2024 WR Rankings

1. Marvin Harrison Jr. Ohio State 6’3 205 Jr. He barely played in 2021 (11 139 3 TDs), had his best season in 2022 with CJ Stroud (77 1,263 14 TDs), and a very similar 2023 (67 1,211 14 TDs). His 16.4 and 18.1 YPR the past two years shows his deep route tree as Marvin ran about as NFL caliber of a route tree as you will ever find. It felt at times like they cared more about improving him as a draft prospect than winning games as he had very few schemed touches, screens, etc. Marvin is a big framed wide receiver I comp to Davante Adams as his frame, release package, and lack of YAC all give me Adams vibes. He’s arguably the most complete WR I’ve ever scouted and is why I’m giving him a special draft grade as there isn’t really anything he’s bad at. He has great size, great hands, runs great routes, gets separation easily with both routes and athleticism, is good at making the contested catch, projects as a deep threat, and projects as an above the rim red zone threat. He literally is the perfect WR outside of a couple of nitpicky items. I’ve seen a few people rank Nabers above Harrison and I agree that Nabers is a superior athlete and is much better at YAC but Harrison’s routes, hands, and body control are far above Nabers. Harrison also will be a much better red zone threat vs. Nabers and I expect Nabers TD total to be lower as NFL teams will double team him and limit his deep throws which is where most of his TDs came from. With Harrison you can double him all day long and he’ll still produce due to his frame, routes, and body control which makes doubles much harder. Also I can’t remember a more consistent wideout than Marvin as he had 15 100 yard games in 25 games the final two seasons. That is special production, especially in a Power 5 conference like the Big Ten, and in his 3 championship or BCS games vs. Top 10 teams he had a 100 yard game and a TD in all 3 of them (Michigan in 2023, Michigan in 2022, Georgia in 2022). Playing vs. Georgia in the BCS Championship he looked like the best player on the field and that was against one of the better defenses in recent memory. In 2022 he excelled with CJ Stroud and had really good film but in 2023 he looked faster and it’s impressive that he put up pretty much the exact same numbers despite a huge dropoff in QB play. If you are putting Nabers as WR1 your complaints on Marvin are that he at times is a little bit soft, especially for a 6’3 205 wideout, and he isn’t much of a YAC threat. Yet I think both are minor criticisms as yes he isn’t super physical but he’s very good in the red zone and in contested catches. Also his lack of YAC seems to be based on the way he ran his routes as he often would catch a ball in a way to avoid being hit. You can criticize a player for that but it also kept him very healthy and is how his dad Marvin Harrison and his comp Davante Adams play. It’s also similar to how Stefon Diggs, Calvin Ridley, and other high end route runners play so I think it could be tweaked if a team was really unhappy with it but quite a few elite route runners set up cornerbacks for a catch with no YAC and I have no issue with it. Overall Marvin is my slam dunk WR1 as he showed rare consistency in his production, has a great size/speed ratio, elite routes, elite hands, and elite body control. I know everyone likes to be the contrarian but this kid looks like the safest, highest floor prospect I’ve ever scouted and his ceiling is enormous as well. Top 5 as my #1 WR who gets the highest WR grade I’ve given out in the past decade (ahead of Chase) and puts him up there with Calvin Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald as truly elite WR prospects. I expect him to be a Top 15 WR as a rookie, a Top 5 WR within 3 seasons, and eventually to join his father in the Hall of Fame 2/10/24.
2. Malik Nabers LSU 6’0 200 Jr. He was a decent player as a true freshman in 2021 (28 417 4 TDs), had a great year in 2022 (72 1,017 3 TDs), and then led the nation in receiving in 2023 (89 1,569 14 TDs). His 7 TDs his first two seasons were low but other than that his stats are all very impressive. His 17.6 YPR on 89 catches is elite and isn’t surprising when you look at his special speed. His pure speed is great but it’s his burst that really makes it special as he gets to full speed extremely quickly and effortlessly beats angles on YAC due to this rare burst. Athletically Nabers is one of the best wideouts I’ve ever scouted. He looks to be a 4.3 speed guy and will be an immediate deep threat, reason why him drafted to the Chargers at #5 for Herbert makes so much sense. He doesn’t quite have the pure speed of a Jamison Willams or Jalin Hyatt but is only slightly inferior to them. Yet those types are always long and lanky who lack the size and strength to do much else other than post and go routes. Nabers then adds rare fluidity and strength for someone with his speed and that ability to beat you on a go route on one possession and then break a tackle on an in route is rare. It’s so rare I struggle finding a comp with him. Justin Blackmon is an aged reference but is reasonable. He also has a little Brandon Aiyuk to him with his YAC and first step burst but Aiyuk is more physical and Nabers is faster. It’s too bad Nabers ran into MHJ in his draft class as he’d be WR1 in 90% of classes. I believe Nabers is a slightly better athlete than MHJ but prefer Harrison due to the superior routes, hands, and body control he shows. Analytically Nabers is arguably WR1 in this class and his YAC is the best argument for having Nabers over MHJ. He also separates better than anyone in this class and I can’t see a reason, outside of injury, why Nabers wouldn’t at least be a WR on par with a Chris Olave type with good speed and routes. At best he’s a Top 5 WR with Jefferson/Chase and I suspect that is where he’ll end up due to his YAC potential which sets himself apart from more one dimensional guys like Olave. It’s rare to find an elite athlete who also has strength and toughness to be a top YAC guy but Nabers flashes that potential. My only issues with him are that he at times looks a little tight on routes so I don’t see that Jefferson, Garrett Wilson like quickness you’d like, his hands are average and I question his contested catch ability, and he doesn’t have much of an above the rim type game like Chase. Nonetheless he’s a better athlete than Chase or Lamb so he might not need great contested catch skills. Overall Nabers is an elite prospect and one of the best wideouts I’ve graded in years. I’d rank him slightly below Chase and slightly above Wilson on my scale and consider him a true #1 WR. Unfortunately Harrison is a generational prospect so he still ends as my #2 WR despite showing immense potential as I still expect him to be a star WR. We’ll be having Harrison vs. Nabers arguments in the future just like we have Jefferson vs. Chase arguments today and he’ll be an exciting one to watch 2/2/24.
3. Rome Odunze Washington 6’3 215 Sr. He barely played in 2020 (6 72 0 TD), had a decent year in 2021 (41 415 4 TDs), had a very good year in 2022 (75 1,145 7 TDs), and then was the 2nd best WR in the nation in 2023 (92 1,640 13 TDs). Rome is another player who would be vying for WR1 in most draft classes yet unfortunately has to settle for WR3 in this historic one. His frame is outstanding as he’s a chiseled 6’3 and has elite hands to go with elite body control. He lacks the speed of Marvin, Malik, and Troy but projects as a high end intermediate route runner and elite red zone threat due to his special hands. His hands are the best in this class and his polish as a receiver is very impressive. My comp is a mix of Keenan Allen and Larry Fitzgerald, both of whom are Hall of Famers in my opinion, so his upside is almost as high as the top 2 wideouts above him. He just lacks their speed so he won’t be a deep threat like them except on jump balls. His release game at the LOS is very polished and it wouldn’t surprise me if he was actually the most productive rookie from this class due to his age and higher polish. Marvin and Malik get all the praise but Rome’s tape is outstanding. It’s rare to see a player his size be so fluid and it really makes him a difficult cover with his route running. I expect him to be a 100 catch player in the NFL as he can dominate corners on intermediate routes. That aspect of his game is where I see Keenan yet he’s a far superior prospect to him in the red zone where his frame and elite hands give me Larry Fitzgerald vibes. Penix and him had a great connection so I’m unsure how many of these jump balls and back shoulder throws he’ll get with his next QB but if he goes to the right situation he could be the most productive WR in this class, especially in the red zone where he looks far more dangerous than Nabers who lacks an above the rim game. His ability to track a throw over his shoulder is elite and he’d be great with a QB that throws the high arcing touch pass like Tua does. I wouldn’t have an issue with anyone who said Rome had the best film in 2023 of any WR prospect. Unfortunately he isn’t quite the athlete of Marvin, Malik, or Troy so it hurts his grade a little but I see low end #1 WR with him and think he’ll be a Pro Bowl player. Nabers burst and YAC are both special traits you rarely see in a wideout but Rome has a more well rounded game and will be a better red zone threat. In the end he drops a little due to athleticism but I still gave him a high grade. Top 10 as my #3 WR who has a great frame, body control, hands, and routes so he’ll be a star WR and a major weapon in the red zone 2/10/24.
