2023 NFL Draft Thread

[Outshined_One]

ETA: Hi all!  I am pinning this thread so we can all post live reactions and thoughts regarding the NFL Draft over the coming days.  Please use this thread to discuss mocks, rumors, trades, thoughts, and the fun and creative ways the Jets and Vikings will screw up their picks!  The fun begins today, April 27th, at 7 PM and continues through Saturday.

With the NFL Draft now two weeks away, I figure now is as good of a time as any to get a thread started for everyone's enjoyment.  There's been a ton of discussion in the Bears thread, and some in the NFL thread, but I figured having a thread just for the draft, particularly one we can use for live posting, would be enjoyable for everyone.

Here are some of the latest mock drafts:

Charlie Davis (NFL.com)

Rhett Lewis (NFL.com)

Josh Edwards (CBS)

Matt Verderame (SI)

Finally, PFN's Mock Draft Simulator is available for your craziest trade ideas and those one in a million drafts where Will Anderson somehow falls to 9.

[Derwood]

So it's the Northwestern OT, then.

[Andy]

I'll be quite pleased if CJ Stroud is the pick for Carolina, but I've had a man-crush on Bryce Young for some time so I'm titillated by the recent rumors that they will pick him. There's also a report from The Athletic's beat writer that Carolina and Houston have discussed a trade back to 2 (which could be related to the Young rumors), but it doesn't seem like those are serious talks at this point.

[Outshined_One]

1 hour ago, Derwood said:

So it's the Northwestern OT, then.

I can't shake the feeling that there is going to be some sort of weirdness that results in 4 QBs going in the Top 5. Skoronski makes sense and would be a decent pick, but I could see teams making surprising reaches or selections given the number of health/character/experience concerns for the guys who are being mocked in the Top 10. Heck, even the Bears could reach.

Maybe I'm overly optimistic, but maybe Skoronski won't be the best guy available for what the Bears are looking for at 9.

[Outshined_One]

We're a week out!

Barnwell has some trade ideas. (ESPN)

Peter Schrager has his first mock up(NFL.com).

Kiper and McShay did a 3 round mock (ESPN Insider)

What about Lamar Jackson? (The Athletic)

 

[BigbadB]

Was planning on sitting there watching the entire draft, but ended up with Cubs/Padres tickets on Thursday afternoon and Buddy Guy tickets on Saturday night. I guess I shouldn't act like a whiny spoiled brat since I can record it and still watch it whenever. 63 degrees and rain is the early forecast for Thursday in the Peoria area and likely worse than that in Chicago, so booo. I think the tickets behind home plate are under the upper decks, so there is that.

[Outshined_One]

It's being discussed elsewhere, but Rodgers to the Jets appears to be official.

The rumored return:

Quote

The Packers agreed Monday to deal quarterback Aaron Rodgers and their 2023 first round pick (No. 15) and a 2023 fifth-round pick (No. 170) to the Jets for New York's 2023 first-round pick (No. 13), a 2023 second round pick (No. 42), a 2023 sixth-round pick (No. 207) and a conditional 2024 second-round pick that becomes a first if Rodgers plays 65% of the plays this season, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Monday.

So basically a 1st round pick swap with the Jets kicking back a 2nd rounder, 6th rounder, and conditional 2024 pick.

[jersey cubs fan]

The jets are such a poorly run organization 

[raw]

If anyone cares....I decided to drop some draft position rankings. I'll throw in some little blurbs as well. This is very Bears centric, so I didn't really do much "scouting" at safety. And I basically stopped looking at LB after signing Edwards and Edmunds. So I won't include those positions. I'll also do separate posts for each position

Starting with EDGE

Tier 1 (1st round)

1. Will Anderson, Alabama- he's great, don't overthink

2. Nolan Smith, Georgia- don't box him in to 3-4 OLB, he's the best run defender on the list with the best pass rush ability

3. Myles Murphy, Clemson- did Venables take the DL's pass rush moves w/ him like the Monstars? 2021 tape better across the board. 

