The NFL fantasy team has shelled out all the advice, and many fantasy football participants are likely partaking in their final drafts in the coming days. After all, we are less than a week from the 2023 NFL Kickoff Game between the Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs.
That means there is just one thing left to do. Here are BOLD predictions for the 2023 fantasy football season:
MARCAS GRANT: Lamar Jackson will be the top scorer in fantasy football in 2023. Life comes at you fast. Jackson was once THE QB1, but he hasn't been in the top 10 since 2020. Injuries and a lack of playmakers at wide receiver have conspired against him. With Odell Beckham Jr., Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman in the fold, this year's WR corps could be the deepest Jackson's ever had. With new OC Todd Monken pulling the levers, Jackson could rekindle the magic that made him an MVP in 2019.
MICHELLE MAGDZIUK: Tony Pollard will lead the NFL in scrimmage yards in 2023. For years, Pollard was the most efficient Cowboys running back. Now, the team has finally come to its senses; Dallas is giving Pollard the keys to the backfield. Even with Ezekiel Elliott irritatingly stealing 248 touches in 2022, Pollard still put up the 12th-most scrimmage yards among running backs. No running back averaged more than Pollard's 5.9 yards per touch in 2022 (min. 150 touches). Elliott is now in New England. If we give Pollard just 100 of Elliott's 248 vacated touches, that already gives him a projection of over 1,900 yards in 2023, based on his yards per touch last season.
MATT OKADA: Some would say bold is never boring. I disagree. And I'll prove it ... by predicting that Dameon Pierce, Rachaad White and James Conner will all be top-15 fantasy running backs in 2023. Yes, their teams (the Texans, Buccaneers and Cardinals, respectively) are subpar on paper. No, they're not the most thrilling picks. Don't care. They're all in line for 300-plus opportunities, which equates to a top-15 hit rate of about 84 percent. Math isn't sexy. But it's a great way to find fantasy value.
JOEL SMYTH: Garrett Wilson will finish as the overall WR1. The 2022 Offensive Rookie of the Year averaged nearly 18 fantasy points per game with Jets quarterbacks not named Zach Wilson. He now has an MVP quarterback in Aaron Rodgers, who will no doubt make the receiver's massive target share more fruitful. Rodgers has what should be his ideal offense in place in New York, with an offensive coordinator and receivers he has worked with before; think about Wilson as the younger-model replacement for Davante Adams. Don't be surprised once Rodgers is back to his old antics of changing the play at the 1-yard line to throw to his new No. 1 target.
MICHAEL F. FLORIO: Four running backs will make their first career RB1 (top 12) finishes. There is a youth takeover at running back when rookies Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs and second-year pros Dameon Pierce and James Cook all finish as RB1s for the first time in their respective careers. All are explosive backs who can be heavily featured in their teams' passing attacks, leading them to outscore many others at the position drafted ahead of them