4. Troy Franklin Oregon 6’3 187 Jr. He was a bit player in 2021 (18 209 2 TDs), had a good year in 2022 (61 891 9 TDs), and was one of the most productive wideouts in the nation in 2023 (81 1,383 14 TDs). He’s one of the youngest players in this draft as a 20 year old true junior. It’s unfair for him that he’s coming out this year as he’d be in the mix for WR1 in most draft classes but isn’t even in the mix for WR3 in this draft class. That being said he’s my “plant your flag” guy for WR4 as his combination of tools and tape make him a great prospect. He has a Devonte Smith frame to him but has a very different game as Smith is a much better contested catch guy, Franklin’s biggest weakness is he’s mediocre in this area, but he’s a much more agile, fluid athlete and is a better route runner. Both have great deep speed and Franklin will at worst be a high end #2 who keeps a defense honest and complements a #1 WR. His speed is elite but he’s so much more fluid than other deep threats like Christian Watson, Jamison Williams, Jalin Hyatt as his short area quickness is impressive for his big, lanky frame. That quickness sets him apart as he’ll be the rare deep threat who also excels as a route runner and is why I think his floor is as a field stretching #2 but his ceiling is as a Top 10 WR who can do it all. Due to his age and his tools it’s easy to project him being a 6’3 200 lb #1 WR who can beat you with a good release game at the LOS, great quickness on intermediate routes, or pure speed on deep routes. I think he’s being slept on a bit as to his ceiling is extremely high and I consider him a better prospect than Devonta Smith, JSN, Zay Flowers, or Chris Olave. If he somehow drops out of the 1st round it’ll be the steal of the draft as I wouldn’t blink if someone in the Top 10 drafted him if they miss out on the Top 3 WRs in this loaded class. Franklin will immediately be a dynamic wideout for a team and has elite long term potential so he’s deserving of a very high grade. The worry is his inconsistent hands and his thinner frame might result in growing pains as a rookie but I wouldn’t be too concerned long term due to his age and rare tool set. Franklin is one of my favorite prospects in this draft as he likely goes later than he should despite his elite ceiling. Look out for him in 1-2 years as he could be a star. Top 10 as my #4 WR 1/27/24.
5. Brian Thomas Jr. LSU 6’4 205 Jr. He was an immediate contributor as a true freshman in 2021 (28 359 2 TDs), had a similar year in 2022 (31 361 5 TDs), and then a great final year in 2023 (68 1,177 17 TDs). He was the clear #2 last year to Malik Nabers but 17 TDs is an elite stat and it led the country. The prior 4 players to lead the country in receiving TDs is Tank Dell, Jordan Addison, Devonta Smith, and Ja’Marr Chase so it puts him in some exclusive company. The first thing you notice with Thomas is his huge frame as he’s tall and long everywhere with long arms and good hands which give him a huge catch radius. His TDs were not flukey at all as he had a lot of long TDs showing his underrated speed and had a lot of contested red zone TDs where he “Moss’d” defenders. I expect his red zone prowess to continue at the next level as he’s a natural with his frame, hands, strength, and ability to time his jump. He’s a natural at tracking the deep ball over his shoulder and does a good job at shielding defenders away from it. I like his film a lot and think he has a very high floor. At worst I think he’ll be on the level of a Michael Pittman, who is a good fit style wise, as that big WR with underrated deep speed. The question with Thomas is how high is his ceiling and it’s hard to gauge as it basically comes down to 3 potential red flags: 1) How much of his success was based on Jayden Daniels 2) How good is his pure speed 3) Can he run a full route tree. Pittman was a mid 2nd rounder and has been a success at the NFL level and is his floor so he’s between a mid 1st and mid 2nd grade already but those 3 red flags do worry me a bit and it’s why I have a fairly big gap between him as my WR5 and Troy Franklin who is my WR4. Watching his tape it’s easy to see how good Daniels was for him as he dropped quite a few balls in the bucket. Thomas tracks deep balls extremely well but Daniels had an elite touch on that type of throw and his next QB might not throw it nearly as well. I also like his speed but don’t love it. He probably never saw double coverage once at LSU and his first 6 games of his junior year he was more productive (100 ypg) than his final 7 games (82) despite playing a tougher schedule (3 ranked opponents to 1). It isn’t a huge discrepancy but could be seen as teams didn’t realize he was that good (only 300 yard receiving seasons up to that point) and then adjusted a bit which hurt his production. I see mid to high 4.4 speed with him which is good for a 6’4 wideout but won’t be that difficult to stay next to at the NFL level. Finally my biggest worry is his route tree as he’s a bit of a long strider at 6’4, no surprise, but he’s noticeably faster on 9 routes and posts than outs and comebacks. For 6’4 he’s actually very fluid but he just isn’t that quick in and out of his breaks and I don’t see him being a great route runner. His best routes are the shallow cross, 9 route, and post all of which give him a clear runway and let him show his speed. On those routes he’s very good but that limited route tree makes me hesitant to give him a great grade. Overall I really like Brian Thomas as an elite red zone threat as he has the size and skill to translate to the NFL in that capacity. My comp is Michael Pittman as both are 6’4 wideouts with underrated speed who have a somewhat limited route tree but overcome it. He’s a little lighter than Pittman but has better red zone skills and should have more TDs than Pittman. Brian isn’t a perfect wideout but he does certain things very well and those things happen to be very valuable so he deserves a 1st round grade. I see very low end #1 WR, or more appropriately, high end #2 WR with him and think he’ll be a very effective WR at the next level. He ends with a late 1st round grade as my #5 WR but is significantly lower than the top 4 wideouts in this special WR class 2/9/24. 
6. Ladd McConkey Georgia 6’0 185 Jr. He was a solid player as a true freshman in 2021 (31 447 5 TDs), had his best year in 2022 (58 762 7 TDs), and had a down year in 2023 (30 478 2 TDs). He was good as a punt returner in 2022 (17 attempts for a 11.3 avg) yet wasn’t in the role in 2023. Ladd is an interesting prospect as his tape is outstanding but his overall production is very underwhelming. He only had 2 career 100 yard games and barely made any impact on the 2023 team after the November 11th Missouri game. He missed 5 games with injury and was clearly not 100% in 3 others but his 2022 numbers weren’t amazing either. On film though there is a lot to like as he has a good frame, somewhat thin in the lower body, and has outstanding quickness and elusiveness in the open field. He’s a natural with the ball in his hands and will be one of the best in this class on schemed touches. He also shows the quickness to be a full time slot but has enough size and speed to play on the outside as well. The slot is probably his best option but his routes are so good I fully expect him to be able to give his team the versatility to play any WR spot. The obvious comp is Cooper Kupp as their style is very similar but Kupp is much thicker (6’2 205) while McConkey shows a little more speed and quickness. I still like the comp though as McConkey’s agility and elusiveness makes him a potential YAC star like Kupp developed into. He has very good speed and I see high 4.3s on film. He eats up the cushion on a DB very quickly and is why I could see him staying outside if a team preferred. With his quickness, good routes, and good hands though I think slot is the best spot for him. He’d be very good in the middle of the field on two way go routes and routes that reverse course as his change of direction is impressive. He’s a high end athlete and I have no worries about him being a bust due to lacking athleticism. My only issues are that he was injury prone last year and his stats were never great despite him having high end QB play his entire career (Beck/Bennett). Even in 2022 he was gimpy part of the year and you could tell he didn’t have his elite burst part of the year. He’s a tough evaluation as scouts would have liked to see one great year out of him and it never happened despite him being in a great position scheme wise, supporting cast wise. Yet I love his film, love his burst, and think he’ll eventually develop into a very good #2 WR who can excel in the slot or outside. He also shows the ability to play above the rim despite being only 6’0 and I could see him having high TD totals. He only had 9 his final two seasons but his skill set makes me think he’ll be a red zone threat, similar to Kupp. Mid 2nd as my #8 WR who has some risk due to injury but the tools are all there for him to be a better pro than collegiate WR 2/10/24. Update: Post Combine the only changes I made were moving Ladd up a little from mid 2nd to early 2nd (#8 to #6 and moving Keon down from early 2nd to mid 2nd (#6 to #8). Both were done by the athleticism they showed (or lack thereof for Coleman) as I feel more confident in Ladd’s ability to be an elite wideout after seeing the sub 4.4 40 and elite shuttle time at the pro day 3/17/24.
7. Roman Wilson Michigan 6’0 192 Sr. He barely played in 2020 (9 122 1 TD), had two mediocre years in 2021 (25 420 3 TDs) and 2022 (25 376 4 TDs), and then ended his career with a very solid year in 2023 (48 789 12 TDs). On my initial review of Wilson I had him as a solid slot receiver with a late 3rd/early 4th round grade. I saw the quickness and hands yet considered him a mediocre athlete without great numbers. There were a few plays though that really caught my eye and I went back to his film and he grew on me. It’s hard not to become a fan of the little Hawaiian but he’s a tough evaluation due to scheme (one of the most run heavy teams in the country) and the difficulty in determining his athleticism. Michigan just didn’t throw that much but when they did he was the guy. In 2022 he had 4 TDs and the leader was only slightly ahead at 6. In 2023 he had 12 TDs and the second on the list was only at 4. He was a funnel for TDs on that team and his 16 ypr are very high and makes me think he could play outside a bit. He’ll be great on bubble screens as he shows good vision and is tough to bring down. Schemed touches will be effective with him and a smart OC would use him like Ben Johnson does with Amon. At worst he’s a solid slot receiver but at best he’s a high end slot who has enough size/speed to sparingly play on the outside and gives him versatility. I initially was unimpressed by his film but his YPR and film showing good separation on outside routes made me review him deeper and I think he’s an underrated athlete. He isn’t a burner but he has NFL speed and I think he’ll be more than just a mediocre slot receiver. He had a +40 yard reception vs. Georgia and a +50 yard reception vs. TCU in CFB Playoffs so his speed is underrated. He grew on me the more I watched him and I think he’ll be drafted later than he should due to his lack of stats and lack of elite size/speed. To me he’s underrated due to how fluid he is in his movements and his measurables of 6’0 195. That fluidity and height/weight stood out to me as it is very similar to the highest drafted slot receiver in recent memory (JSN-6’0 ½ 196) and the most productive slot receiver in recent memory (Amon St. Brown-6’0 195). Some of his film reminds me of those two prospects