4. Tyree Wilson, Texas Tech- don't dislike a 7' wing span on the edge, but no double digit sack guy in his future

5. Lukas Van Ness, Iowa- 1 move is a bull rush, but it's great. More moves and counters away from top DE in class

6. Will McDonald, Iowa St- best bend in class, super long arms and good speed. Run D?

Tier 2 (2nd round)

Keion White, Georgia Tech- on re-watch really liked, big, strong can bend. get downhill burst

BJ Ojulari, LSU- polished pass rusher w/ counters, solid like his brother in NY.

Felix Anudike-Uzomah, Kansas St- fun athlete, all over the place, high upside/really low floor

Isaiah Foskey, Notre Dame- motor, effort, good run D, bend is iffy

Byron Young, Tennessee- big fan of his game and story, speed for days. Another 25 yo from the Vols though?

Derick Hall, Auburn- jack of all trades, master of none, great effort, doesn't play run D yet

Tier 3 (round 3/4, top 125)

Zach Harrison, Ohio St- Tyree Wilson build, Owen Wilson production. He has insane highs, handed Jaelyn Duncan his ass this year

Yaya Diaby, Louisville- big, fast, raw. Misused a bit, love the upside here

Isaiah McGuire, Missouri- one of the stronger DEs in this class, enough speed and bend around edge, left wanting more on tape

DJ Johnson, Oregon- another old dude (24), quietly has some juice off the edge.

Tier 4 (4th/5th round, after 125th pick)

Tuli Tuipulotu, USC- don't love him as much as most, great using his hands, but don't think he can win the same way in NFL. Would prefer he get up to 285-290 and play inside

KJ Henry, Clemson- average at everything. Could be a rotational guy for years

Andre Carter, Army- don't love him as much as most. Very skinny, raw, needs and NFL weight program then may lose athleticism which he doesn't exactly have a ton to spare

Tavius Robinson, Ole Miss- long, quick, very stiff

There's other guys that I'd have a 6th-UDFA level:

Robert Beal, UGA; Thomas Incoom, Western Mich; Dylan Horton, TCU; Ali Gaye, LSU; Brenton Cox Jr, Florida; MJ Anderson, Iowa St; Habakkuk Baldonado, Pitt; Ikenna Enechukwu, Rice; Nick Herbig, Wisconsin; Villami Fehoko, San Jose St

[raw]

CB

Tier 1

Devon Witherspoon, Illinois- he's 1A or 1B, with CB I simply value guys who don't let other guys catch the ball

Christian Gonzalez, Oregon- 1B, I'd draft him over 'Spoon, size, smooth movements, ball skills, better man/zone versatility 

Cam Smith, South Carolina- 2021 he didn't let guys catch the ball. Did in 2022, a lot. But that ability is still there, also w/ ball skills

Deonte Banks, Maryland- athletic, sticky, good change of direction skills, ball skills?

Joey Porter Jr, Penn State- he's his dad but at CB, 34" arms, press man, can he play zone? 

Tier 2

Emmanuel Forbes, Mississippi St- amazing ball skills, 6 pick 6's in 2 years, IIRC. 6'1, but weighs like 130lbs. Don't ask him to tackle

Julius Brents, Kansas St- long, fast, in the mold of top '22 rookies (Sauce, Woolen). Drafted somewhere in between

Tyrique Stevenson, Miami- above average measurables all around, press man guy who I think will either thrive or fall on face in zone heavy scheme

Tre-Vius Hodges-Tomlinson, TCU- LaDanian's nephew, only 5'7", good at everything except being big, will go much later than this in draft

Clark Phillips, Utah- also tiny, but don't pigeonhole in slot. Uses sidelines well, not great chasing people all over the field

Tier 3

DJ Turner, Michigan- really really fast, not sure how well he plays CB but tools and length are there, gets beat but closes

Eli Ricks, Alabama- think he was hurt a lot this year, better 2021 tape, looked like day 1/2 pick

Darius Rush, South Carolina- big, long, ball skills. Sleeper to be top rookie. Big Senior Bowl week put him on radar, little tight hipped?

