rumored to possibly fall out of the first round of the NFL Draft. The combination of the aging body of Keenan Allen and the brittle joints of Mike Williams (which combined for 23 games played last year) could leave Johnston as Herbert’s defacto No. 1 wide receiver at times in 2023. Even with those two veterans on the field, Johnston should immediately be the team’s field stretcher. Under new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, this could be a bountiful role in 2023. In Dak Prescott‘s two full seasons under Moore, he finished five and seventh in deep ball attempts. Last year at TCU, Johnston ranked 23rd in deep receiving yards and 13th in deep receiving touchdowns (per PFF, minimum ten deep targets). Johnston should be drafted somewhere in the company of this class’s three other first-round wide receivers. He should be a top-five selection in 1QB leagues and top-10 in Superflex formats.

2.08 – Rashee Rice (WR – KC)

Rashee Rice ranked ninth in yards per route run and seventh in PFF receiving grade last season (minimum 50 targets per PFF). He saw 64.2% of his target volume against zone, where he ranked first in yards per route run and PFF receiving grade (minimum 25 zone targets per PFF). Rice adjusts well to back shoulder balls and displays solid body control. He does have some concentration drops in traffic on film. His speed is more the build-up variety. Rice displays some inconsistencies gearing down on comebacks or curls, needing too many steps at times, or losing his balance. His short area separation is better on slants where he can use a good first step of the line and his size. Rice, far too often, lets cornerbacks get into his body and jam him up at the top of his stem.

Dynasty Outlook: Rice was among the few pleasant surprises of the Day 2 NFL Draft action. Yes, I remember my Skyy Moore love, a cautionary tale for fantasy gamers before they get too attached to Rice. However, Rice could fill the void that JuJu Smith-Schuster left in year one. Smith-Schuster’s calling card these days is his ability to beat zone coverage. This also is a strength of Rice as he ranked first in PFF’s receiving grade against zone and third in yards per route run against the coverage type last year (minimum 20 zone targets per PFF). We’ll see how his playing time shakes out in 2023, but he could be their starting slot receiver in Week 1. Marquez Valdes-Scantling will continue orchestrating his best Demarcus Robinson impression as a starter in Kansas City with his weekly cardio routes. After Valdes-Scantling, though, the two other starting spots are up for grabs, with Skyy Moore, Kadarius Toney, Rice, and likely Justin Watson all vying for snaps. Rice should be an early to mid-second-round rookie draft pick.

3.08 – Israel Abanikanda (RB – NYJ)

Isreal Abanikanda is a patient runner with an electric burst. When he sees a crease, he moves like lightning. He’s tailor-made for an outside-zone team. He’s a natural moving down the surveying for a hole or cutback lane. He sets up his blocks in the second level well before exploding to daylight. He’s a linear runner that has some hip tightness. He is likelier to spin move a defender to avoid a tackle than move laterally or jump-cut. Abanikanda has house call type of speed. Any touch can go for 50 yards if he gets a crease. He looks the part of a 4.3 speedster. His spindly lower half doesn’t lend itself to many broken tackles. He more than makes up for what he lacks in power in speed.

Dynasty Outlook: Abanikanda didn’t go early on Day 3 or Day 2 as many dynasty GMs had hoped with his stellar testing. He was drafted by the Jets in the fifth round and now slots in as the RB3/4 on this depth chart. After Breece Hall, the running back work for New York could get divided up in many ways. With the combination of landing spot and draft capital, Abanikanda has been reduced to a round-three dart throw in rookie drafts.

4.08 – Michael Wilson (WR – ARI)

Michael Wilson looks like a possession receiver who will see more targets against zone in the NFL. Wilson uncovers well with smooth hips. His issues come when he’s asked to gear down on curls and comebacks. His feet fail him, reflected in his 38th percentile 20-yard shuttle. When he’s tasked with running these routes, any separation he’s gained early in the route is eradicated at the top of his stem. An NFL team should look to deploy him on slants, outs and digs in close quarters and posts or corners deep where he can utilize his size and plus hips. Wilson struggles against man and press coverage. He lets corners into his body too easily. Once they get their hands on him, it’s over. He gets tied up easily at the line with more physical defensive backs. I’d say it’s fair to question his upper body strength considering the issues he displays on film, but with a 96th-percentile bench press; I don’t think raw strength is the problem. He needs to work on his hand-fighting technique to shake free. Wilson’s strong hands served him well at Stanford, with a 62% contested target catch rate. He’ll need them if he settles into a possession role over the middle in an NFL offense. He’s a tenacious, high-energy run blocker. He seeks out contact and has no problems setting the edge. Wilson will earn brownie points immediately for his dirty work in the run game.

Dynasty Outlook: Wilson was drafted in the third round to Arizona to compete for targets as the WR3/4 on the depth chart. With DeAndre Hopkins traded, Wilson could see the field in his rookie season. Wilson falls into the fourth-round dart throw bucket in rookie drafts. He’s worth getting some exposure to across your dynasty leagues, but he’s definitely not a priority pick in the later rounds.

5.08 – Charlie Jones (WR – CIN)

Charlie Jones is a dependable chain mover. He has the quickness to gain separation on quick hitters and offers a trusty set of mitts. Jones can chew up opposing secondaries underneath on slants and crossers. Jones offers little after the catch. He forced only two missed tackles beyond the line of scrimmage in 2022. He only managed 1.6-2.7 YAC per reception on short and medium-depth targets. Jones bounced around with Buffalo and Iowa before finding a home with Purdue in 2022. He refused to settle and flashed potential with his big final season. That never-quit attitude will serve him well with sticking with an NFL franchise as a depth receiver. His extensive resume as a returner (over 122 combined collegiate returns) will help him stick on a roster as he works his way up a receiver depth chart.

Dynasty Outlook: The former Purdue possession receiver is an older prospect (24.5) who gets to catch passes from Joe Burrow in the NFL. The Bengals selected him in the fourth round of the NFL Draft. Tyler Boyd is an unrestricted free agent after this season, so it’s possible Jones could be a starter next season if the team doesn’t bring in more talent in free agency or the draft. Jones is a final-round dice roll/taxi squad candidate.

Dynasty Rookie Mock Draft Results & Board

More Dynasty Rookie Mock Drafts

• Superflex, TE-Premium
• Superflex, 4 Rounds
• Superflex, 5 Rounds
• Superflex, 12-Team
• Superflex, 10-Team
• 12-Team, PPR, 3 Rounds
• 12-Team, PPR, 2 Rounds
• Superflex, 5 Rounds (Early Pick | Middle | Late)

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