as the frame, fluidity, underrated YAC, and mediocre speed all make it a reasonable comp. JSN had one spectacular season at Ohio State but Amon had similar decent but not great stats at USC and, in Michigan’s run heavy offense, Roman probably did the best anyone could. On my 2nd review I went back to compare his film with Amon at USC. The similarities are there as their style of play is as versatile players working the middle of the field but with just enough size/speed to be on the outside occasionally. He’s just a sneaky athlete that takes awhile for you to identify what you’re seeing on film. He’s a great route runner due to his fluidity but it isn’t jitter buggy and takes a bit to notice. His routes are smooth, balanced, and with good speed, especially in and out of breaks. I see high end route runner who could get 90-100 catches a season if he goes to the right offense. I don’t see a big difference athleticism wise between him and JSN last year. He was a risk profile wise, especially with some of his poor analytics (bad YAC numbers surprisingly, likely will have a 4.5 40) yet he was unrecoverable at the Senior Bowl and I think this kid is going to surprise with how effective he is in the NFL. His team didn’t throw very often and he lacks the size/speed ratio to stand out but the NFL has never been more into a guy like him that can dominate the middle of the field on two way go routes. The fact he also beat defenders deep shows that underrated speed I noticed on film. Wilson isn’t your prototypical wideout but he has a very high ceiling if used correctly with schemed touches as he’s a fluid, balanced player who will outperform his measurables. Early 2nd round as my #7 WR 2/2/24.
8. Keon Coleman Florida State 6’4 215 Jr. He began at Michigan State and barely played in 2021 (7 50 1 TD), had a good year in 2022 at Michigan State (58 798 7 TDs), and then transferred to Florida State where he had a similar year in 2023 (50 658 11 TDs). His 18 TDs the past two seasons is very good and the fact that he was a pretty good punt returner at 6’4 215 (25 attempts for 300 yards on a 12 average) shows how unique this kid is. Welcome to the most difficult evaluation of this 2024 WR class. I would not blink if a scout had him as a Top 5 WR or not as a Top 10 WR as there is film to argue for both cases. He was the talk of college football early in the year after his dominating LSU performance in week 1 (3 TDs) but his production tailed off in the 2nd half of the year. In his final 6 games he missed two (1 with injury, 1 sitting out the bowl game) but also had under 60 yards in each of the 4 games he did play. Did defenses learn how to defend him, did he get tired, or was his lower production just a fluke? The red flag with Coleman is that he does not separate very well as an outside receiver and has poor speed. I expect 4.5 to even 4.6 on him and in today’s NFL that is very worrisome. Yet put on the Clemson tape of Tee Higgins and I see a ton of similarities with Coleman. Tee was 6’4 16 and ran a 4.59, Coleman is listed at 6’4 215 and should run a 4.5-4.6. Both are very physical players with great hands, great body control, and outstanding strength at the catch point. Neither separate very well but can be schemed for easy touches on short routes for YAC opportunities and can be deep ball threats on jump balls. Coleman in fact looks like a slightly better athlete than Higgins and shows more fluidity and quickness. His short area quickness at 6’4 215 is amazing and is why he was a good punt returner. That quickness also makes him a good route runner and I think he’ll be solid in the short to intermediate routes. He won’t be able to run curls or comebacks very well but his quickness should allow him to be good on slants and his size and physicality will make him great on shallow crosses. I’ve come full circle on Coleman as initially I had him as a Top 3 WR, later I was worried about his lack of separation and considered him a huge risk, and now am back into considering him one of the better WRs in this class. He’ll have to be schemed correctly to be successful but I see a very similar prospect to Tee Higgins and think Coleman is setting up to be a steal in this draft as so many scouts have soured on him because of his lack of ability to separate. Guys his size with his demeanor are rare and his unique quickness makes me think he’ll be a high end #2 WR like Higgins. Early 2nd round as my #6 WR 2/10/24. Update: Post Combine the only changes I made were moving Ladd up a little from mid 2nd to early 2nd (#8 to #6 and moving Keon down from early 2nd to mid 2nd (#6 to #8). Both were done by the athleticism they showed (or lack thereof for Coleman) as I feel less confident in Keon’s ability to overcome his very poor analytics. His film is so good though I only moved him down slightly and am still in the contrarian camp on him but at this point his stock is in free fall and 3rd round is a possibility 3/17/24.
9. Adonai Mitchell Texas 6’4 196 Jr. He had a solid true freshman year at Georgia on their championship winning squad in 2021 (29 426 4 TDs), only played in 6 games in 2022 in a disappointing year (9 134 3 TDs), and then transferred to Texas where he had a good year in 2023 especially in the red zone (55 845 11 TDs). Adonai is one of the puzzles of the 2024 WR Class as everyone would agree that he flashes star potential but was maddeningly inconsistent and had long stretches of poor productivity. He has a beautiful frame and looks the part of an NFL wideout. Looking at him next to Xavier Worthy, I was always more of a fan of Mitchell on both his height and his weight distribution as the kid looks the part. He also is very fluid with that frame and is a good route runner. That’s going to be his key as he isn’t very fast so he won’t separate in the NFL with athleticism. Combine that risk with his atrocious analytics profile (probably the worst in this WR class among Top 15 prospects), his transfer from Georgia (said it was to be close to his baby daughter but questionable), and his zero 1k receiving seasons and he’s a risky prospect. What works in his favor though is his Texas tape in 2023 was very good and he established himself as the red zone target over more heralded Xavier Worthy. Contested catch artists are risky b/c guys who win in that way in college oftentimes are completely covered in the NFL and become busts (Laquon Treadwell, N’Keal Harry, etc.). Mitchell unfortunately has that profile and at times he also has a lumbering gait which worries me. Yet at 6’3-6’4 (I think he’ll measure 6’3) he could be a possession receiver and has the frame, hands, and routes to become that type of wideout. If I was a team drafting him I’d bulk him upa bit and have him watch a lot of Tee Higgins film as Higgins has perfected his quick but not fast route running and is the type of player Mitchell will need to morph into. Unfortunately Mitchell lacks Higgins strength and YAC ability and that is what worries me as his lack of speed is bad enough but his YAC numbers are worst in the class and he has great hands but I don’t see the aggressive demeanor I’d want in a “power” wide receiver. No one talks about Mitchell being like Keon Coleman but they both will need to play that same type of game and Coleman is a beast who battles people and is that aggressive AJ Brown type on YAC while Mitchell tries to win with routes and immediately goes down after the catch. He’s surprisingly good at separating at 6’4 but he’s an extremely risky profile. His film reminds me a bit of Tyler Johnson a mid round pick from Minnesota with a big frame and great routes who never was better than a WR4 due to poor speed. A better comp for people wanting to buy into him is Drake London but London was so much twitchier with his short area burst. He’s kind of in between both guys as he’s much more fluid than Tyler but lacks Drake’s elite productivity and underrated burst. Unsure if it was Ewers fault or Mitchell’s fault but I didn’t see any film of him being a back shoulder artist and that would be a route he should try and perfect in the NFL. With his fluidity and hands I could see it happening but again that kind of profile is extremely risky so buyer beware. In the end Mitchell is a tough read as he lacks speed, didn’t have great productivity, plays somewhat soft for a big possession receiver, and his analytics are really really bad. Yet his film is very good, especially in the red zone where his fluidity made him an extremely tough cover and I think that will translate to the next level. I’m more of a film over analytics guy anyway but even I’m a little nervous on Mitchell. Nonetheless I think he’ll be a quality #2 WR for someone and overcome his questionable athleticism and somewhat soft demeanor. I think he’ll have Marvin Jones like seasons with 800-1,000 yards but with a surprising 8-10 TDs as that is where he’ll really shine. Late 2nd as my #11 WR 2/2/24. Update: I’ve gone back and forth with Mitchell this entire draft process as his tape is so inconsistent, his analytics are atrocious, but his big frame and great bend/catch radius are intriguing as hell. I recently learned about his diabetes and think that is a big key to learning about him as he did feel like two completely different players at times and it could be related to that. He also has some diva rumors and that’s not surprising as his body language at times on film was atrocious. In the end I moved him up from late 2nd to mid 2nd as his routes, hands, and short area quickness are unique. He’s still an enigma to me but I fee more comfortable rolling the dice on him than I do his teammate Xavier Worthy and needed to adjust the rankings to reflect that. Mid 2nd as my #9 WR 4/22/24.
