Fantasy Football Recap: AFC West Post Draft
With the dust settling from the NFL Draft, and training camps in full swing. 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 West! Make sure you are following me on Twitter at @JGalt93 as well as the podcast @TheHateful8FF!!!
Denver Broncos
A year ago we had thought that the Broncos were going to be an elite offense heading into the season. It is amazing looking back and seeing how wrong we were. A year removed, I believe that the Broncos players are now becoming valued versus being overvalued. The Broncos didn’t have a ton of draft picks in 2023 but were able to make a fantasy-relevant pick in Marvin Mims Jr., WR, Oklahoma( 2nd round). Mim’s is an exciting prospect and although he landed in a crowded wide receiver room, he may have value in his rookie season. There has been speculation throughout the off-season that the Broncos are going to trade Jeudy or Sutton. If that were to come true, Mim’s ADP would rise decently and he would automatically slot in as the WR3 on the team. Mim’s is currently going in the late 2nd/ early 3rd rounds of dynasty rookie drafts and I would say that is a great place to take him. Mim has great long-term value, especially since he is the 1st WR taken by new HC, Sean Payton. The Broncos should definitely be a better offense in 2023 than they were in 2022, but that really shouldn’t be hard. Wilson is no longer a QB1 but that doesn’t mean he can’t have QB1 weeks throughout the season. If you are the type to take two QBs or wait on QB, Wilson is a great addition in the later rounds of your draft. The RB situation for the Broncos is a little murky but honestly, I am a big fan of Samaje Perine and his current ADP. I would expect him to be the lead back at the beginning of the season and I believe he will still have a significant role if/when Javonte Williams returns from his injury. The Broncos WR group are all decent and capable but I am not in love with drafting any of them. I am okay with drafting Jeudy as I believe he has the highest floor and ceiling out of all of the WRs and his current ADP of 57 is reasonable. Dulcich is an interesting 2nd year TE and showed some promise in his rookie season. At such an unreliable position I like adding Dulcich in the later rounds of your redraft leagues. My confidence in the Broncos is much higher now that they have Sean Payton calling the shots. The Broncos key player should be great value picks in the mid to late rounds in 2023.
Current redraft rankings:
Russell Wilson-QB17
Javonte Williams-RB29
Samaje Perine-RB37
Jerry Jeudy-WR23
Courtland Sutton-WR41
Tim Patrick- WR85
Greg Dulcich-TE12
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are always fun to write about. There are always two obvious fantasy superstars in Patrick Mahomes and Kelce, and then we discuss a bunch of what-ifs/maybes. The Chiefs were smart and decided to mainly reinforce their offensive line and defense in this year’s draft. They did make one fantasy-relevant pick in Rashee Rice, WR, SMU(2nd round). Rice is an exciting prospect mainly because he was drafted by the Chiefs. We do the same thing every year where we overvalue a player because he is receiving passes from Patrick Mahomes. Now I don’t necessarily think Rice is being overvalued right now, as he is usually going in the late 2nd/early 3rd rounds of rookie drafts. At his current ADP in dynasty and redraft leagues, I would be willing to roll the dice on Rice becoming a reliable option in the Chiefs offense. It is not hard to make people want to draft the Chiefs players in fantasy. Everyone wants a piece of an elite offense and that is exactly what the Chiefs have been for a few years now. This year is no different. Patrick Mahomes should easily be a high-end QB1 again and Travis Kelce should be the TE1 unless either is injured in 2023. I like Pacheco this year as a reliable low-end RB2 with upside and McKinnon should be a decent flex option if he retains the kind of role he had at the end of last year. Toney is most fantasy analysts favorite WR on the team and he is mine as well. As long as Toney stays healthy, he should offer great upside at a decent cost in fantasy this year. Toney is the perfect boom/bust option that you would want in your flex position. The other WR’s on the team is worth an add in the later rounds of the draft, just in case any of them turn into a reliable weekly flex/WR3 throughout the season. The Kansas City Chiefs are all set up for another successful NFL season.