Cory Trice, Purdue- if can't get Brents in 2nd, get Trice in 3rd. Kind of the same dude, but Brents better athlete

Tier 4

Jaylon Jones, Texas A&M- tape was OK, sloppy technique, tested below average. Would be fun because Bears would then have 2 Jaylon Joneses in the CB room

Garrett Williams, Syracuse- he's a good player, but has had injuries and didn't work out (ACL?, can't remember), agressive, agile, not great at catch point

Others: 

Terrell Smith, Minnesota- haven't really watched

Riley Moss, Iowa- unicorn AKA white CB, multiple pick 6's against my Hoosiers

Kelee Ringo, Georgia- he CAN play CB, but he got worked by good WRs in man this year. I have him as a safety where he can keep everything in front of him. 

[raw]

Switching up to Offensive tackle

Tier 1

Paris Johnson Jr, Ohio St- 1 year at LT, 1 at RG, long, strong, athletic. Not as Day 1 ready as I'd like for top 10, but upside is immense

Anton Harrison, Oklahoma- forgotten guy, he's the youngest OT in the class w/ most LT experience, really good pass blocker, solid run blocker, but a tad passive

Darnell Wright, Tennessee- started 3 years on both sides, RT tape in 2022 way better than LT tape. Big, mean, more athletic than I thought. High floor, but still w/ a ceiling

Broderick Jones, Georgia- anti-Harrison, nasty in run game, no idea how to pass block, yet. UGA ran hella RPOs

Dawand Jones, Ohio St- late 1st round pick, IMO. He's really good. He's just not a Bear at 6'8, 360lbs

Tier 2

Wanya Morris, Oklahoma- 5* recruit, off-field, struggled, transferred, benched, but you can see the talent, needs consistency. Physical clone of Braxton Jones

Blake Freeland, BYU- if you wanted to sign McGlinchey, that's who you hope he becomes, 0 play strength, but great athlete. Not Mormon, so only 21/22 not 30

Tier 3

Tyler Steen, Alabama- he's so average it's boring. But boring on OL is good. Jack of all, master of none

Jaelyn Duncan, Maryland- good athlete, looks the part. 6 sacks 19 pressures vs OSU, Mich, Penn St. Yikes

Tier 4

Carter Warren, Pitt- good athlete, looks the part. Gave up too many sacks in 20 & 21, got hurt missed most of this year

Warren McClendon, Georgia- he's not great, but 4* 3-year starter at UGA means something. Held off Jones as starter in '21

Asim Richards, North Carolina- has upside, but passive (sometimes lazy) in pass pro, not a great run blocker

 

[raw]

Interior OL

Tier 1

Peter Skoronski, Northwestern- I fully believe he can play OT in the league, but physical outlier. Could be a good OT or a great OG. I'll take the great guard. Best pure blocker in the class

O'Cyrus Torrence, Florida- buzz kind of wore off, but he's a big monster than can move and maul. Not going to be a Chicago Bear but may be an actual bear

John Michael Schmitz, Minnesota- if you like really athletic linemen, he's not your guy. But damn if he can't make every single block. Great out of stance, which allows him to make reach, 2nd level and pull blocks

Tier 2

Cody Mauch, North Dakota St- short arms, athletic former TE, wish he was longer because he'd be a stud OT prospect. Prefer him at C than OG

Steve Avila, TCU- anti Mauch, good length can play OG or C, no OT experience or I'd try him there. Can move now, think he's a stud if he cuts weight to 315ish

Emil Ekiyor, Alabama- throwback OG type, short w/ bubble butt, think he's underrated, good mover, solid anchor

Tier 3

Luke Wypler, Ohio St- another short-armed guy, C only hurts him, but young age (RS soph) helps, as done good game vs Jalen Carter in playoff

Jon Gaines, UCLA- great athlete, willing to be on those tools at OG or OC

Joe Tippman, Wisconsin- 6'6 centers scare me, great on the move, fits Bears O. Anchor in pass rush may be bad

Matthew Bergeron, Syracuse- popular 2nd round target in Bears mocks. I think he's a guard. Lateral movement is iffy. Like his anchor and length though

Braeden Daniels, Utah- can probably play some OT. Sub 300lbs. Elite mover, a lot of nasty to his game

Tier 4

Olusegun Oluwatimi, Michigan- was a beast vs Ohio St. Strong as an ox, don't like his movement skills

