This is the biggest weekend for fantasy football drafts, no question about it. Most of the questions I get are along the lines of, “I’m picking at five who should I take?” Or, “Which quarterback or tight end should I draft?” Those are fair questions, but they are EASY questions. And, honestly, with the early-round picks, they aren’t always super consequential. We have our fantasy football rankings set. The guys that go early in fantasy football ADP are all going there for a reason – they’re all pretty good. Picking guys like Justin Jefferson, Saquon Barkley, or Nick Chubb isn’t hard. Neither is fading injured guys like George Kittle, Jerry Jeudy, or Jeff Wilson. What’s actually hard is deciding what player to take with your LAST pick in fantasy football drafts. So we’re here to help with that to find fantasy football sleepers in the last round. Rather than just tell you which players to draft (which we will do) we’ll also tell you what KIND of players to draft. As Brock Purdy has shown us, that last pick in fantasy football drafts could make a big impact.

 

2023 Fantasy Football Draft Last-Round Picks

In order to decide what players to draft with your last pick, you need to ask yourself some important questions. And those questions will determine what TYPE of player you want. We’ll go through those questions now and then give you some examples that check a lot of the boxes. 

Are There Waivers and Trades in Your League?

This might seem silly but Best Ball formats are all the rage these days. So it’s important to know whether you actually have the ability to drop these guys or not. If you can’t drop them, it’s hard to take some of the higher-risk options. If you can’t trade, maybe you don’t need that extra QB or TE.

EXAMPLES:

QB: Joshua Dobbs/Clayton Tune, Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals have not announced their starter yet. This is more of a superflex play but you can draft one of these guys, see if they get the job, then drop next if they don’t. In best ball you are stuck with them so you don’t want to do that.

RB: Deon Jackson, Indianapolis Colts

We all know by now that Jonathan Taylor is out. So why not take a stab on the backup options? I like Jackson but feel free to go for Zack Moss, Evan Hull, or even Kareem Hunt. If you hit the right guy you could have a starter. You could trade them to the JT owner and, if you miss, drop them to waivers.

WR: Marvin Mims, Denver Broncos

Jerry Jeudy is going to miss time which means we’ll get a free look at Marvin Mims while Jeudy is out. If he flashes early on, could be an easy sell to the Jeudy owner looking to replace that production. 

TE: Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals

Zach Ertz might not be back in Week 1 or even early on. Just like Deon Jackson, he might lose his job at some point so that doesn’t help in Best Ball but you can always use him early then drop him.

How Deep are the Benches?

This is the number one mistake I see. Folks with shallow benches dropping players that they are probably going to drop to waivers before they even use. If you use your last bench spot on a handcuff RB or someone like Jameson Williams, you’re probably going to drop them before they even matter. Jamo is suspended for six weeks - don’t you think you will make a waiver move within the first six weeks? I almost ALWAYS make at least one move within the first week or two. With the very last bench spot, we want scratch tickets, not lottery tickets.

EXAMPLES:

QB: Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis Colts

This is the most high-risk high-reward option and he just so happens to get QB13 so anyone can have him. Why not grab him just to see what it looks like. If he’s running a ton then boom, keep him. If the game plan isn’t what we hope, swap him out.

RB: Sean Tucker, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

He was recently seen taking reps with the first team and now he’s been named the Bucs RB2 on the depth chart. He slid in the draft for a potential heart condition that has since been cleared so let’s see what he can do?

WR: Alec Pierce, Indianapolis Colts

This is one of my favorite ones for a few reasons. First, we think he will be the guy in two WR sets opposite Michael Pittman Second, Jelani Woods just went on IR. Third, if it’s actually Josh Downs that is the guy, he usually goes undrafted. So we can potentially just drop Pierce for Downs. Good times.

TE: Hayden Hurst, Carolina Panthers

We have no idea how the target pecking order will shake out. The team literally has all new weapons at QB, RB, TE, and all three WR spots. Why not take a stab to see how involved Hurst is then drop him if need be?

 

Do you have IR spots? What kind?

This is one of the most overlooked moves out there. If your league has an IR spot or even two, you can potentially get a FREE player. You just take them with your last pick, move them into that IR spot right away, then draft another player. Incredibly simple yet often not utilized. Also, make sure you know how your IR works. Some leagues, the players actually need to be on the IR or PUP list. In others, you can simply put players who are OUT in there. BIG difference. The players below are all IR/PUP eligible but a guy like Wan’Dale Robinson avoided that list, eve if he might not play Week One. 

EXAMPLES:

QB: Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals

So easy and so obvious. He’s on the PUP list so he’s IR eligible. Draft, move him, grab the best player off waivers.

RB: Jeff Wilson, Miami Dolphins

Jonathan Taylor is too obvious and he’s also not a last-round pick. Jeff Wilson for Miami can slide into an IR spot. 

WR: Tyquan Thornton, New England Patriots

Guys like Jerry Jeudy, Treylon Burks, Terry McLaurin etc. could all end up IR-eligible to start the year but they aren’t really last-round picks. I prefer guys like that that we think could be ruled out for Week 1 (like Wan’Dale Robinson above) but Thornton is on the PUP meaning you can move him right away. 

TE: Jelani Woods, Indianapolis Colts

We mentioned it with the Alec Pierce pick above but Woods will start the season on IR. Lot of uncertainty over there for targets. Keep an eye on Zach Ertz too to see his designation. 

Do you need to draft a kicker and/or defense?

Another big one. If your league doesn’t force you to draft these positions, you can use them as an extra bench spot. And, on sites like Yahoo and Sleeper, you can actually drop players AFTER they have played. That means you can actually stash guys on the bench playing Thursday or even Sunday at 1 PM then drop them for a kicker and throw the kicker in. Pretty aggressive/dangerous move but it could pay off big. 

EXAMPLES:

QB: Blaine Gabbert, Kansas City Chiefs

He’s not Patrick Mahomes but, if something were to happen, Gabbert is still playing for a great offensive coach with good weapons. The Lions backup Hendon Hooker is coming off a knee injury himself so the Lions would be scrambling if something happened. 

RB: Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Kanas City Chiefs

Four of the backs in Thursday’s game are all being drafted in fantasy with Jahmyr Gibbs, David Montgomery, Jerrick McKinnon, and Isaiah Pacheco. So that’s your best bet. For Sunday at 1 PM, I’d go with Tyler Allgeier or Elijah Mitchell. We’ve already seen what these guys can do if the starter goes down.

WR: Marvin Jones, Detroit Lions

We get a free look at who could be the Lions WR2 here. And, if it pans out, you have him for the next five weeks with Jameson Williams suspended. If not? Easy drop.

TE: Noah Gray, Kansas City Chiefs

I don’t even want to put the words in the air on why you might stash Noah Gray for Thursday night’s game against the Lions. But you know why. You could even double dip by adding Gray then dropping him after the Thursday game for Isaiah Likely, who plays at 1 PM ET on Sunday then dropping Likely for a kicker at 4 PM ET. 

 

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