KANSAS CITY, MO — With the 2023 NFL Draft coming up in Kansas City, the selection is a no brainer with selecting BBQ when it comes to food in KC. Now, to the important reason of why Kansas City will be on the National stage next week, the NFL Draft here we go.
1: Carolina Panthers: CJ Stroud, QB, Ohio State: Quarterback, which one? Let’s go CJ Stroud Ohio State. Seems like his timing is just in sync with playing the position. He just seems like he’s the type of quarterback that Carolina wants with a smart Quarterback that can use his legs every once in awhile.
2: Detroit Lions (with HOU): Will Anderson JR. DE/LB, Alabama: TRADE!! Houston trades back accumulate more picks. Look at the GM and his roots. Nick Caserio established himself with New England where trade is king. With the second pick in the 2023 NFL Draft the Detroit Lions select Will Anderson JR. DE/LB Alabama.
Two young pass rushers with Hutch and Anderson will make Detroit have one of the best pass rushing tandems for the next decade YIKES!!!!! Houston trades 2, and 73 to Detroit for 6, 18, 81
3: Arizona Cardinals: Tyree Wilson, DE, Texas Tech: You can almost pick anyone here and say GREAT PICK. The logical answer here would be Tyree Wilson DE Texas Tech. With the retirement of J.J Watt, Wilson would fill an immediate need with a much needed pass rusher in Tyree Wilson.
4: Indianapolis Colts: Bryce Young, QB, Alabama: Somehow when Indianapolis is desperate for a young quarterback, one will fall right to their arms. First it was Peyton Manning, followed by Andrew Luck, Bryce Young out of Alabama will be the next head horseman to start his NFL journey in Indianapolis.
5: Seattle Seahawks: Jalen Carter, DL, Georgia: Seattle got really lucky here with the Russell Wilson trade in landing a Top 5 pick. Carter may have scared some teams in the Top 5, however the production is still there. Jalen will benefit from Pete Carroll having success at coaching at the college level so he can relate to Jalen. Seattle hits a Home Run here.
6: Houston Texans (From Detroit): Myles Murphy, DE, Clemson. Passing up on Will Anderson might not be Nick Caserio’s smartest move, however Houston needs a ton of help on both sides of the ball. This is a better than average start. Maybe they want Caleb Williams in 2024, we’ll see
7: Las Vegas Raiders: Christian Gonzalez, CB, Oregon. Initially, I had Anthony Richardson here, however getting Jimmy G for three years helps the QB position, especially with this history he has with McD.
In a division where you have Mahomes, Wilson, and his former college teammate Justin Herbert.
Good luck maybe he’s picked off Herbert enough times at Oregon that he’s ready for it to count this time.
8: Atlanta Falcons: Anthony Richardson, QB, Florida. With Taylor Heinicke and Desmond Ridder, I’m not overly blown away with the QB situation in Atlanta. The Falcons were linked to Lamar Jackson earlier in the off-season. Atlanta gets the younger version of Lamar with a ton of upside.
Another first round Gator lands with the Falcons, and most people thought Florida and Georgia couldn’t co-exist.
9: Chicago Bears: Peter Skoronski, OT, Northwestern. How does Chicago protect Justin Fields? The answer is right out of their backyard in Skoronski. It was tempting to take Jaxon Smith Njigba the old teammate of Justin Fields. With DJ Moore coming to town alongside Chase Claypool and Cole Kmet.
It was much more needed to protect Fields who was sacked 55 times last year. Ouch!
10: Green Bay Packers (VIA PHI) Jaxon Smith Njigba, WR, Ohio State. TRADE!!! Philadelphia gains Draft capital for for future draft years. Green Bay is also relying on future draft capital with a potential trade with the Jets with Aaron Rodgers. Here’s something you didn’t see in the Rodgers era.
With the 10th pick the Green Bay Packers take Smith-Njigba. Green Bay is still suffering from the loss of Davante Adams. The addition of Smith Njigba gives Green Bay another target for Jordan Love, just to leave a final sour taste in Rodgers’ mouth before he JETS for New York.
Green Bay Trades No. 15, No. 149, and a 2024 3rd pick, while Philadelphia trades No. 10.
11: Tennessee Titans: Broderick Jones, OT, Georgia. Losing Taylor Lewan on the offensive Line was a major blow to the OL of the Titans. Ryan Tannehill enters the final year of his contract, so they can also go Will Levis here. You can have an average Quarterback with a superior offensive line, which will take your team to the playoffs. Tannehill was a perfect example of that when the Titans went to the AFC Championship game in 2019.
12: Houston Texans: Zay Flowers, WR, Boston College. With the loss of Brandin Cooks the Texans need an additional playmaker on offense to help the passing game. The last time they took an ACC WR in the first round it worked out pretty well for them. DeAndre Hopkins anyone?
13: New York Jets: Paris Johnson, OL, Ohio State. With the anticipation of Aaron Rodgers coming to the Big Apple, the Jets better protect their new quarterback as the face of the franchise if only for a year maybe two. With the potential of Rodgers that’s two quarterbacks from the Frozen Tundra to Broadway.
At 13, Gang Green selects the Buckeyes OL standout to protect A-Rod.
