Fantasy Football Recap: AFC East Post Draft
With the dust settling from the NFL Draft, now is the perfect time to take a look at the post-draft values of each NFL division. We will take a look at each new fantasy-relevant addition and I will also give my current rankings for all of the startable fantasy options on each team. This week we will take a look at the AFC East! Make sure you are following me on Twitter at @JGalt93 as well as the podcast @TheHateful8FF!!!
Buffalo Bills
The Bills definitely needed another offensive weapon alongside Stefon Diggs and they certainly got their man in the draft, it may not have been at the position we thought it would be. The Bills had two fantasy-relevant picks in this year’s draft, which include Dalton Kincaid, TE, Utah(1st round), and Justin Shorter, WR, Florida(5th round). Kincaid was a unique prospect coming into the draft and landed in a great situation in Buffalo. He has all of the abilities to be a top-tier fantasy tight end in the future, we will just need to wait and see if that comes to fruition. I am not expecting anything extraordinary from Kincaid in 2023 but he is certainly worth a late-round flier at such an unreliable position. Although the WR position for the Bills is not extremely deep, they have enough talented players at the place to make Shorter nothing more than waiver-wire fodder in redraft this year at the very least. The one thing Shorter has going for him is that he is not short and is one of the tallest wide receivers on the team. So there is a long-term appeal to Shorter and he should be added to your bench/ taxi squad in dynasty leagues in case he becomes something. The Bills offense is once again set up to be a top-tier offense in fantasy football in 2023, with plenty of upside at every position.
Current redraft rankings:
Josh Allen-QB2
James Cook- RB28
Damien Harris-RB41
Stefon Diggs-WR8
Gabriel Davis-WR42
Khalil Shakir-WR88
Dalton Kincaid- TE18
Dawson Knox- TE26
Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins already have a pretty productive offense from a fantasy perspective, so there weren’t necessarily a ton of needs heading into the draft. The Dolphins did make two fantasy-relevant picks in Devon Achane, RB, Texas A&M(3rd round), and Elijah Higgins, WR/TE, Stanford(6th round). Achane is an interesting prospect as he is known as a speedster but has a smaller build than you would want in a starting RB in the NFL. Achane did land in the perfect place though as Mike McDaniel and the Dolphins love to utilize their RBs heavily. I am not extremely high on Achane heading into the 2023 season but there is reason to be excited about him in this offense. The only issue is that Jeff Wilson and Raheem Mostert are still ahead of him in the current depth chart and should present an issue for Achane’s upside early on in his career. That being said, the Dolphins look primed for another great fantasy season. Their wide receivers are elite, their QB has enough talent around him to succeed and their running backs are all great mid to late-round values.
Current redraft rankings:
Tua Tagovailoa-QB13
Jeff Wilson-RB40
Raheem Mostert-RB45
Devon Achane-RB47
Tyreek Hill-WR4
Jaylen Waddle-WR11
New England Patriots
From a fantasy perspective, the Patriots did not make any extremely exciting draft picks in 2023. The only fantasy-relevant picks they made were Kayshon Boutte, WR, LSU(6th round), and Demario Douglas, WR, Liberty(6th Round). A 6th round draft value does not give me a ton of hope for either player, but if I had to roll the dice on one it would be Boutte. Boutte has the size and skill to be a solid receiver in the NFL but there is a reason that he fell to the 6th round. A lackluster Junior season and poor combine caused his draft stock to fall massively. The one thing Boutte does have going for him is a young breakout age and the pedigree of an elite wide receiver, we shall see if he is able to outproduce his draft value. Boutte is worth being drafted in the 3rd/4th rounds of your dynasty league for the pure upside he has possessed in the past. Unfortunately, we are no longer living in the thriving fantasy football days of the Tom Brady era in New England. The immediate value that we can see is Rhamondre Stevenson but there should be value to be had at the other positions as well. I think that the current wide receiver group will prove to be more valuable than it currently looks. I would look to add at least one of the wide receivers listed below in the late rounds of the draft, in the hopes that they can be a solid flex/WR3 in fantasy this year. The same can be said about both tight ends on the roster, as they have both shown glimpses of success throughout their careers and should be solid late-round gambles.
Current redraft rankings:
Mac Jones-QB28
Rhamondre Stevenson-RB10
Juju Smith-Schuster-WR46
DeVante Parker-WR74
Tyquan Thornton-WR81
Hunter Henry-TE19
Mike Gesicki-TE23
New York Jets
The New York Jets are going to look very different from where they were one year ago. It is no mystery as to why, the addition of Aaron Rodgers should give the Jets exactly what they have been missing for countless seasons. A reliable QB has been a major need for the Jets and Rodgers should be able to give them that at the very least. The Jets draft in 2023 was aimed more at fortifying their defense and offensive line than adding fantasy-relevant position players. The two relevant players drafted were Israel Abanikanda, RB, PITT(5th round), and Zach Kuntz, TE, Old Dominion( 7th Round). Israel was a combine and draft day standout, who some had expected to go as a day 2 pick. I like Izzy but he unfortunately was drafted by a team that already had their RB1 and plenty of depth behind him. Breece Hall is still recovering from his ACL injury, so there is a chance that there will be carries to be had early in the season but it is hard to know who will receive those carries. For the time being Izzy is a solid addition in the middle to late rounds of your rookie drafts but should be left on the waiver wire in redraft until we get a better understanding of what is going on. Zach Kuntz is nothing more than a late-round rookie pick at this point. As of right now, he figures to be the TE4 on the depth chart and therefore doesn’t offer much upside. This should be one of the better Jets offenses that we have seen lately. The combination of a top-tier RB, a solid receivers group including one of the best up-and-coming WRs, and a decent tight-end group has me excited for the New York Jets in 2023. There is value at every position for the Jets and I like that you can get a piece of the offense in the mid to late rounds as well in Lazard, Davis, Hardman, and Conklin. The future is bright for the Jets.
Current redraft rankings:
Aaron Rodgers-QB15
Breece Hall-RB11
Garrett Wilson-WR12
Allen Lazard-WR48
Corey Davis-WR76
Mecole Hardman-WR84
Tyler Conklin-TE28