Ricky Stromberg, Arkansas- definition of solid, has experience, scheme versatile, doesn't excel at anything, which is fine

Juice Scruggs, Penn St- solid w/ C/G versatility, jack of all master of none type, good length, needs to keep moving feet at contact

McClendon Curtis, Chattanooga- freakishly long arms, good athlete, but don't want him in space, developmental OG

Andrew Vorhees, USC- would be tier 2 if healthy, feel bad tore ACL at combine and may be 26 by NFL debut, but a really good blocker at OG

[raw]

RB rankings

Tier 1

Bijan Robinson, Texas- LaDanian's nephew is in the CB class. Bijan is LaDanian's clone as a runner. HOF talent

Jahmyr Gibbs, Alabama- Bijan truly a tier of his own, but Gibbs is a 1st rounder too IMO. Excellent vision and receiver. More offensive weapon than RB

Tier 3 (no tier 2)

Roschon Johnson, Texas- all around back, big (short yardage), good hands, good blocker, no super quick

Kendre Miller, TCU- runs w/ patience, but when he sees the hole, he goes. Receiving?

Zach Charbonnet, UCLA- poor man's Matt Forte, glider, not as good a receiver, not quite as elusive

Devon Achane, Texas A&M- another weapon, tiny but can get 10-12 carries between tackles. Good receiver, 

Tyjae Spears, Tulane- quick, potential to be a really good WR, don't pigeonhole into 3rd down back

Tier 4

Kenny McIntosh, Georgia- may be a 3rd down back, despite his size. Really good receiver, can actually line up wide. OK blocker, just OK between tackles, has some shake,, some violent runs, no calling card as a runner

Eric Gray, Oklahoma- also 3rd down back, similar to McIntosh but not as good in tackles.

Israel Abanikanda, Pitt- big time speed, looks for the hole and goes, hangs in backfield too long though, not great urgency. Not sure if receiver or blocker

Zach Evans, Ole Miss- all the talent on earth, think he was #1 overall recruit, but lost carries to backups at 2 different schools, zone scheme only, good speed, mediocre vision and wiggle

Tank Bigsby, Auburn- 2021 tape was better IMO. Solid all around, not a blocker or receiver, not great long speed

Sean Tucker, Syracuse- good speed, leaves lot to be desired, no 3rd down value blocking or catching

Chase Brown, Illinois- good at everything, doesn't stand out in any area. Kind of a faster Montgomery? I think he has better receiving potential than people give him credit for

The rest

Dewayne McBride, UAB- big, good speed, fumbles too much

Mohamed Ibrahim, Minnesota- big, likes to run into people, not NFL level talent, but NFL level work ethic

Deuce Vaughn, Kansas St- Darren Sproles 2.0, 3rd down/KR guy only

Chris Rodriguez, Kentucky; Evan Hull, Northwestern- see Ibrahim

[raw]

Tight Ends

Tier 1

Dalton Kincaid, Utah- seam monster, good athlete, great hands

Darnell Washington, Georgia- if Skoronski isn't the best overall blocker in the draft, he is. Like a 3rd tackle, freak linear athlete, not much twitch, but makes defenders twitch after he pancakes them

Tier 2

Michael Mayer- more like Michael Meh-er. Meh is fine at TE. Bears have meh at home. Similar player to Kmet, ND has a type

Sam LaPorta, Iowa- good receiver, decent blocker, love his run after catch ability, health issues rumored? NGL his school excites me as a TE

Luke Musgrave, Oregon St- getting a little overrated based on flashes, could show more if not always hurt. Great size, great potential as a receiver, not much of a blocker

Tier 3

Zach Kuntz, Old Dominion- freak! 6'8 and very fluid athlete. Bears have great situation for him to develop in as #3 TE this year and 2 going forward w/ no pressure to be TE1

Tucker Kraft- South Dakota St- he's probably not Dallas Goedert from the same school, but he could be. Similar all-around skillset

Tier 4

Brayden Willis, Oklahoma- like him a lot, undersized H-back type, good blocker, flashes of dynamic ability in space

