2023 NFL Draft Day 3: Best Available Players For Dynasty
The first three rounds were exciting, but rounds 4, 5, and beyond are going to give us some more fantasy football relevant talents. Working off my pre-draft top-50 for dynasty, here are the top remaining players still on the board as we enter day 3 of the 2023 NFL Draft.
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8. Roschon Johnson, RB, Texas
Roschon Johnson spent most of his career in the shadow of Bijan Robinson. But that doesn’t mean he’s not a legitimate NFL prospect of his own. Johnson has excellent size, with the patience to set up his blocks and the vision and instincts to take advantage of open lanes. He has the power to move a pile, though he runs with more finesse than you’d expect from a 6-2, 220lb back. He also isn’t the tackle-breaking machine you would think based on his size. His lateral agility leaves much to be desired. He’s more of a straight-line runner.
With that said, Johnson has the skill to be a significant contributor in the NFL, with the upside to develop into a team’s No.1. He even showed enough to think he may be able to add value on passing downs as well.
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9. Israel Abanikanda, RB, Pittsburgh
Israel Abanikanda is an athletic back with an excellent combination of size and speed. He has the acceleration and explosion to take advantage of any crease the defense gives him. Abanikanda leaves a bit to be desired between the tackles and in situations where he needs to generate some power to create additional yardage. He also won’t cause defenders any loss of sleep over his receiving skills. However, Abanikanda is an ideal fit for teams that run a lot of outside zone concepts. He can get to the edge with ease, and use his explosive one-cut to accelerate to the next level.
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More: Day 3 Dynasty Diamonds
23. Sean Tucker, RB, Syracuse
Sean Tucker is an explosive runner who has the speed and acceleration to be a true home-run threat. He runs with great patience, though sometimes can hesitate too much and lose the opportunity to hit an open hole. While he did catch passes at Syracuse, Tucker doesn’t have consistent enough hands, nor the ability in pass protection to be able to project as a true three-down threat at the NFL level. He will likely find draft capital early on day three of the NFL Draft and will make for a good pick in the second round of dynasty rookie drafts.
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24. Chase Brown, RB, Illinois
Chase Brown is a speed back with enough vision, patience, and willingness to embrace contact to be a productive runner at the next level. His excellent burst and acceleration make him a dangerous threat if he finds a crease in the defense. While he did receive over 300 carries in his final season at Illinois, Brown lacks the frame to take on that type of workload in the NFL. His size will also keep him on the sidelines during short yardage and goal-line opportunities considering he doesn’t quite have the power and strength to consistently succeed in those situations.
He is not highly regarded as a pass-catcher, either, but he proved capable with a near 10% reception share in 2022. Brown projects as a committee back who will work best in heavy outside-zone running schemes. He will likely come off the board early on Day Three.
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26. Zach Evans, RB, Ole Miss
Zach Evans was never able to seize the starting role at Ole Miss, but he showed us enough to think he could be an effective runner at the NFL level. He is a smooth runner with an excellent combination of speed, acceleration, and explosion. Evans compliments his athletic traits with some flashes of physicality and power. He does not possess the receiving skills, nor the pass blocking to warrant three-down usage, however. Instead, Evans projects as a two-down back who will fit best in a zone-blocking scheme that will allow him to get north and south and into space where he can let his explosiveness get to work.
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27. Trey Palmer, WR, Nebraska
It took a long time, but Trey Palmer finally got his shot in 2022. He took full advantage, showing off his speed to consistently win on his routes down the field. He did so while commanding targets at a high volume. While we have to knock him for not being able to crack the lineup at LSU, we have to consider the studs he played with. Luckily, he was able to show off his skills in the return game while he waited for his chance. He turned his opportunity into a record-setting season at Nebraska and became a legitimate NFL prospect.
