The 2023 NFL Draft is six days away. For the most part, everyone’s boards should be set. We, as fans of the draft process almost revel in the chaos of it all. With that being said, today I make five bold predictions that would add to the anarchy of the 2023 NFL Draft.
Five Bold Predictions for the 2023 NFL Draft
At Least Two Trades Moving Up a Minimum of Eight Spots in Round One
With some of the rumors going around the NFL lexicon at the moment, it feels like the time is right for some bold moves to be made.
Bryce Young (QB/Alabama) is now the betting favorite to be selected #1. The dirt sheets say that the Houston Texans only want Young as their QB. So, if they pass on Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud (or Anthony Richardson and Will Levis) by taking Alabama edge rusher Will Anderson, the Arizona Cardinals are sitting on a gold mine.Â
This could entice teams like the Tennessee Titans, Washington Commanders, Minnesota Vikings, and others to get roused to make the move. You can then see one of those teams or someone else like Tampa Bay or New Orleans get brazen enough to get one of the other two passers. Or maybe even Hendon hooker of Tennessee.
No Veteran QB Trades on Draft Weekend
There seems to be enough posturing going around between the Jets, Packers, and 49ers (?!) that I am not sure an Aaron Rodgers trade gets done between April 27th and April 29th. It seems that both New York and Green Bay are acting like both have leverage when neither really does.
I have also heard talks of the 49ers maybe giving up on Trey Lance. I don’t see that one going down either.
Three Teams Will Trade Into the Final Six Picks of Round One
You hear it every year about teams wanting to get into the back end of the first round to get the fifth-year option on players. And almost every year, without fail, we don’t see that kind of action. Well, this year feels different. I can think of several prospects that could warrant teams from the top ten of round two trying to get back into the first round.
10 Defensive Backs Will Go in the First 40 Picks
It is a good year for cornerback prospects (not so much for safeties). But there is a drop-off at a certain point. See the previous bold prediction, and you could see a few teams moving up to grab the corner that they like.
I think before pick 40 of round two we will see the following players selected:Â Christian Gonzalez (Oregon), Devon Witherspoon (Illinois), Joey Porter Jr (Penn State), Emmanuel Forbes (Mississippi State), Brian Branch (Alabama), Cam Smith (South Carolina), Deonte Banks (Maryland), Kelee Ringo (Georgia), Julius Brents (Kansas State), and Sydney Brown (Illinois).
As Many or More Interior Offensive Linemen Will Be Selected in Round One than OTs
I like this offensive tackle class but I wonder how the NFL views it. It leads me to believe that we could see more interior offensive line prospects go on night one than offensive tackles. For this to work we have to classify Northwestern’s Peter Skoronski as an IOL (which we do at Draft Countdown. I think Skoronski, John Michael Schmitz (Minnesota), Steve Avila (TCU), and Florida’s O’Cyrus Torrence could go early.
This means that means for this scenario to happen, both Dawand Jones (Ohio State) and Anton Harrison (Oklahoma) would fall out of round one.Â
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