Will Mallory, Miami- one of the faster TEs in the class, potential top end receiver at the position, willing but just OK blocker

Brenton Strange, Penn St- similar to Willis IMO, little bigger to play in-line though, a RAC type of TE who is a good athlete

Payne Durham, Purdue- in the Kmet/Mayer mold, but poor man's version. Could be a solid TE for a team that doesn't expect a star

Tier 5

Luke Schoonmaker, Michigan- backup TE upside, good blocker, checkdown level receiver

Davis Allen, Clemson- opposite of Schoonmaker, solid receiver, not a blocker, still a #2 TE type

Cameron Latu, Alabama- similar build to Mallory, but doesn't have that athletic ability as a receiver. OK and willing to do everything

[raw]

WRs- My WR rankings aren't exactly cemented yet, so I will wing it a bit. Almost everyone here has iffy hands. Lot of 9-12% drop rates here.

Tier 1

Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Ohio St- best WR of this class, but not up with top WRs of top classes, elite quickness and agility, probably on wins short and intermediate, no deep threat, but don't pigeonhole to slot only

Quentin Johnston, TCU- amazing after catch, if he actually makes the catch, not bad hands but doesn't snatch the ball like a big WR

Zay Flowers, Boston College- short, small catch radius, can get open all 3 levels, bulkier than you'd think

Jordan Addison, USC- tinier than you'd think, Devonta Smith slimness, without quite that level ability. Great routes

Tier 2

Cedric Tillman, Tennessee- one of few big WRs in this class, '21 amazing, '22 hurt, true boundary guy, downfield/jumpball threat

Rashee Rice, SMU- stock has cooled a bit, if takes the next level in route running to consistently separate, he could be WR1 from this class

Jalin Hyatt, Tennessee- plays faster than timed, lowkey has sharp breaks on routes, don't pigeonhole as deep threat only

Jayden Reed, Michigan St- '22 tape isn't special, but senior bowl was, similar to Zay can make plays all over, little bigger, not the same route runner as Flowers

Josh Downs, North Carolina- contested catch God somehow at 5'9, don't love his route running or hands, but will have a role

Tier 3

Tank Dell- probably knock him a little for Mooney similarities, better pure route runner, not quite the deep threat/speed, 0 catch radius but great with ball in his hands

Jonathan Mingo, Ole Miss- big body WR who can run, doesn't separate out of breaks, not saying he's Deebo, but if anyone could be from this class....

Xavier Hutchinson, Iowa St- Allen Robinson type, but unfortunately more like 21-22 ARob than 17-20. Needs improved route running, but still possession guy who can take the top off a defense if needed

Tier 4

Parker Washington, Penn St- RB body playing WR, great hands, good at finding spots in zone, slot/gadget only?

Marvin Mims, Oklahoma- productive player, but not a good route runner for an undersized guy, hands issues, 0 strength

Tyler Scott, Cincinnati- track level speed, can he do anything but run deep?, 0 strength

AT Perry, Wake Forest- I'm biased because I hate their offense, runs delayed routes as WF runs slow developing RPOs, takes a lot to gear up or down, super long arms best catch radius in class

Others-

Bryce Ford-Wheaton, WVU- big, but didn't play as fast as he timed

Matt Landers, Arkansas- 6'4", 200lbs and can fly, worth late round flyer

Kayshon Boutte, LSU- my #1 WR in Sept, played like a 5th round pick, tested like a 6th, off-field makes him UDFA at best

Michael Wilson, Stanford- people love him from Senior bowl but honestly have only watched 1 game, and that was like the only game he stayed healthy for in the last 3 years. Was a highlight tape though. Has skills but can he stay on the field?

[Tim]

Awesome stuff, Raw!

