2023 FGT Fantasy Football Mock Draft – Rounds 3 & 4

By the Football Garbage Time Staff

As I mention every year, we here at Football Garbage Time are all about helping out our readers.  And the 2023 season is just around the corner in September, so we all know what that means…the FANTASY FOOTBALL season is ALSO around the corner in September!

So as everyone gets ready to root for their favorite NFL team and commit entire Sunday afternoons to eating tons of junk food and yelling at the TV screen when refs inevitably make yet another bad call on the field, some of us, including you I suspect, will be furiously tinkering with our fantasy football lineups and eventually wondering why the fantasy gods hate us when we end up losing by 0.01 fantasy points because Jalen Hurts took one too many knees at the end of the game.  Phew, that was a ridiculously long sentence.

Say what you will about whether Fantasy Football is “good” for the NFL or not.  One thing we all agree on here is that playing Fantasy Football is a lot of fun…but much more so if you’re winning.😎

So, as we do every year, we’re conducting a live Mock Fantasy Football Draft on Twitter (just check out #FGTMockDraft) for a mock PPR standard scoring Yahoo 10-team league (1 QB, 2 RBs, 3 WRs, 1 TE, 1 Non-QB FLEX, 1 K & 1 DEF) so that all of you can get some insight as to who we like for the upcoming 2023 season, and hopefully help all of you with your drafts.

This year, ten different writers & podcasters from five different sites participated, including:

Each one took part in a mock draft live over several weeks on Twitter, so check that out on Twitter by searching for #FGTMockDraft!  What trends and surprises did we see?

Last time we gave you the results of Rounds 1 and 2 along with some comments from those who made the picks, and now we’re back with Rounds 3 and 4!  We also include the Expert Consensus Ranking (ECR) for PPR leagues as of August 2, 2023 as per Fantasy Pros so you can see how we differ from how other experts have ranked them for PPR leagues.

Don’t forget to also check back for our Rounds 5 & 6 Picks!

Don’t agree?  Well, it’s a free country, so sound off in the comments!

– Ha Kung Wong, Editor-In-Chief

Joanne Kong

3rd Round – Pick 21 – Justin Fields (QB) [Current ECR: 52]

4th Round – Pick 40 – Pat Freiermuth (TE) [Current ECR: 98]

This is what Joanne had to say about her picks:

Justin Fields has done nothing but improve since being drafted 11th overall in the 2021 NFL draft. In 2021, Fields had 58.9% completion, 1,870 passing yards and 7 touchdowns. In 2022, even with being sacked 55 times, Fields managed to improve to a 60.4% completion, 2,242 passing yards and 17 touchdowns.

Although Fields ran for over 1,000 yards last season, great news for fantasy owners, only some of it was design as most of it was simply scrambling for his life behind a subpar offensive line. During the off-season, the Chicago Bears signed right guard Nate Davis and drafted right tackle Darnell White in round one, hopefully giving Fields more protection in the pocket. The Chicago Bears also added some weapons to the offense, including wideout DJ Moore, running back D’Onta Foreman from Carolina and tight end Robert Tonyan from Green Bay.

Fields trajectory can only go up with the Bears newest additions on offense and defense.

2023 will be Pat Freiermuth’s 3rd season. Freiermuth might see less targets when rookie tight end Darnell Washington is on the field, but that doesn’t make him any less a TE1. Freiermuth had 732 receiving yards in 2022, but only 2 touchdowns. In the upcoming season, “Muth” is predicted to double his endzone scoring with Kenny Pickett behind center as part of an improved scoring offense that also include Diontae Johnson, George Pickens and Allen Robinson II.

Scott King

3rd Round – Pick 22 – Aaron Jones (RB) [Current ECR: 40]

4th Round – Pick 39 – Joe Mixon (RB) [Current ECR: 34]

This is what Scott had to say about his picks:

After going QB/WR in the first two rounds I decided to go RB/RB in 3-4. I grabbed Aaron Jones in the 3rd. I think the Packers will be run heavy and Jones will see a lot of action, even with Dillion. That being said, you need to handcuff him if you land Jones. I grabbed Mixon in the 4th, there’s a lot of hate on Mixon but I think he will still produce in that offense.

