Fantasy winners and losers from Day 1 of the 2023 NFL Draft

The first round of the NFL Draft is always a tough one for some players who see their position drafted, but there are also those who don’t see competition added or get more weapons around them. We’ll take a look at some of those offensive winners and losers for fantasy football below.

Day 1 Winners

Lamar Jackson, QB, Ravens

Jackson obviously won yesterday due to him becoming the highest paid player in the league, but he also won when the Ravens drafted Boston College wide receiver Zay Flowers. The Ravens have done little to help Jackson out through his career. They went as far as to trade away his best receiver Marquise Brown during the draft last year. But adding Flowers and Odell Beckham Jr. is a nice windfall for Jackson and his fantasy football upside.

Justin Herbert, QB, Chargers

The Chargers and Herbert had trouble when Mike Williams and Keenan Allen were injured last season, but adding Johnson should help a lot. Their lack of depth and a rib injury hurt Herbert’s numbers last year, but Johnson is a player who should help him out quickly. He also tracks to be their big outside No. 1 receiver once Allen and Williams head out to pasture . If they can get all three going, watch out.

Anthony Richardson, QB, Colts

Richardson will like be used similarly to how Lamar Jackson has been for much of his career, which means a lot of rushing fantasy points. And the fact that he was the fourth overall pick means he’ll end up seeing time on the field quickly. You may not like his accuracy, but the man will be be hard to stop with the ball in his hands.

Bijan Robinson, RB, Falcons

Robinson joins a team that loves to run the ball and has a young quarterback that will need him to take the pressure off. Don’t overthink taking him VERY early in you drafts this season.

Day 1 Losers

Michael Pittman, WR, Colts

I love Anthony Richardson and think he’ll be a fantasy producer as soon as he gets on the field, but the passing game will take a hit early on. We could see Gardner Minshew start Week 1, but that doesn’t exactly get me excited for Pittman’s targets either.

We can extend this to RB Jonathan Taylor as well, since the offense will likely have fewer goal line opportunities and Richardson could also take some of those away by running the ball himself.

Tyler Allgeier, RB, Falcons

This one is obvious. Bijan Robinson wasn’t drafted No. 8 overall to spend anytime competing with Allgeier for touches. Draft Robinson early and leave Allgeier on waivers.

De’Andre Swift, David Montgomery, RBs, Lions

The Lions took Jahmyr Gibbs with the No. 12 pick, which completely erases Swift from the equation. I would expect he’ll be available for a trade. Montgomery could still be the goal line and between the tackles guy, but Gibbs will eat into his work. Maybe Montgomery can still stack touchdowns and have some value, but Gibbs wasn’t drafted so early to sit.

Dawson Knox, TE, Bills

The Bills drafted TE Dalton Kincaid, who will take over as the offensive playmaking tight end sooner than later. Tight ends do have a steeper learning curve than other positions, but Kincaid likely won’t be asked to block all that much and can work as a big slot receiver early on.