10. Ricky Pearsall Florida 6’1 190 Sr. He began his career at Arizona State and was a bit player in 2019 (7 128 0 TD) and 2020 (6 86 1 TD). He then had a good year in 2021 (48 580 4 TDs), transferred to Florida in 2022 and had a similar year (33 661 5 TDs), and then ended his career on a high note in 2023 (65 965 4 TDs). He’s a 5th year senior who had to transfer and was invisible his first two seasons so there are a lot of red flags on Ricky analytically. Ricky is a good sized wideout who excels as a route runner. I suspect the Rams will take a long look at him if he’s on the board in the 3rd round as he seems to be exactly the type of wideout they covet. He has a very thin lower body but overall a good frame and looks like he could be a versatile wideout who plays inside and outside. He has great hands and body control and makes quite a few highlight reel catches. His one handed catch in the middle of the field vs. South Carolina, hanging out despite a huge hit at the end, is probably the best single catch of any wideout in this draft. His ability to adjust to the ball in the air and contort his body make his catch radius huge and his QB will like that he can “bail him out” on bad throws and still make the catch. He’s a highly polished wideout that will be as successful as his athleticism allows him to be as I see mediocre athlete at best. He gives me Adam Thielen vibes with his great hands, great routes, solid frame, and poor speed. He’s very fluid so he’s quicker than fast but I don’t see good speed and expect 4.5s.The good thing though is a team drafting him will have options as he would at worst be a decent slot receiver. The hope is his route running savvy will allow him to stay outside and develop into a quality #2 WR but #3 WR and often times in the slot might end up being his role. Romeo Doubs or Van Jefferson are also decent comps but I’m sticking with Adam Thielen despite the corny racial comp as the frame, routes, and hands all fit. If Pearsall can athletically get a little separation at the next level then he could surprise as a quality #2 WR but the risk is he won’t be able to and the fact that he’ll turn 24 at the start of his rookie year gives some credence to that risk. He’s a potential bust but his film is good so I’ll keep a solid grade on him as a mid 3rd round as my #15 WR 2/2/24. Update: Ricky received the largest bump in grade from me from my first analysis to my final review as he was a difficult prospect to grade. At times he lacked great speed and it made me wonder if he was a career #4 WR but the more I watched him the more I appreciated his quickness and route running. He actually had a great Combine, not sure it fully translates, and his quickness drills really stood out to me. He had a 4.05 shuttle (elite) and a 6.64 3 cone (elite, 1st of all WRs) and that showed time and time again on film. He continues to remind me of Adam Thielen and arguably is a more athletic Thielen so I had to move him up as I feel like he’s one of the better wideouts in this class and underrated. Late 2nd round as my #10 WR 4/22/24.
11. Xavier Worthy Texas 6’1 172 Jr. He was an immediate contributor as a true freshman in 2021 (62 981 12 TDs), regressed a bit in 2022 (60 760 9 TDs), and then had his best season in 2023 (75 1,014 5 TDs). Worthy is a difficult evaluation as it’s very easy to see both his strengths and weaknesses and I’m unsure how they’ll play out at the next level. He’s rail thin, especially his lower body, and makes Devonta Smith look thick with his frame. I really worry that he’s going to get beat up and be injury prone at the next level. He also has inconsistent hands and drops a lot of passes. Finally, you can argue that his best year was as a true freshman and his 1k yard season in 2023 is a bit underwhelming when you notice how often Sarkisian schemed him touches. They had him go in motion, they put him in the backfield, they did max protect with him out on the 1st read route, and he barely got to 1k yards. He was funneled the ball and it the results were often underwhelming. That being said he has good height, a frame that could add a lot of weight, is extremely fluid and gives him a short area quickness that could allow him to be a great route runner, he’s very fast, is a young prospect, and he’s tough despite his lower weight. To me he gives off poor man’s Marquise Brown vibes but has some obvious differences as he’s taller and more fluid but lacks Brown’s elite speed. I’m sure Worthy will run a 4.3 but he plays more like a 4.4 wideout so he’s fast but I didn’t see Brown’s effortless acceleration and easy separation when I watched him so I think he’ll underwhelm a bit as a pure deep threat. The bull case on him is if he becomes a dynamic Stefon Diggs level route runner and adds 15 lbs. If that happens he could become a very high end WR2 but with his lack of physicality, mediocre hands, and overrated speed I could very well see him end up as a low end WR2. I think people raving about him, putting him in the 1st round, and seeing WR1 upside are delusional as I consider Worthy an overrated prospect. He gives flashes of elite play but he’s inconsistent in a lot of areas of his game and people shouldn’t underestimate how many advantages Worthy had in 2023. He had an elite playcaller, a good QB with NFL potential, a scheme that focused on getting him the ball, and a WR opposite him which limited the double teams yet to me he still underwhelmed. He actually was only the 4th most productive WR named Xavier this year in college football! His analytics profile is very good but I don’t see star potential with him and think he’ll be only a productive starter. Mid 2nd as my #9 WR 1/28/24. Update: He had a historic 40 time but it doesn’t full translate and I continue to question how high his ceiling is due to his softness and lack of talent on contested catches. I see #2 WR here and think he is one of the more overrated players in this draft so I moved him from mid to late 2nd and he’s now my #11 WR 4/22/24.
12. Tez Walker North Carolina 6’3 200 Jr. He began his career at Kent State and was barely used in 2021 (5 124 1 TD), had his best year in 2022 (58 921 11 TDs), and then transferred to North Carolina where he played with Drake Maye and had a good but not great year in 2023 (41 699 7 TDs). His 17 YPR is a very good number and not surprising as Tez is a big framed speed wideout in the mold of Dyami Brown. He has good speed and effortlessly tracks the ball so I think he’ll be a quality deep threat in the NFL. The question is can he do much more than post and go routes and I’m not sure. He has a big frame, good thickness, and good hands so there are flashes of #1 WR tape with him but it’s very inconsistent. He’s not good on contested catches, most of his TDs are of the streaking downfield type, and I think he was helped a lot by Maye being his QB. 11 TDs in only 8 games shows the potential with him but I get the impression that he’ll be more Gabe Davis than DK Metcalf. His time at Carolina was very odd as he missed the first 4 games of the year, in his first game he was clearly unprepared and teammates had to tell him his playcalls and his routes before each play, and his final 3 games were underwhelming (sat out the bowl game, lowest and 4th lowest receiving totals in the other two games). He definitely gave off the vibe of being a hired gun and wasn’t terribly interested in playing more than he had to. My comp is Denzel Mims as a big guy who is soft but has good speed, a great frame, good burst, and is very fluid so he’s extremely intriguing. Mims was a bust and Walker could be too but the tools are there to be a very high end wideout so he’s definitely a boom/bust type I’ll be monitoring down the road. The key for him is can he become a more polished wide receiver and get tougher, improve his routes, and be more physical at the POA. His frame, burst, and fluidity all scream #1 WR but his production and questionable attitude scream career tease. I was very into Mims so I’m having trouble keeping away from Walker’s tantalizing potential but understand those scouts who see him as a clear bust. In the end I think his better routes and hands, Mims came from a Baylor offense with non-existent route trees, will make him stick but probably as an inconsistent #2 WR like Christian Watson. Late 2nd round as my #12 WR who has all the talent in the world but quite a few red flags as well 2/10/24. 
13. Javon Baker UCF 6’2 195 Sr. He barely played as a freshman at Alabama in 2020 (2 receptions 15 yards), was non-existent again in 2021 (7 101 1 TD), transferred in 2022 to UCF and had a solid year (56 796 5 TDs), and then his best year in 2023 (52 1,139 7 TDs). When watching Baker I get glimpses of a smaller Antonio Bryant as a very physical wideout with strong hands and a tenacious attitude. It’s surprising he wasn’t on the field more at Alabama as he is a very polished wideout that runs great routes, has elite body control, and is a QB’s best friend with a high IQ of how to get open. He isn’t a burner but he appears to have low 4.5 speed and projects as a decent #2 WR or high end #3 WR. He’s more of a high floor, low ceiling player as at 195 lbs he won’t be a dominant possession receiver, his speed isn’t elite, his two non-descript years at Alabama is a red flag, and his stats at UCF are good but not great so I question his upside.Yet put the tape on and you’ll see some special body control and outstanding quickness at the LOS. His release game draws rave reviews but sometimes it’s too jitter buggy and he shuts down his own route. NFL coaches will try and clean it up as the quickness is there for him to be a very good route runner at the next level. That and his strong hands/body control make me intrigued, especially as a red zone threat, but there is a decent amount of film on him not getting good separation on the outside so he has some risk. He has the size/speed ratio to stay outside for sure but a “big slot” role working the middle of the field might be a good fit for him, especially due to his physicality and YAC ability. I really like his film and think he’s a future starter but the scouting community has him as a big sleeper so he probably disappoints if anyone thinks he’s a future #1 WR or even high end #2. He reminds me of Antonio Bryant in style and physicality but talent wise and future role he’s probably more like a Romeo Doubs and #3 WR might end up being his role, especially since slot receiver would fit his strengths. Overall I like Baker a lot but the lack of elite size or speed makes me think he’s being overrated a bit. Still a fan though as he’s my early 3rd rounder as my #13 WR 1/26/24.