Aaron Jones Rushing & Receiving Stats
Game Rush Rush Rush Rush Rush Rece Rece Rece Rece Rece Rece
Year G Att Yds TD Y/G A/G Tgt Rec Yds TD Y/G Ctch% Fmb
2017 12 81 448 4 37.3 6.8 18 9 22 0 1.8 50.0% 0
2018 12 133 728 8 60.7 11.1 35 26 206 1 17.2 74.3% 1
2019 16 236 1084 16 67.8 14.8 68 49 474 3 29.6 72.1% 3
2020* 14 201 1104 9 78.9 14.4 63 47 355 2 25.4 74.6% 2
2021 15 171 799 4 53.3 11.4 65 52 391 6 26.1 80.0% 2
2022 17 213 1121 2 65.9 12.5 72 59 395 5 23.2 81.9% 5
Care 86 1035 5284 43 61.4 12.0 321 242 1843 17 21.4 75.4% 13

Dan Thury

3rd Round – Pick 23 – Breece Hall (RB) [Current ECR: 35]

4th Round – Pick 38 – Najee Harris (RB) [Current ECR: 32]

Dave Earl

3rd Round – Pick 24 – Lamar Jackson (QB) [Current ECR: 39]

4th Round – Pick 37 – Kyle Pitts (TE) [Current ECR: 74]

This is what Dave had to say about his picks:

Selecting a quarterback in the 3rd round always dependent on if a run appears to be happening at this position and seeing Justin Field go at 3.1 with the 3 top QBs already gone, Lamar Jackson or Jalen Hurts made the most sense at this pick. With the new offense being instilled that seems to be placing Lamar into a similar position as his MVP season a couple years back, he got that slight edge over Hurts at this pick.

Kyle Pitts in the 4th round over TJ Hockenson was more of a gut feeling for finally his breakout season. With a more seasoned Desmond Ridder and WR Drake London plus the addition of BiJan Robinson, Pitts will have the luxury of facing more single coverages against undersized nickel corners this season. I certainly see a top 3 finish in his position group for Kyle Pitts this season.

Ryan Whitfield

3rd Round – Pick 25 – Jaylen Waddle (WR) [Current ECR: 17]

4th Round – Pick 36 – Garrett Wilson (WR) [Current ECR: 15]

Kaiden King

DK Metcalf – Getty Images

3rd Round – Pick 26 – D.K. Metcalf (WR) [Current ECR: 30] 

4th Round – Pick 35 – Chris Olave (WR) [Current ECR: 20]

Will Gentile

3rd Round – Pick 27 – Travis Etienne (RB) [Current ECR: 41]

4th Round – Pick 34 – Davante Adams (WR) [Current ECR: 11]

This is what Will had to say about his picks:

Davante Adams in the 4th is a steal. Who else will they throw to?

Wole Akinso

3rd Round – Pick 28 – Derrick Henry (RB) [Current ECR: 21]

4th Round – Pick 33 – Jalen Hurts (QB) [Current ECR: 29]

Ha Kung Wong

3rd Round – Pick 29 – Josh Jacobs (RB) [Current ECR: 24]

4th Round – Pick 32 – Stefon Diggs (WR) [Current ECR: 8]

This is what Ha Kung had to say about his picks:

Josh Jacobs led the NFL in touches through the regular season as well as rush yards (1,653) and also excelled at avoiding tackles, recording 4.5 rushing avoided tackles per game over the last five seasons which is the most out of 78 running backs with at least 40 games.  There’s no reason we won’t see that again in Las Vegas…unless of course he holds out instead of playing on the franchise tag.  Yes, there’s some risk, but assuming he plays, he’s one of the true bell cow backs left in the NFL and should get plenty of touches with Jimmy G under center.

The reason I like Stefon Diggs for fantasy football (and I was shocked he was available in the 3rd round) is consistency.  He now has three consecutive seasons with at least 100 receptions, 1,225 receiving yards, and eight receiving TDs.  Last season, Diggs had 108 receptions, good for 4th-best in the NFL, and had 11 receiving TDs, good for 3rd-best in the league.  In addition, he finished in the top-10 in target share (10th), red zone targets (4th), and yards per route run (3rd).  Bottom line is that Josh Allen likes throwing the ball to Diggs and Diggs likes to score.  He does have the occasional down game, but he’s a fantastic WR1 for fantasy football with his guaranteed target share in a high-powered passing offense.

Adam Aniba

3rd Round – Pick 30 – Justin Herbert (QB) [Current ECR: 54]

4th Round – Pick 31 – George Kittle (TE) [Current ECR: 65]

This is what Adam had to say about his picks:

The Chargers QB Justin Herbert is primed for a big season after the LA Chargers added another dynamic weapon in TCU WR Quentin Johnston. Behind Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen, Herbert could be one of the better signal callers in the league in 2023.

The 49ers tight end George Kittle has been one of the most dynamic receiving weapons in the league, despite catching passes from multiple QB’s. Will it be Purdy or Darnold with Lance as the dark horse? Regardless, Kittle will have a big impact in Shanahan’s offense this season.

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