2023 NFL Draft Gives Hope to Fans

The Super Bowl is over and that officially means it’s draft season! 

The excitement is already stirring within some who are reading these words! 

Next to the start of the season, it’s right up there in terms of anticipation. There’s all the mock drafts to look at and all the speculation. 

What’s my team going to do? 

The thing I love most about the draft is hope we feel as fans. 

Just think

Last April the Giants were coming off a 4-13 season, and selecting No. 4, and that’s when Oregon’s edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux and his 40 pressures happened.

Next thing we knew, the Giants were in the playoffs!

In this draft, there are a lot of great players to get your hopes up about. It’s a deep draft for receivers, pass rushers, and corners. 

The 2023 NFL Draft held this year in Kansas City, also features two top-five quarterbacks.

There’s Ohio State’s  C.J. Stroud and Alabama’s Bryce Young. 

Stroud processes what he’s seeing remarkably fast, both pre and post snap. Young looks like Houdini running around creating and extending plays. 

These are the skills that promise to quickly turn around the teams that select them, much like LSU quarterback Joe Burrow’s skill set turned around the Bengals. 

Cincinnati went from being the worst team in 2019, to being in the Super Bowl just two seasons later! 

Circling back to Young for a moment, at 6-foot-0, 194 pounds, it’s been 63 years since a quarterback was taken in the first-round that’s this small! In 1960, Washington selected quarterback Richie Lewis (6-foot-0, 190 pounds). 

As someone who worked in the league, however, I’m not concerned about Young’s size. The “measurables” have long been overplayed and overstated. 

What matters most is the player’s heart. 

It’s the “want” that separates the game changers from the busts. 

What will the top 3 teams do when the draft kicks off at 8 p.m. on April 27?

It’s anyone’s guess, literally, as there’s even odds in Vegas of who’s going at No. 1. 

Look for Chicago to select Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter with the first pick in the draft. 

Carter is a true difference maker, who will become the game’s best defensive tackle. He’s a shoe-in for Defensive Rookie of the Year honors. From the first moment I first saw him on game film, all I could think of is Vikings’ Hall of Fame defensive tackle, Alan Page. 

Despite Stroud being the better pure quarterback than Young on game film, look for the Texans’ to take Young at No. 2. 

This Alabama quarterback is just too damn exciting to pass up. Plus Texans’ General Manager, Nick Caserio’s roots trace back to Alabama’s Head Coach Nick Saban. 

That’s how business gets done in the NFL.

Arizona is the wildcard at No. 3

With underachieving Cardinals’ $230 million dollar quarterback Kyler Murray coming off a torn ACL, do the Cardinals do the unthinkable and write Stroud’s name on the card and send it in? 

If not, what will they do? 

One thing they shouldn’t do is try to replace their passionate pass rusher, J.J. Watt, who they lost to retirement, with Alabama’s edge Will Anderson, who looked lazy on game film. 

Could Arizona trade their pick for a huge windfall of picks like Miami did in 2021? 

What happens after that?

With teams right behind them like the Colts and Lions (who have two number one picks this year No. 6 and No. 18) needing a future franchise quarterback, could either team work a deal with the Cardinals? 

Maybe the Seahawks at pick No. 5 could be back in the market for a new signal caller as well depending if they re-sign free agent, NFL Comeback Player of the Year, Geno Smith? 

The quarterback starving Raiders (No.7), Falcons (No. 8) and Panthers (No. 9) are all behind them on the draft runway. 

After Stroud, there’s not much on the board for first-round quarterbacks. Louisville signal caller Malik Cunningham is my QB3, but he’s a later first round value ideally for New Orleans at pick No. 29. 

Despite mainstream draft platforms pushing quarterbacks Will Levis (Kentucky) and Anthony Richardson (Florida) as first-round prospects, there’s absolutely nothing on game film that supports these narratives. 

One things for sure, if this draft is anything like last year’s, when three of the best rookies were selected in the fifth-round (SEA CB Tariq Woolen), sixth-round (DET EDGE James Houston) and seventh-round (SF QB Brock Purdy), it will be another draft that turns hope into wins. 

Daniel Kelly is a former NFL Scout with the New York Jets. He was hired on the regime which featured Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick, Scott Pioli, Mike Tannenbaum, and Dick Haley. He currently writes for Sports Illustrated New York Jets and he is the Editor-in-Chief for First Round Mock. For more information about him visit his website at whateverittakesbook.com. He can be followed on Twitter @firstroundmock.