Who goes first in a 2023 Pac-12 fantasy football draft?
No matter which form of football you fancy, we are just weeks away from getting started. The NFL is already deep into the preseason, while college football teams get ready to kick things off either in Week Zero or Week 1 at the start of September.
While watching football is one of the greatest joys for sports fans, something that oftentimes makes it all better is having a stake in the action with fantasy football teams. Though fantasy football is much more prominent in the NFL than it is in college, some maniacs still dabble in the college ranks as well.
As a way to preview the 2023 season in the Pac-12 season, I invited Justin Pluid and Shane Potter from The Flock Pod to join me on the latest episode of the Sco-ing Long Podcast, and we went through a fantasy draft of players just in the Pac-12.
We drafted a quarterback, two running backs, two wide receivers, a tight end, a FLEX (RB, WR, or TE), and a defense for each team. The draft order went Shane, Zac, and JD, in a snake draft form.
Here is how things broke down in the end:
Round One
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1.1 — Shane: Oregon RB Bucky Irving
1.2 — Zac: Oregon State RB Damien Martinez
1.3 — JD: USC QB Caleb Williams
Analysis: JD kicked off the QB run with former Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams, an understandable early reach for an elite passer. Meanwhile, both Zac and Shane decided to grab two of the top running backs on the board with Bucky Irving and Damien Martinez.
Round Two
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2.1 — JD: California RB Jaydn Ott
2.2 — Zac: Washington WR Rome Odunze
2.3 — Shane: Washington QB Michael Penix Jr.
Analysis: While JD passed on an RB in the first round, he was able to get arguably one of the top players at the position on the board with Jaydn Ott in the second. Meanwhile, Zac took the top WR in the conference with Rome Odunze, and Shane picked up his QB in Michael Penix Jr., which may have been a bit of a reach, allowing Zac to wait on getting his QB until the final round of the draft.
Round Three
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3.1 — Shane: Oregon RB Noah Whittington
3.2 — Zac: Arizona WR Jacob Cowing
3.3 — JD: USC WR Dorian Singer
Analysis: The rare monopolization of a team’s position group strategy came out for Shane, taking Noah Whittington to pair with Bucky Irving and lock down the entire Oregon backfield. Meanwhile, both Zac and JD took two of the best pass-catchers left in the draft, the latter pulling off a nice USC stack under Caleb Williams.
Round Four
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4.1 — JD: UCLA RB Carson Steele
4.2 — Zac: Oregon TE Terrance Ferguson
4.3 — Shane: Washington WR Jalen McMillan
Analysis: Impressive drafting continues for JD, taking Carson Steele as his second RB, potentially one of the top rushers in the conference this season. Zac kicked off the TE run with everyone’s favorite big-man in Terrance Ferguson, while Shane added another stack to his roster, pairing Jalen McMillan with Michael Penix Jr.
Round Five
5.1 — Shane: Oregon WR Troy Franklin
5.2 — Zac: Oregon WR Tez Johnson (FLEX)
5.3 — JD: Colorado WR Travis Hunter
Analysis: Shane continued to load up on the Oregon skill-position players by taking Troy Franklin a pick before Zac was going to take him. Zac instead took the ‘Tezmanian Devil’ — Tez Johnson — to give himself a high-upside flex player. Meanwhile, JD flew under the radar with this pick of Travis Hunter — a selection that could end up paying massive dividends down the road should Colorado’s offense show even a semblance of competency.
Round Six
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6.1 — JD: USC WR Brenden Rice (FLEX)
6.2 — Zac: Oregon Ducks Defense
6.3 — Shane: Stanford TE Benjamin Yurosek
Analysis: This is quite a stack for JD, who now has Caleb Williams, Dorian Singer, and Brenden Rice all on the same team. Zac reached a bit to grab the Oregon defense, but considering they are undoubtedly the top defense in the conference, it may have been warranted. Meanwhile, Shane pulled one out of left field and selected a Stanford player, which nobody expected to happen.
Round Seven
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7.1 — Shane: Washington RB Richard Newton (FLEX)
7.2 — Zac: Colorado RB Alton McCaskill IV
7.3 — JD: Utah Utes Defense
Analysis: In a heavy passing league, Shane grabbed a third RB to stick in his FLEX spot. Meanwhile, Zac took the lesser-known Colorado RB Alton McCaskill IV to complete his backfield, and JD took the second-best defense in the conference with the Utah Utes, leaving Shane in a tough position.
Round Eight
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8.1 — JD: Utah TE Brant Kuithe
8.2 — Zac: Oregon QB Bo Nix
8.3 — Shane: Oregon State Beavers Defense
Analysis: JD went with a back-to-back Utah selection, grabbing veteran Brant Kuithe with his final pick, while Zac grabbed QB Bo Nix — something we knew was going to happen since the second round. This all left Shane to pick up whatever defense was left on the board that he found suitable. He went with Oregon State, because the offensive game management will likely lead to low-scoring games down the road.
Team Breakdown: Shane
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QB: Washington QB Michael Penix Jr.
RB: Oregon RB Bucky Irving
RB: Oregon RB Noah Whittington
WR: Oregon WR Troy Franklin
WR: Washinton WR Jalen McMillan
TE: Stanford TE Benjamin Yurosek
FLEX: Washington RB Richard Newton
DEFENSE: Oregon State Beavers’ Defense
Analysis: If both Oregon and Washington are as good as we think they’re going to be, then look out for Shane’s team. He’s got a great QB/WR stack with Penix and McMillan, and he has Oregon’s skill-group cornered with Irving, Whittington, and Franklin. However, the selection of Benjamin Yurosek could prove deadly should Stanford be as bad as we expect in 2023, and there’s a chance that the Beavers lost too much on defense to stifle opposing offenses.
Team Breakdown: Zac
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QB: Oregon QB Bo Nix
RB: Oregon State RB Damien Martinez
RB: Colorado RB Alton McCaskill IV
WR: Washington WR Rome Odunze
WR: Arizona WR Jacob Cowing
TE: Oregon TE Terrance Ferguson
FLEX: Oregon WR Tez Johnson
DEFENSE: Oregon Ducks’ Defense
Analysis: Zac got incredibly lucky in this draft, given the opportunity to wait on his QB until the final round and still get a Heisman Trophy contender. Meanwhile, he was arguably the best RB and WR in the conference with Damien Martinez and Rome Odunze. The McCaskill pick comes with a lot of risk, since Colorado’s offense may lack production, and the Jacob Cowing pick could also lack some juice, depending on where Arizona finishes up this year. Still, the combo of Nix, Ferguson, Johnson, and Oregon’s defense could be great if the Ducks are as good as we think they’re going to be.
Team Breakdown: JD
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QB: USC QB Caleb Williams
RB: California RB Jaydn Ott
RB: UCLA RB Carson Steele
WR: USC WR Dorian Singer
WR: Colorado WR Travis Hunter
TE: UtahTE Brant Kuithe
FLEX: USC WR Brenden Rice
DEFENSE: Utah Utes’ Defense
Analysis: It’s hard to look at this team and not think that JD won the draft. He got the reigning Heisman Trophy winner at QB, paired with his top two pass-catchers. On top of that, he paired two of arguably the top-three RBs in the conference with Jaydn Ott and Carson Steele, while getting major consistency at the TE spot with Brant Kuithe. Travis Hunter brings a lot of upside to the team, and Utah’s defense should be solid enough to keep him in a ton of games. Well done, JD. You’ve got my vote for best draft of the day.