Current redraft rankings:
Patrick Mahomes-QB3
Isiah Pacheco-RB20
Jerick McKinnon-RB44
Clyde Edwards- Helaire-RB54
Kadarius Toney-WR37
Skyy Moore- WR60
Marquez Valdes- Scantling- WR71
Rashee Rice-WR83
Travis Kelce- TE1
Las Vegas Raiders
Unlike how I feel about the other 3 teams in the AFC West, I have very little faith in the Raiders organization in 2023. The current situation with Jimmy G makes me hesitant to draft any of the top-tier players on the team at their current price point. That being said, The Raiders did make 3 fantasy-relevant draft picks in 2023. The players drafted by the Raiders were Michael Mayer, TE, Notre Dame (2nd round), Tre Tucker, WR, Cincinnati (3rd round), and Aidan O’Connell, QB, Purdue (4th round). Out of those 3 players, I would expect Mayer to have the most immediate impact from a fantasy perspective. Rookie tight ends usually don’t produce, so I am not terribly high on Mayer in his rookie season. That being said, I would still keep an eye on him in redraft leagues because if any rookie tight end is going to produce in year 1, it will be Mayer. As I said before, I am not excited about the Raiders pass-catchers currently so Tucker would fall into that situation as well. The Raiders have a good amount of WRs currently on the roster, so it may be a while before we see Tucker on the field consistently anyways. Tucker is worth a late-round add in rookie drafts for his potential upside in a season or two. O’Connell is an exciting prospect mainly due to the whole Jimmy G situation. He is worth a late-round rookie add in superflex leagues for the pure chance that he has to play some games this season. The Raiders certainly have talented players heading into this season, but until they figure out their QB situation I will be fading their players compared to other fantasy football rankings.
Current redraft rankings:
Jimmy Garoppolo-QB29
Josh Jacobs-RB9
Davante Adams-WR9
Jakobi Meyers-WR47
Hunter Renfrow-WR72
Michael Mayer- TE30
Los Angeles Chargers
My favorite addition for the Chargers this offseason didn’t come during the draft but came in the offseason and it wasn’t even a player. The Chargers signed Kellen Moore as the Offensive Coordinator and that should have a huge and immediate impact this upcoming season. The Chargers certainly made some good drafts in 2023 as well. The fantasy relevant players drafted were Quentin Johnston, WR, TCU (1st round), Derius Davis, WR, TCU ( 4th round), and Max Duggan, QB, TCU 7th round). Johnston is really the only player out of those 3 that should have immediate value in fantasy. His real value comes in the long term though as eventually he will be the replacement for either Keenan Allen or Mike Williams in the next few seasons. I would temper my expectations for 2023 right now but it is very possible that Johnston turns into a solid flex play later in the season. Herbert had a rough season in 2022 full of injuries and injured teammates that made it hard to succeed. I like his chances much more in 2023 with a healthy offensive line and a great surrounding cast of players. I currently have Herbert ranked as a mid QB1 but would not be surprised if he made his way into the top of the tier if everything went well for him and the Chargers this season. Although it seemed like the Chargers were going to lose Ekeler in the offseason, it looks as though he will be sticking around for at least one more season. I am very high on Ekeler this year because I believe that the Chargers are planning on getting as much value out of him as they can before he potentially leaves in free agency next year. Ekeler is my RB2 in 2023 and I believe he is one of the safest running back picks in the 1st round. The WR group for the Chargers is easily one of the best 3 WR groups in the league. Allen is still a favorite of mine and consistently produces, especially in full PPR leagues. Williams continues to have his big play ability and should have a better season in 2023 as long as he stays healthy. I believe that Williams is currently a massive steal at his current ADP of 59. As I stated above, I am very intrigued by what Johnston will be able to do in this offense, he has a solid ceiling purely because of his QB, coaching staff, and his talent. The tight-end position for the Chargers is probably the only position that I am not as excited about. Gerald Everett is a fine TE but he doesn’t offer the upside that I would want in my weekly starter. He is currently being ranked as a mid-tier TE2 and I believe that is fine considering the upside of the Chargers offense. 2023 is looking good for the Chargers and I am a big fan of all of their key players.
Current redraft rankings:
Justin Herbert-QB7
Austin Ekeler-RB2
Keenan Allen-WR18
Mike Williams-WR29
Quentin Johnston-WR45
Gerald Everett-TE15