14. Jamari Thrash Louisville 6’1 185 Sr. He is a 5th year senior who started out at Georgia State. He was a bit player in 2019 (2 17 0 TD) and 2020 (9 161 2 TDs), improved in 2021 (32 452 3 TDs), had his best year at Georgia State in 2022 (61 1,122 7 TDs), and then transferred to Louisville where he had another good year in 2023 (63 858 6 TDs). He’s an older prospect as a 5th year senior and will be 23 on draft day. Jamari is my pick for THE SLEEPER in this WR class as his film is outstanding. At 6’1 185 he’s a long, angular wideout with a frame and extremely erect posture that reminds me of Jayden Reed. Reed also had good film but not great stats at Michigan State and I undervalued him but won’t this time as Thrash has a similarly complete WR profile. Neither project as #1 WRs at the next level but are very high floor, well rounded #2 WR types that can do anything you ask of them. Thrash is one of the faster players in this WR class and will be an immediate deep threat at the next level. He also shows a great ability for YAC and can start and stop on a dime, making schemed touches a definite possibility. He’s very physical, despite his thinner frame, and is very difficult to bring down. There is a lot of film of him having to be gang tackled to get to the ground. His short area quickness and ability to make people miss makes me think punt return would be an option but he surprisingly never fielded a punt in college. Also that quickness makes him one of the best route runners in this draft and he effortlessly separates so the only reason his stats weren’t better was due to his supporting cast. He had more than twice as many receptions or yards than the second most productive player on Louisville and that’s despite him missing two games (1 injury, 1 sat out bowl game). He has very good hands and shows a knack for making contested catches so he’ll be a red zone target despite his thinner frame. My comp is Jayden Reed but it’s a rich man’s Jayden Reed as Jayden was 5’11 and didn’t show quite the burst or route running ability that Thrash does (Reed was younger though and had special teams value). Thrash currently projects as a 3rd-4th rounder but to me he’s right in the mix for WR 6-8 in this draft and those guys could sneak into the late 1st. I think Thrash is still a diamond in the rough due to his poor supporting cast at Louisville and people will be surprised how effective he is as a rookie. Mid 2nd round as my #10 WR 1/27/24. Update: I love Thrash but after finding out that he was the worst WR in this WR class in contested catches I had to lower his grade. I still think he’ll be a successful #2 or #3 WR, love his quickness, and think he’s one of the best route runners in this class but he’s very poor YAC/reception and is terrible on contested catches. That speaks to his thinner frame and makes me downgrade him to an early 3rd round grade as my #14 WR 4/22/24.
15. Jacob Cowing Arizona 5’11 175 Sr. He started his career at UTEP and was a solid player in 2019 (31 550 3 TDs), had a great year in 2020 on a per game basis (41 691 3 TDs in only 8 games), had his best year for them in 2021 (69 1,367 7 TDs), and then transferred to Arizona where he had two good seasons in 2022 (85 1,034 7 TDs) and 2023 (90 848 13 TDs). He’s an older prospect as a 5th year senior and will be 23 years old when he’s drafted. His YPR dropped dramatically from 2022 (12.1) to 2023 (9.4) and he became more of a possession receiver for them. I fully get the Tank Dell comps on him as he is very similar in stature, quickness, and fluidity as a route runner but he’s definitely a poor man’s version of him as he lacks the pure speed Tank has to threaten a defense. Tank also had far superior stats with 2,700 yards and 29 TDs his final two seasons vs. 2,100 yards and 20 TDs. Cowing has enough route running ability to probably stay outside but it was a risk for Dell and without that higher level speed, Cowing might end up as a slot receiver which would hurt his value. Wherever he lines up though he’ll be a QB’s best friend as he runs precise routes, knows how to get open vs. zone, and has very good YAC skills. You could see that last year with Arizona as their young QB relied on a lot of short passes to Cowing who made himself the QB’s security blanket. It’s why the YPR dropped so much but was what the team needed and I suspect will be his role in the NFL as I see him more of a slot receiver than Dell when he came out of Houston last year. Due to that and the advanced age and lower athleticism profile he projects as an inferior prospect to Dell but has similar positives of elite route running and consistently getting separation which the NFL covets. Early 3rd round as my #14 WR 1/27/24.
16. Jermaine Burton Alabama 6’0 194 Sr. He began his career at Georgia and was a decent player as a freshman in 2020 (27 404 3 TDs), had similar stats in 2021 (26 497 5 TDs), transferred to Alabama in 2022 for a good year (40 677 7 TDs), and had another similar year for Alabama in 2023 (39 798 8 TDs). Guys like Burton are hurt the most by being in this insanely talented WR class as in most draft classes he’d be a Top 10 WR and could possibly sneak into the 2nd round yet this year he’s not even near Top 10 and might drop to the 4th despite being a very talented player and a high floor prospect. Burton has a good frame with average height/weight that will allow him to stay outside. He’s a combo wide receiver as he isn’t the biggest or fastest but he wins with solid routes, solid speed, and solid ball skills. Think Michael Gallup as that #2 WR who is good at everything, great at nothing. Those types sometimes are hard to scheme for as they aren’t elite at any role but in the right situation they can be very productive wideouts. Burton is a high floor, low ceiling prospect who has zero chance of being a #1 WR. I’d be surprised if he wasn’t a starter for someone though and I project him as a high end #3 WR who can make plays opposite a quality #1 outside and slot inside. He’s more football player than athlete and grows on you the more you watch him. I really like his ball skills as he’s aggressive for his size and is good at making the contested catch. He’s also a natural with the ball in his hands and has enough elusiveness and toughness to be good on YAC. Gallup is one comp, Tyler Boyd is another as good not great WRs who lack any elite attribute but are well rounded. I think he’ll be a steal as he’s easy to forget in this historic WR class but he projects as a long time starter for someone. Mid 3rd as my #16 WR 2/10/24.
17. Brenden Rice USC 6’3 210 Sr. He began his career with Colorado and was barely used in 2020 (6 120 2 TDs) and 2021 (21 299 3 TDs) before transferring to USC where he had a solid year in 2022 (39 611 4 TDs) and his best year in 2023 (45 791 12 TDs). He’s never been the guy as he was #2 in receiving in 2023 and #4 in 2022 but that will be his role in the NFL as well as he projects as a deep threat #3-4 WR. His film is pretty mediocre as he doesn’t run great routes or show much YAC potential but I think he might still stick as he has a great frame at 6’3 210 and his deep speed is legit. Sometimes size/speed is all you need as that secondary passing option and Trey Palmer, Gabe Davis, and Jalen Tolbert are all recent examples of this. All are guys with mediocre route running ability and who don’t do much in terms of highlight reel catches, tackle breaking, etc. but they have good speed and that’s enough for their role beside elite wideouts. The risk though is that he had one of the best playcallers and one of the best QBs at USC while the defenses were always keyed on other players so his film/stats could very well be inflated. He’s tightly built and I don’t think he’ll ever be a great route runner but his frame and speed are both high end traits so I expect him to stick on a roster as a one dimensional deep threat, clear out wide receiver. Also I suspect some of his famous father’s legendary work ethic has rubbed off on him so he might improve down the line but #3 WR is likely his ceiling. Most of his highlights are him just racing past defenders on a 9 route. The speed is legit, looks 4.3ish, but the playmaking skills and highlight reel catches are few and far between. Overall Rice is nothing like his father but as a one dimensional deep threat like Trey Palmer of the Bucs this past year he should carve out a niche for himself. Late 3rd as my #17 WR 1/27/24.
18. Malachi Corley Western Kentucky 5’11 210 Jr. He barely played in 2020 (6 65 0 TD), had a solid year in 2021 (73 691 7 TDs), his best year came in 2022 (101 1,293 11 TDs), and then a good but slightly down year in 2023 (79 984 11 TDs). His back to back seasons of 11 TDs is impressive. Malachi is a shorter wideout who is very thick and is great at YAC so I see a lot of Deebo Samuel comps. It makes sense as both at 5’11 210-215 but Deebo is so much thicker in his lower body and is a far more powerful man while Corley has more of a wide receiver’s game and shows pretty good quickness on his routes. His production was very spotty as he was feast or famine with 3 games with +160 yards receiving and 4 games with under 30 yards the past two seasons. It’s also worrisome that his best games were vs. Charlotte and Sam Houston State. Yet he went to the Senior Bowl and had a very good week of practice and was able to consistently get open in 1×1 drills. That was huge to me as I know he’ll be effective on schemed touches and shallow crosses as his YAC will clearly translate. The question is whether he’s just a gatchet guy or whether he can be a full time WR, and whether that is in the slot or he can stay outside. I REALLY like him on WR screens and think that is where he’ll shine brightest in the NFL. His short area burst and vision are both outstanding so at worst he’ll be a quality gatchet guy but his routes are solid and his hands are great so I have him as a career slot receiver who will surprise with how effective he is. Some might keep him outside, and at 210 that is a possibility, but most of his film on outside routes is just highlight reel catches where he’s completely covered. His best film is working the middle of the field in the slot or on a schemed touch and I think a team that keeps him in the slot and runs a few WR screens for him a game will get the best version of him. His poor height and very bad analytics (his YPRR drop the most of any WR in this class when comparing standard routes vs. screens) are huge red flags but I still think he’ll be successful if used as a slot receiver. His biggest benefit will be as a schemed touch player and at 210 lbs I would consider using him as a scat back on 3rd and longs.Overall he’s a fun guy to watch due to his burst, toughness, and hands. His red flags lower his grade but his film is very good and I think he’ll carve out a niche in the NFL despite his abnormal body type and poor projection as an outside receiver. Late 3rd round as my #18 WR 2/10/24. 