[Hrubes20]

20 hours ago, raw said:

Tight Ends

Tier 1

Dalton Kincaid, Utah- seam monster, good athlete, great hands

Darnell Washington, Georgia- if Skoronski isn't the best overall blocker in the draft, he is. Like a 3rd tackle, freak linear athlete, not much twitch, but makes defenders twitch after he pancakes them

Tier 2

Michael Mayer- more like Michael Meh-er. Meh is fine at TE. Bears have meh at home. Similar player to Kmet, ND has a type

Sam LaPorta, Iowa- good receiver, decent blocker, love his run after catch ability, health issues rumored? NGL his school excites me as a TE

Luke Musgrave, Oregon St- getting a little overrated based on flashes, could show more if not always hurt. Great size, great potential as a receiver, not much of a blocker

Tier 3

Zach Kuntz, Old Dominion- freak! 6'8 and very fluid athlete. Bears have great situation for him to develop in as #3 TE this year and 2 going forward w/ no pressure to be TE1

Tucker Kraft- South Dakota St- he's probably not Dallas Goedert from the same school, but he could be. Similar all-around skillset

Tier 4

Brayden Willis, Oklahoma- like him a lot, undersized H-back type, good blocker, flashes of dynamic ability in space

Will Mallory, Miami- one of the faster TEs in the class, potential top end receiver at the position, willing but just OK blocker

Brenton Strange, Penn St- similar to Willis IMO, little bigger to play in-line though, a RAC type of TE who is a good athlete

Payne Durham, Purdue- in the Kmet/Mayer mold, but poor man's version. Could be a solid TE for a team that doesn't expect a star

Tier 5

Luke Schoonmaker, Michigan- backup TE upside, good blocker, checkdown level receiver

Davis Allen, Clemson- opposite of Schoonmaker, solid receiver, not a blocker, still a #2 TE type

Cameron Latu, Alabama- similar build to Mallory, but doesn't have that athletic ability as a receiver. OK and willing to do everything

This is one of the best TE classes I can remember.  It's lying season, but supposedly some teams have failed Washington's medicals.  Somebody might be getting a steal with him if he drops (hopefully Miami).  

[Outshined_One]

Stroud's test scores leaked.

Anyone want to take odds on who's trying to get him to drop?

[Brian707]

This is the first draft since 2017 that I have been interested in. Looking forward to the Bears pick of course but also all the craziness that this draft appears to be headed towards.

[Derwood]

16 hours ago, Outshined_One said:

Stroud's test scores leaked.

Anyone want to take odds on who's trying to get him to drop?

 

If that test causes Stroud to drop out of the top 5, no agent will ever let their clients take the test again

[UMFan83]

I get so confused about these new topics that pop up out of nowhere with weeks of posts.  Guessing they're being split off mega threads?

Looking forward to seeing how things play out.

[Outshined_One]

1 hour ago, UMFan83 said:

I get so confused about these new topics that pop up out of nowhere with weeks of posts.  Guessing they're being split off mega threads?

Looking forward to seeing how things play out.

 We've had some really good quality discussion in the Bears offseason thread, and I didn't split anything off from it, but I figured starting this thread would be a good place to (1) give non-Bears fans a place to discuss the specifics of the draft from their teams' perspectives; and (2) make an obvious thread where we can centralize live reactions/news/etc. involving the NFL Draft, rather than requiring people to comb through other threads for content.

[Hrubes20]

4 hours ago, Derwood said:

 

If that test causes Stroud to drop out of the top 5, no agent will ever let their clients take the test again

At least the ones that already had decision-making questions, anyway.  It wouldn't shock me if it was Houston that leaked the score, so that they can point to that for their fans when they go defense at #2.

[JeffH]

Rumors now that, if Houston passes on Stroud at 2, Tennessee will trade with Arizona to get to 3 to take him.  If that happens, I really want Stroud to become the Titans' version of Aaron Rodgers and the Texans to be the Rodgers-era Bears.

Caserio is awful and the Texans are the worst organization in the NFL.  They should continue to pay for their ineptitude.

[Magnetic Curses]

6 minutes ago, JeffH said:

Rumors now that, if Houston passes on Stroud at 2, Tennessee will trade with Arizona to get to 3 to take him.  If that happens, I really want Stroud to become the Titans' version of Aaron Rodgers and the Texans to be the Rodgers-era Bears.

Caserio is awful and the Texans are the worst organization in the NFL.  They should continue to pay for their ineptitude.

Texans fans are like "it's just one spot, he made the right move."

well, we'll see what happens with that one spot when it means the difference between having your franchise QB or not.