With his track speed and ability to win vertically, Palmer projects as a field-stretcher at the next level. He’ll be boxed into a one-dimensional role unless he can develop his route tree, gain more reps on the outside vs physical defenders, and improve his win rate in contested situations. If he can do that, he will become a complimentary weapon who can deliver splash plays. Palmer would be best fit in an offense that relies on chunk plays and vertical passing. He will likely hear his name called some time in the fourth round.
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28. Evan Hull, RB, Northwestern
Evan Hull is a downhill, between the tackles grinder. Hull displays good vision and has enough power to get the job done in short yardage situations. However, his bread and butter comes in the passing game where he racked up 88 receptions and more than 800 receiving yards over the last two seasons. He has good hands and a route package that can be built upon at the next level. With that said, Hull will need to improve in pass protection if he is going to become a reliable option on passing downs. He projects as a day three pick in the NFL Draft who will start his career as a core special-teamer and rotational back. For dynasty, he is a late-round sleeper in hopes that he develops into a high-end backup and third down option.
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29. Tyler Scott, WR, Cincinnati
There is no doubt that Tyler Scott has the athletic traits to develop into a weapon in the NFL. He is exceptionally fast and wastes no time reaching his top speed. He is an explosive threat both before and after the catch. His smaller size limits his catch radius and makes him a bit vulnerable vs physical cornerbacks and in contested catch situations. While he is a quality route runner, there is room to refine that area of his game. With that said, Scott creates consistent separation and is a threat to win on all three levels. Scott projects as a starting Z-receiver who will spend time in the slot as a team’s WR2 or WR3. He will bring some versatility to an offense as an option on jet sweeps and screens as well.
On draft weekend, Scott is likely to come off the board sometime in the late third or early fourth round. He could go even earlier if a team falls in love with his speed. In dynasty, Scott will be one of the best wide receiver options in the third round of rookie drafts.
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30. Kayshon Boutte, WR, LSU
Kayshon Boutte gets up to speed quickly with the ability to change direction on a dime. That makes him incredibly difficult to defend because he’s a threat to beat defenses vertically, as well as cut off his routes and win in the short and intermediate areas. Not only that, Boutte made a name for himself with his ability to rack up yards after the catch. He has good hands, though he could improve on catching in traffic. He could also use some work getting off the line better.
While his junior season leaves a bit of a sour taste in the mouth, we have to love Boutte’s early career production and age 18 breakout. Boutte projects as a starting Z-receiver who will also get a lot of work in the slot at the next level. His range of outcomes in the NFL is all over the place. While he could be out of the league in three years, he also has the upside to be a team’s top possession receiver.
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31. Xavier Hutchinson, WR, Iowa State
Xavier Hutchinson has both the size and versatility to play both outside and in the slot. His lateral agility and quickness allow him to be a quality route runner as well as a threat after the catch. He may not be a burner, but his size and strong hands make him a reliable target in one-on-one contested situations. Despite starting his college career at the JUCO level, Hutchinson enters the NFL Draft with one of the more productive resumes among the 2023 wide receiver class. He will likely hear his name in the middle rounds and is atop the list of sleepers to consider in the third round of dynasty rookie drafts.
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38. Deuce Vaughn, RB, Kansas State
Deuce Vaughn has one of the better production profiles among the 2023 running backs. He ran for nearly 3,000 yards over his last two seasons at Kansas State while scoring 34 touchdowns. He also caught 91 passes over that span and commanded a target share above 15% in all three of his collegiate seasons.
But when we consider his 5-5, 179 lb frame, it feels like throwing a giant tub of ice water onto a flame. For Vaughn to be successful in the NFL at that size, he would have to prove to be the outlier of all outliers. The size is going to affect his draft capital, it’s going to affect his touch distribution, and it’s going to affect his durability. It’s too bad, because he does have a lot of positive traits—vision, versatility, toughness, elusiveness, receiving skills, etc. He’ll be a fun pick at the end of rookie drafts but it’s hard to invest anything more into a guy that has no realistic comps.