19. Xavier Leggette South Carolina 6’3 227 Sr. He was a bit player in his first 4 seasons at South Carolina! That is a massive red flag and I can’t remember a player with 4 collegiate seasons with sub 200 yards receiving stay at the same college and then have a 1k season in his 5th year. 2019 (9 80 1 TD), 2020 (7 113 0 TD), 2021 (8 63 1 TD), and 2022 18 167 3 TDs) he was basically invisible and then had a monster 2023 season (71 1,255 7 TDs). 5th year senior so he’s an older prospect (23 on draft day). Leggette is a big, long X wideout who I’m immediately not a fan of due to his long strides, poor short area quickness, and atrocious career stats. This type has a very high bust rate so if you are in on Leggette you are expecting him to dominant as a power wideout who can win jump balls on the outside while being a YAC monster on shallow crosses. His film is actually very good in 2023, which is even more confusing as to why he was invisible for the 4 previous years, but almost all of his highlights are jump balls deep or shallow crosses. IF he works out, it’ll be as a one trick pony who excels in a small role and is a #3 WR for someone. The case for him is as a late bloomer type and the fact that he’ll likely go in the 3rd or 4th round in this deep WR class so he’s discounted vs. comparable players like Trey Burks and Jonathan Mingo. Also he has more of a WR body type than Burks and looks to be more fluid than Mingo so there are some good traits on him. Unfortunately Burks and Mingo have both been busts to this point and he lacks Burks elite power, tackle breaking for YAC or Mingo’s size/speed metrics and blocking ability. Xavier’s issues won’t be going away as his film is littered with poor routes where he’s easily covered by cornerbacks. His lack of separation is obvious so I would take him off my board entirely as a GM as he’s not a WR I’d want on my roster but I could see him being a “cheap fix” for a team with a bunch of undersized wideouts who want a power player or red zone threat or big slot and don’t want to pay for a higher value one. In a very limited role, Leggette would be a solid piece to be schemed around but his lack of versatility and inability to get separation makes me think he’s another bust. Early 4th round as my #19 WR who I am out on and would remove from my board as GM 2/6/24. 
20. Malik Washington Virginia 5’8 194 Sr. He began his career at Northwestern where he barely played in 2019 (6 25 0 TDs) and 2020 (5 51 0 TD), had two solid years in 2021 (44 578 2 TDs) and 2022 (65 694 1 TD), and then transferred to Virginia in 2023 where he was the 2nd most prolific receiver in the nation behind only Malik Nabers (110 1,426 9 TDs). Despite his 5’8 height he isn’t a small kid and has a small, bulky, twitchy frame that reminds me a lot of Tyreek Hill. Malik is one of the harder evaluations in this draft class as he’s an older prospect, never was anything special at Northwestern, is an undersized wideout who doesn’t exactly fit the traditional slot receiver mold, received a lot of his production at Virginia on schemed touches, and was both great at the East/West Shrine game and quiet at the Senior Bowl. He’s a natural playmaker who has good speed and breaks tackles so I think he’ll be good on schemed touches in the NFL. My question is can he stay outside as a pure speed guy and I don’t think so. That moves him into the slot but his game isn’t really for a slot guy as he’s a little tight whereas those types are quicker than fast and have great fluidity. I really like his 2023 film but he’s kind of like Tylan Wallace where you aren’t sure they are big enough to play THEIR game in the NFL. Wallace was a jump ball artist but only 5’11 and Washington is a gatchet/deep threat guy who probably can’t stay outside at 5’8. I’d try him outside first as that would make it easier. He has decent routes, good hands, good speed,and very good YAC but I worry about him against press coverage. His release package isn’t special nor is his quickness and at 5’8 he might get pressed to death. A poor man’s Elijah Moore is also a decent comp and you can see the issues Moore has had in his career as he often times is invisible if not used correctly. I also worry about his elite production as he was on a terrible team (3-9) and they fed him the ball a lot. Overall Washington is intriguing as he’s a natural playmaker that will be good on schemed touches and should carve out a niche as a #4 WR. Yet he’s not quite the speedster you need for a 5’8 wideout to stay outside so he’ll probably move into the slot and that doesn’t fit his skill set. A smart team will utilize his strengths and scheme him correctly to make him a unique #3 WR but if he goes to the wrong team he could easily be a bust so he’s a difficult evaluation. I would not be surprised if he was a pretty good player or an immediate bust so he’s definitely a low floor/medium ceiling type prospect. Late 4th as my #20 WR 2/6/24.
21. Ja’Lynn Polk Washington 6’2 204 Jr. He started his career in 2020 with Texas Tech (28 264 2 TDs), transferred to Washington in 2021 but barely played (5 114 1 TD in 3 games), had a solid year in 2022 (41 694 6 TDs), and a great year in 2023 (69 1,159 9 TDs). He’s a tall, thicker wideout who has almost a RB like build. He’s listed at 6’2 204 but I suspect he’ll come in either shorter or heavier as he is very squat for a wideout. He had great stats in 2023 but I was underwhelmed by the film. The offense was basically Rome on the outside as the X and Polk in motion on most plays as a slot to get schemed touches. He’s good but not great for YAC and they used him regularly in that role. It makes sense body wise as he can handle the abuse and breaks some tackles but I never saw great speed or tackle breaking. He was above average in both categories but he lacks the ability to separate as a pure outside receiver so you’d want him to be better than above average in that “schemed touch” role to put up with such a downgrade as a normal wideout. Guys like him often are busts as Laviska Shenault, Lynn Bowden, Wan’Dale Robinson all were gatchet type guys that didn’t produce enough in that role to be worth the headache of not being able to separate as just a pure outside receiver. He also was helped tremendously by Penix who threw some perfect deep shots to him. He has a very good size/speed ratio so he’ll be drafted higher than this but I’m not a fan of his and think he’ll be a mediocre #3-4 WR for a few years and have a short career. He has poor routes, is very raw, his stats were inflated, and I don’t see him being anything more than a shallow cross, schemed touch specialist which will eventually have teams sour on him. Early 5th round as my #21 WR who I think is overrated 1/27/24.
22. Jalen McMillan Washington 6’1 192 Jr. He’s a 4th year junior. He barely played in 2020 (2 14 0 TD), had a small role in 2021 (39 470 3 TDs), had his best year in 2022 (79 1,098 9 TDs), and then a down year in 2023 despite Washington’s special season (45 559 5 TDs). He didn’t record a stat in the middle 8 games of the year (4 he missed, 4 he played but had no stats) so his poor stats in 2023 aren’t necessarily a big red flag but even when healthy he was their #3 option in 2023 with Rome as the X and Polk as the motion man. McMillan was the deep threat, clear out wideout and that will be his role in the NFL as he has good speed and a decent frame for that speed role. The problem is he’s a pretty vanilla player as his frame is thin, he doesn’t show any YAC potential, he’s mediocre as a route runner, and he’s not a contested catch or red zone threat. He gives me John Metchie vibes from a few years ago with decent size, good speed, and good stats but with VERY mediocre tape. I correctly called Metchie a bust then and think McMillan will be that same WR4-5 for someone who then disappears from the NFL rather quickly. His speed is good but is hardly elite, low 4.4s is what he looks like on film, and I think he was one of multiple WRs that benefited tremendously from Penix and a great scheme. His film is a little better than Metchie’s and I see decent hands and a little more wiggle after the catch but I think at best he carves out a niche as a WR4. Mid 5th round as my #22 WR 1/28/24.
23. Luke McCaffrey Rice 6’2 195 Sr. He’s had an odd football journey as he started as a QB with Nebraska in 2019 and 2020, transferred to Rice as a QB in 2021, and then made the position switch to WR at Rice in 2022 (58 723 6 TDs) and 2023 (71 992 13 TDs). 5th year senior so he’s an older prospect (23 on draft day). Despite his elite bloodlines, I don’t see good athleticism with Luke and worry about him being able to separate at the next level. He has a good frame which allows him to be an outside receiver but he rarely separated in college, at the lower level as well, and most of his highlights are of making ridiculous catches. His hands are elite and are clearly his best attribute. In some classed I’d say he has the best hands in the class but Rome, Roman, and possibly Javon Baker probably have him beat. Nonetheless the kid makes the one handed catch routinely and showed that skill in the Senior Bowl game with a spectacular one handed catch on a ball well away from his frame in the middle of the field. That “big slot” role is probably how he’ll have to succeed in the NFL as it will make his lack of speed less glaring and his elite hands, good body control, and noticeable fearlessness in tracking a ball in traffic would make him a solid fit. Even in the slot though I don’t see anything more than a low end starter as again he was very easy to cover even at Rice. He was a fun college player but the NFL might be too athletic for him so he’s a mid to late round dart throw who has one elite trait (hands) that might be worth a gamble. Late 5th round as my #23 WR 2/6/24.
24. Ryan Flournoy Southeast Missouri State 6’2 197 Sr. He was a JUCO kid and joined Southeast Missouri State in 2022 where he had his best season (61 984 7 TDs) and then had a similar year in 2023 as well (57 839 6 TDs). He barely made my scout list so he’s likely a mid round guy but he has some good film. He’s 6’2 with an NFL frame and is very physical at the catch point. He body catches more than any other wideout in this class, and that is very concerning, but he also has strong hands and does catch the ball away from his body at times. If I was a GM I’d really review the tape to see if his hands are a strength or weakness as it’s hard to tell. Body catchers will scare a lot of GMs after Quentin Johnston’s atrocious rookie year so it could cause him to drop even more. Also his competition level was suspect and is a red flag. He had some decent YAC but at times it looked more like poor tackling than anything special on his end. He played Kansas State in 2023 and was solid but it was a massive blowout so also not ideal scouting film. Overall I see glimpses of a #3 WR who excels as a possession receiver, intermediate route guy who excels with his good frame, strong hands, and being tough over the middle. His bust potential is extremely high due to average athleticism at best and some tightness in his frame which makes me question his potential as a route runner. I don’t see enough to make me want to roll the dice on him with a draft pick and give him a free agent grade as my #24 WR 2/9/24.