14: New England Patriots: Devan Witherspoon, CB, Illinois. Belichick feels strong enough about the man-to-man skills of Witherspoon that he stays put and takes him at 14.
15: Philadelphia Eagles (From Green Bay). Nolan Smith, OLB, Georgia. Brandon Graham is getting older and eventually needs to be replaced. Nolan Smith had an impressive combine and will be given the opportunity to be surrounded by many veterans to make Nolan Smiths game better. With fellow bulldogs Jordan Davis and Nakobe Dean, Philadelphia is quietly becoming the Bulldogs of the Northeast
16: Washington Commanders: Brian Branch, S, Alabama. The biggest victory for Commander fans is the principle agreement to sell the team to a new ownership group. Picking up Brian Branch is a close second as Washington gets some much needed help in the secondary. There will be plenty of opportunities for Branch to pick off passes especially if the front four does it’s job rushing the quarterback
17: Pittsburgh Steelers: Joey Porter Jr., DB, Penn State. Like father like son. Joey Porter was a feared linebacker on Pittsburgh’s two Super Bowl teams. Steelers take Jr. as he follows in his dad’s footsteps in the Steel City.
18: Houston Texans (From Detroit): Will Levis, QB, Kentucky. The Rodgers/Mac Jones effect follows Levis to Houston. Levis have the same career as Rodgers or Jones? That remains to be seen but Houston appears to have their QB of the future, until they do or don’t.
19: Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Will McDonald, DE, Iowa State. Todd Bowles is always looking for defense it appears. McDonald will be able to play in rotation effectively alongside Shaq Barrett as Tampa Bay gets another pass rusher.
At this point, Bucs fans are still celebrating the Super Bowl Tom Brady won them in their home stadium.
20: Seattle Seahawks: Darnell Wright, OT, Tennessee. After drafting Charles Cross at left tackle. It’s time to address the other side. Abraham Lucas allowed nine sacks. Seahawks are due for another upgrade on the other side of the ball.
21: Los Angeles Chargers: Lukas Van Ness, DE, Iowa. The Chargers could use additional defensive Line fronts. If anything Van Ness provides versatility and the opportunity to learn from fellow Big 10 DE Joey Bosa
22: Baltimore Ravens: Quentin Johnston, WR, TCU. What will it take for Lamar Jackson to stay. Was Odell enough??? Maybe At this point I’d say no. Adding Johnston from TCU may be enough to keep Lamar happy enough to play under the Franchise tag this year.
23: Buffalo Bills: Bijan Robinson, RB, Texas. (via MIN) TRADE!!! Buffalo and Minnesota are at it again. Buffalo is one running back away from that offense being SUPER EXPLOSIVE. The first running back finally comes off the board.
Bijan Robinson adds this dimension of the Bills offense that the Bills have been missing since Thurman Thomas.
Buffalo trades 27, 91, 137, Minnesota trades 23, 158
24: Jacksonville Jaguars: Jack Campbell, LB, Iowa. Doug Pederson made a great coaching debut with winning a playoff game this season. Trevor Lawrence developed nicely now that Urban Meyer is gone. The Jaguars need more defensive playmakers. Campbell will turn many heads in Jacksonville.
25: New York Giants: Michael Mayer, TE, Notre Dame. The Giants lost Evan Engram last year in free agency to the Jaguars. Evan Engram turned out to be the TE that the Giants hoped that he would be.
The Giants try their luck again and go Michael Mayer aka “Baby Gronk”. A little bit of a do everything guy.
26: Dallas Cowboys: Jahmyr Gibbs, RB, Alabama. They hoped that Bijan Robinson would fall to 26. The next best thing they can find is Jahmyr Gibbs out of Alabama. Now that Zeke is gone the Cowboys need another running back to fill the void. Gibbs has the explosive burst to get into the second level more often than not.
27: Minnesota Vikings: Jordan Addison, WR, USC. The defense was less than stellar last year. Kevin O’Connell loves offense. Kevin O’Connell must be familiar with USC. Addison would make a fantastic No.2 across from Justin Jefferson. Who do you guard Justin or Jordan you might as well call the new WR duo the Flying AJ’s
28: Cincinnati Bengals: O’Cyrus Torrence, G, Florida. Cincinnati invested heavily on their offensive line to make sure that Joe Burrow is protected. Adding Orlando Brown helps but they need one more piece. Here it is! Burrow gets his early Christmas present right here with Torrence.
29: New Orleans Saints: Bryan Breese, DT, Clemson. Anything New Orleans does will be an upgrade. Outside of Cam Jordan, who is up there in age, the Saints don’t have much depth at defensive line.
30: Philadelphia Eagles: Calijah Kancey, DT, Pittsburgh. Fletcher Cox is getting up there in age. Kancey provides a fountain of youth among the D Line in Philadelphia
31: Kansas City Chiefs: Deonte Banks, CB, Maryland. Your world champion Kansas City Chiefs address the secondary here. You can never have too many quality corners. Adding Banks to a backfield with L’Jarius Sneed and Trent McDuffie gives the Chiefs more secondary depth to defend their title.
The title defense begins in their own back yard.