Can you feel it? No, I’m not talking about the oppressive heat wave that’s all over the country, or the excitement over the next Taylor Swift show. I’m talking about the start of the 2023 fantasy football season! Fantasy managers are getting their cheat sheets and rankings together, preparing their list of sleepers and busts (all of which you can find in the SI Fantasy Draft Kit), and getting ready to dominate their drafts.
Part of that preparation is knowing where you’ll be picking in the draft. Of course, if you draw the top spot, you can choose from any player in the league. Having the No. 1 overall pick hasn’t been great in recent years, however. Just ask anyone who took Jonathan Taylor last season. The consensus No. 1 fantasy pick going into the 2022 season finished as the 33rd-best running back – RB33! – in fantasy.
The previous two seasons saw Christian McCaffrey go first, and he ranked RB38 and RB54, respectively, while missing significant time due to injuries. The last consensus No. 1 pick who went on to finish first in points at his position was Antonio Brown … in 2016. A.B. did what Taylor and CMC couldn’t do, and that was meet the expectations of being the top choice.