39. Charlie Jones, WR, Purdue
Charlie Jones put himself on the radar with a breakout season in 2022 and an equally impressive performance at the NFL Combine. He has some appealing traits, like his strong hands, an ability to win in contested situations, and his knack for exploiting zone coverage. His strength is in the quick passing game on routes such as slants and crossers. With that said, Jones struggles to create consistent separation, especially versus tight man coverage.
His lone season of meaningful production in college came during his age 23 season and five years after first stepping onto a college campus. There’s really no excuse for not being able to produce sooner. It’s not like he was playing at Alabama or Ohio State where he was stuck behind world class wide receiver talent. He couldn’t get on the field at Buffalo. He couldn’t get on the field at Iowa. Jones’ NFL outlook is that of a career special teams ace who will provide depth at the wide receiver position. There is little reason to consider him in dynasty rookie drafts.
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41. Zack Kuntz, TE, Old Dominion
Zack Kuntz is an athletic freak at 6-7, 255 lbs. Not only did he run in the mid-4.5s, but he tested with elite burst and agility as well. In fact, he scores as the most athletic tight end when adjusted for size according to PlayerProfiler.com’s new Athleticism Score metric. While the importance of athleticism varies position to position as far as correlating to fantasy football production, it’s most important for tight ends. Kuntz had a highly productive season at Old Dominion in 2021 before missing most of 2022 due to injury. He could take some time to develop into his raw talent at the NFL level
44. Will Mallory, TE, Miami
Will Mallory is a move tight end who is 6-5 but a bit undersized as far as weight. He’s super athletic and had enough production at Miami to think he could develop into a starter at the NFL level.
45. Parker Washington, WR, Penn State
Parker Washington is a slot receiver who thrives after the catch. For that reason, he was fed a lot of manufactured touches and short passes to take advantage. He’s better versus zone coverage as he tends to struggle to separate against tight man coverage. Washington won’t beat you with speed or explosiveness either but his ball skills are excellent.
He has the toughness and hand strength to hang onto contested catches. Washington is flying under the radar but he could find higher draft capital than expected and could become one of the “safer” choices in the later stages of dynasty rookie drafts.
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46. Puka Nacua, WR, BYU
Puka Nacua is a big, physical outside receiver. He’s not the best route runner, the best separator, or particularly explosive off the line. Instead, he uses his big frame, strength, and ability to out-leap defenders to create a target for his quarterback and dominate in contested situations. His route tree consists of mostly vertical patterns that allow him to play to his strengths. He looks a bit stiff when he runs, but that didn’t stop him from gaining over 300 yards on the ground during his two seasons at BYU. But rather than leaning on agility and quickness, Nacua uses his physicality to eat up yards on rush attempts and run-after-catch opportunities.
In the NFL, Nacua projects as an outside receiver who will play both the Z and X positions. His speed and toughness could make him a candidate to play on kick coverage units early in his career while he develops his route running and release tactics.
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49. Eric Gray, RB, Oklahoma
Eric Gray is an all-purpose running back who may not have elite speed or size, but he has enough tools to be productive at the NFL level. He is a decisive runner with elite lateral agility, great vision, and a variety of moves to make anyone miss in the open field. His soft hands and receiving skills will make him a true three-down threat. Prior to his pro day, Gray was looking like a top-24 player in dynasty. However, after running in the 4.6s at under 210 lbs, he barely cracks the top-50. I won’t be touching Gray anywhere near his current ADP.
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50. Camerun Peoples, RB, Appalachian State
Camerun Peoples is an upright runner who runs with good power and patience but lacks any elite athletic traits. He’s not particularly fast or explosive, and his lateral agility leaves much to be desired as well. With just 11 career receptions in five years at Appalachian State, it’s safe to say he won’t bring much value on passing downs. What he can bring to the table, though, is a solid depth piece in a backfield looking to add another big-bodied runner. He projects best to a zone-blocking scheme. His best chance at becoming fantasy relevant is a rash of injuries ahead of him that thrust him into a short-term starting job.
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