2023 NFL Draft Review

This article is long overdue but I was running into a lack of motivation on writing it. It’s easy to see why as I was very disappointed in the Cowboys draft and am frankly shocked at how they addressed certain areas of need. Yet first off let’s get to a quick overview of teams that I think actually did draft well. Most place a Top 5 teams list but to me there were clearly 4 teams that stood out and I had trouble adding a fifth so I’ll just leave it at 4 as these were clearly a tier ahead of everyone else in my eyes.

Eagles-The Eagles had a well publicized “great draft”. The media jumped all over them selecting three Bulldogs this year, to team with quite a few already on their roster, and made them the winner of Day 1. I don’t completely disagree with that argument as I LOVED their first pick Jalen Carter and think he could be a Top 5 defensive player in the league someday. Yet I do think the media overrates Bulldogs and goes off “chalk” picks like Carter/Nolan Smith who everyone knew. I graded Nolan Smith a couple tiers below Drew Sanders and Sanders went in the mid 3rd so you can argue it was a far better selection than Smith in the late 1st yet few in the media even knew who Sanders was so Smith would be fantasized as the steal and Sanders would be ignored entirely by most outlets. That kind of thing happens every year as the media gushes on the powerhouse players (Stroud, Young, Jaxon, Carter, Smith) but quite often these players underwhelm. Did Jordan Davis do anything really last year? Yet he was a great pick. Did Nakobe Dean do anything for the Eagles? Yet he was one of the steals of the draft. On my board Davis was a bad pick and Dean was always a 3rd round type LB so the media had both wrong and their rookie years went exactly how I would have expected. I just point that out as the Eagles have become a fashionable pick as best drafting team yet they actually have a pretty mediocre track record over the past 5 years. Jalen Reagor, Andre Dillard, and Derek Barnett are first rounders in that span and all are huge busts. Cam Jurgens, JJ Arcega-Whiteside, and Sidney Jones are second rounders in that span and all are also huge busts. I distinctly remember hearing how great Dillard and Barnett were and that Jones was one of the steals of the draft so it’s important to remember that first impressions aren’t always the right impressions. That being said, the Eagles draft in 2023 was great and I think it deserves the praise it received. I think Nolan is a bit overrated and I think Kelee Ringo will be a flat out bust, definitely not a steal it’s being made out to be, but Jalen Carter is a great roll of the dice at 9th Overall. They began with that pick and ended in the 7th round with an absolute steal in DT Moro Ojomo so they bookended their draft with outstanding picks and filled in the middle with solid value. I specifically loved Sydney Brown the S in the 3rd as I had a late 1st/early 2nd round tier grade on him and it was both great value and one of the few need areas for the Eagles. The Eagles were the #1 seed in the NFC, went to the Super Bowl, and appear to have improved their roster (Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith, DeAndre Swift, Rachaad Penny). It’s a scary team right now and this draft class just added to their amazing depth.

Colts: Their draft class will forever be tied to how Anthony Richardson works out as they swung for the fences at 4th Overall and I think it’ll prove to be the right move as he’s not just a physical freak but shows glimpses of being a highly polished pocket passer which I think was not seen by the majority of draft evaluators this cycle. Let’s understand that I think Richardson is going to be the 2nd greatest rushing QB of all time, ahead of Vick and behind only Lamar Jackson. That’s the floor with him as he’s going to put immense pressure on a defense with his legs and a creative RPO scheme will have defenses shaking their heads. Yet what really wowed me was how natural Richardson was as a passer in certain highly important areas of the QB position. His ability to “feel” the rush, move around in the pocket, and buy additional time was 2nd best in this class only behind Bryce Young. One of the big flaws I saw with Stroud was his lack of feel for the rush and I think he could have very bad discrepancies between pressure/no pressure stats. Richardson is built like a tank so he can throw off rushers but his innate feel for them and how to step around them is special. Also his ability to read coverages shocked me with how developed it was. He clearly had a better understanding of coverages and how to read a defense than Levis or Hooker. Add in his elite arm strength and elite release, both of which were 2nd best in the class behind only Levis, and you have a number of very high end attributes solely based on him as a pocket passer. He had some bad film in 2023 but he also had a ton of great film and I was surprised how many people had already written off the 20 year old. I see him as a superstar and it’s why I graded him as the best prospect in this entire draft. Yet the Colts had a great draft after the Richardson pick and I liked or loved every pick of theirs until the late 5th when guys I hadn’t evaluated were going off the board. Julius Brents in the mid 2nd was great value. I mentioned on draft day that a guy with his size, length, and physicality would often “rise” into the 1st round on many other years yet this CB class was so deep everyone knew they could get good guys in the 2nd so there was no CB run in the 1st. Brents at 44 was a great get at a high value position like cornerback. Josh Downs in the 3rd was a solid pick. Some loved him, some hated him, and I was in the middle as he is so damn polished and quick and effortless in his routes and how he plucks the ball that I loved his film but come on he’s a shrimp and easily could be a bust solely based on size. In the 3rd it made a ton of sense and fits perfectly next to those two huge wideouts on the outside (Pittman, Pierce) who play a completely different game than Downs. Also one of my steals of the entire draft was the Colts selection at 110 of Adetomiwa Adebawore. He’s a DE/DT tweener that I like a lot more than Luka Van Ness who went at pick #13. He’s a better athlete than Van Ness and had better production so it’s not like I was too far out on a limb on that analysis but somehow he dropped and I think the Colts got a difference maker. Richardson has the highest upside of any player in this draft and Adebawore has the potential to be the biggest steal of the entire draft so the Colts did a lot of things well.

Browns: The Browns didn’t have a first or second round pick so they won’t make a lot of “top draft teams” this year but I still consider their draft to be special as they got amazing value in rounds 3-7. They began with Cedric Tillman in the 3rd who I had a 1st grade on and think he’ll be the #2 WR within 1-2 years across from Amari Cooper. He’s that physical X receiver that pairs perfectly with the smaller, faster Cooper who runs precision routes and isn’t a red zone threat. Dawand Jones a massive RT was not even a guy I liked that much, I had a 3rd grade on him-some had a 1st, but in the 4th? That’s good value to me, arguably the steal of the draft to many. PFF had a 1st round grade on him and I never got it as he has quickness issues and doesn’t bend well but he’s also 380 lbs and has long arms so in the run game he’ll be a difference maker. Later in the 4th they took DE Isaiah McGuire who is a power rushing 4-3 SDE who pairs nicely with perennial double digit sack artist Myles Garrett. I gave McGuire a late 2nd grade so he was another steal. Finally they took in the 6th Luke Wypler who I was advocating the Cowboys take in the 3rd or 4th. I have no clue why he dropped but he projects as an early career starter at OG or C and is exactly how you want to address the IOL as starters found on Day 3 are common at those positions. Overall it was a clinic on how to get great value after Rounds 1 & 2 as I think they’ll come out of the draft with 3-4 starters and all at ridiculously cheap salaries.

Steelers: The Steelers had the best draft of any team in my opinion as they got 5 players in my top 40, 4 outside the first round, and those highly graded players are how you really win a draft. It’s always fun to grab a guy I ranked 80th at 210 or something but if I rank them 80th there is still a decent chance they are a bust. It’s good value but might end up being nothing whereas getting 5 players I grade as at least mid 2nd round grades means I expect all of them to become starters. Going into the draft I knew Nick Herbig was going to be one of my “steals” this draft as no one mentioned him despite him being one of PFF’s highest graded pass rushers each of the past two seasons and one of the only rushers in this class to have back to back double digit sack seasons. Great production, great Combine results, and great PFF grades usually means you’ll be a quality starter but somehow he still dropped to the 4th round. That was their best value pick but moving up in the first to sneak past the Jets for OT Broderick Jones (OT1 on my board, went OT4) was a steal in it’s own way. Word is Belichick traded down with the Steelers on a worse offer solely to fuck the Jets and it felt that way as Jones easily could be the best OT from this class and the gap between his consensus grade vs. the next OT (Anton Harrison) was huge. I love when a team can maneuver around the draft board and get “their guys” all weekend. It started on Thursday with Jones and continued on Friday with the first pick as they got Joey Porter Jr. who not only was good value but of course had the family connection through his dad, a longtime Steelers great. Knowing how to move up for value at a key spot while also getting value later on cheaper picks (Keeanu Benton at 49 was the exact same grade and profile I gave Mazi Smith at 26) is something the Cowboys could learn from. I feel like the Steelers draft really hit home for me as it was what the Cowboys draft COULD have been. They moved up a few spots to get their guy (Kincaid at 24 would have been a great trade up), then they took a run stopping DT in the mid 2nd (Keannu Benton = Mazi Smith), and then later got a steal in TE Darnell Washington who pairs perfectly with the smaller, more athletic Pat Freirmuth (or a lesser version like Jake Ferguson). It was a great example of value equaling need, something many teams struggle to accomplish as it too often feels like they choose one over the other.

With that being said we come to the Cowboys draft. First I’d like to point off that my grade of them is far from the only grade that matters but most people saw them with one of the worst drafts of any team. Chad Reuter ranked their class 23rd, Dane Bugler ranked it 24th, Thor Nystrom ranked it 32nd, and Ryan Wilson ranked it 32nd as well. So most people had them as a bottom 3rd to worst draft class. That’s the range I’d give them too as I saw all of their picks except Deuce as being a slight reach to huge reach. Thor wrote, “It felt like Dallas went into each day with a plan to take specific positions in specific slots, and were unable to move off the plan to take advantage of the values dropping to them.” I thought the same thing as the Kincaid selection by the Bills at 25 probably changed the entire course of the draft for Dallas and had a domino effect. If Kincaid was there at 26, I think he was their pick, which then means Luke isn’t their pick in the 2nd so they go either DT or OL in the 2nd (Cyrus O’Torrence OG, John Michael Schmitz OG/C, Zacch Pickens DT, Byron Young DT all being good values taken in the next 12 picks), and if the Cowboys came out of the first round with a high end playmaker like Kincaid in the 1st and a value pick in the trenches in the 2nd then no one would have complained about their Rounds 4-7 no namers. The issue is that on first glance the draft appears to have netted a high end run stopping DT, a developmental TE, a developmental LB, a scat back, and a bunch of late round roll of the dice types. Maybe some of these hit but it felt like their 1st was a 2nd, their 2nd was a 3rd, their 3rd was a 4th, and then they went straight to late round developmental guys. There was no value in any pick outside of Deuce off my board or the “Consensus Board”. That board is the proper one to go off of as it’s fine if I don’t like a guy the Cowboys take but if no one likes them at that spot then it’s likely a bad pick. Perfect example is Trevon Diggs who I famously hated. Obviously I was wrong on that but I said that draft review about Diggs having some big time supporters around the league as a steal. No one saw Luke Schoonmaker as a steal at 58. It’s even worse in that he was the 5th tight end taken yet still in the 2nd round. This TE class was deep but not that deep and I think the Cowboys were caught with their pants down when LaPorta and Musgrave were taken FAR faster than anticipated. The smart strategy would have been to move off the TE position and address something else but they instead reached, showing TE was the huge need I thought it was and why a move up for Kincaid made so much sense in the first. I think he’s going to be one of the best TEs in the league within 1-2 years and it’ll be a huge pain for Cowboys fans but moving down from 26 into the early 30s for a Levis wanting team like the Titans would have made sense too. That goes back to my statement on the Steelers draft as moving up for Kincaid made sense but moving back for LaPorta (or Mayer or whomever you valued at TE a huge need spot) would have also made sense. TE was a huge position of need and this was one of the better TE classes in recent years so it’s disappointing the Cowboys only came away with a developmental type. Yet the same could be said of the RB position as well. The Cowboys cut Zeke, franchised Pollard, and desperately needed to add a quality #2 back if they were to be able to low ball Pollard and/or moneyball the position with Dak set to be a $60 million cap hit in 2024. Instead the Cowboys passed on these RBs I highly valued (I added how many times the Cowboys passed on each back): Roschon Johnson (1x), Israel Abanikanda (2x), Evan Hull (3x), Zach Evans (5x), DeWayne McBride (5x). All of these backs were of the bigger, more physical variety who seemed like a natural pairing with Pollard. Tony isn’t the biggest back and isn’t the most durable yet the Cowboys are 1 injury away from rolling out Ronald Jones and 170 pound Deuce as their RBBC. It’s a scary proposition but the OL depth is just as scary as 1 injury brings a no-name into the starting lineup and the Cowboys are coming off a season where Tyron Smith and Terrance Steele missed extensive time. The team stated Schoonmaker is a great blocker and fits the position profile they wanted. It also fits the defense first draft philosophy the team seemed to employ this year and matches McCarthy’s comments about Kellen Moore’s fast paced offense and his mismatched goal of scoring the most points. It all adds up to the Cowboys wanting to be a more run heavy team and I’m all for that but they then pass on Darnell Washington twice at TE, the best blocking TE I’ve graded in years, and don’t address the running back position till pick 212 and with a scat back? That’s the problem with this draft as no matter how you cut it, it doesn’t really make sense. TE was a need area so that’s why you reached for Schoonmaker? Then why didn’t you trade up in the 1st for Kincaid or in the 2nd for Mayer/LaPorta? DT is an important position and worthy of a 1st round grade? Then why did you always undervalue it and never spend a Top 50 pick on the position at any time in the past 25 YEARS! If you are shifting to a more run centric team (trade Cooper, not re-sign Schultz) then why didn’t you address RB until it was the highest player on your board in the 6th round? The Cowboys didn’t show any rhyme or reason in this draft, didn’t address needs properly with high picks, and didn’t get good value. It all adds up to a pretty mediocre haul. On the bright side though, Mazi Smith is a good player and is a reach but not a huge one at 26. I don’t believe in drafting DTs in the first round who aren’t pass rushers but he was an elite run stopper and should start next to Osa on Day 1. I love that fit and see the combination of Mazi as a two gap run stopper and Osa as a one gap penetrator being a great duo. Add in the insane depth the Cowboys have at DE (Parsons/Lawrence, Fowler/Armstrong, Williams) and it’s adding to one of the best DL in the entire league. Also you can’t ignore the possibility/probability that Dan Quinn is the Cowboys coach in 2024. He clearly had a lot of input on this draft and I think the shift in philosophy from never addressing the DT position, something I disliked, to addressing it with their highest pick, something I also disliked (and no I don’t see that as hypocritical because I see DT as a position you can easily address in the 2nd and 3rd round so you should address it there. I have the same opinion on TE which is why only the best like Kincaid should be taken in the 1st), was probably done at Quinn’s urging. Parsons loves Dan Quinn and wants him as the coach. Vander Esch talks openly about his charisma and energy and how they feed off of it. This is becoming a defensive oriented team and I don’t disagree with that as I don’t think you can win with Dak leading a dominant offense and need him to be a game manager with a great defense and run game. Run stopping DT in the last 1st isn’t great value but it does add a needed piece to an already dominant defense so it’s not terrible, I just think it cascaded into many later bad decisions and resulted in a poor draft. Also LB Demarvion Overshown is one of the few picks that had a lot of backers. Louis Reddick said it was his favorite pick of the 3rd round and that caught my eye. Overshown is a very physical player who is still growing into his body (former safety). I like his frame and his physicality but he has poor instincts and is raw so I had him a little later as an early 4th. Another reach for me but at least he has his fan club and I like him next to Damone Clark as that’s another good fit so I can see what they are envisioning with that pick. Finally there were a number of no names on Day 3. PFF had rankings much lower than the Cowboys draft spot on those players and none except Deuce made my evaluation list so all can be considered reaches but I did like one pick after watching the film. Asim Richards the OT out of North Carolina is a good prospect and I would have given him a 3rd round grade. He has a great frame, long arms, and a very bendable body. I see him as a RT long term and, while I would have liked to see the Cowboys take a stud IOL like O’Cyrus Torrence who could start at LG on Day 1, I think Richards is a steal at 169 and could very well be a starting RT in 2024 or 2025 for the Cowboys. Overall I did not like this draft, nor did most draft analysts. The Cowboys rightfully have a great reputation as drafters but it’s really a mixed bag as they are unequivocally the best team drafting 1st rounders (proven by multiple metrics) and have a great history recently on 4th rounders (Richards interestingly was their 4th pick) yet their 2nd and 3rd rounds have been mediocre. I don’t think Mazi will look like a steal like Tyler Smith, CeeDee Lamb, and Micah Parsons have but he won’t be a bust like Taco Charlton. The Cowboys added 5 players (Mazi, Luke, Overshown, Asim Richards, and Deuce Vaughn) that I expect to stick. It’s not a great haul and I don’t see any future Pro Bowlers but the roster is still stacked and adding two super physical players on an already great defense shows fans what the future of the Cowboys probably looks like. Expect a ground and pound offense which sets up the Cowboys defensive first philosophy to be even more noticeable as the transition from McCarthy to Quinn continues.

Live Blog (Day 3)

Refresh regularly

Day 3 is here and the board has been picked pretty clean but there are a few guys that surprise me with their availability. Everyone has “their guys” which are still available but the 7 below were pretty universally regarded as Day 2 picks so I expect them to go soon:

Adetomiwa Adebawore EDGE

Clark Phillip III CB

Tyler Scott WR

Luke Wypler IOL

Dawand Jones OT

Kelee Ringo

Isaiah McGuire EDGE

Of those I see Wypler being a legit option for the Cowboys but I highly doubt they trade up. I think RB is a very real possibility in the 4th so Zach Evans or DeWayne McBride would be steals if they last that long. Hopefully the Cowboys get a steal or two and turn around their draft as currently I have them as one of the lower draft grades in the league.

Below are my Top 20 available off my board:

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Adetomiwa Adebawore EDGE		20	56	NR
Clark Phillips III CB		24	62	NR
Jaelyn Duncan OT		26		NR
Nick Herbig EDGE		30	64	NR
Noah Sewell LB		37		NR
Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson CB		40	69	NR
Moro Ojomo DT		41	93	NR
Zion Nelson OT Mid 2nd		42		NR
Eli Ricks CB		47		NR
AT Perry WR		52	96	NR
Ivan Pace Jr. LB		59		NR
Isaiah McGuire EDGE		60	95	NR
Tyler Scott WR		62	85	NR
DeWayne McBride RB		65	98	NR
Kayshon Boutte WR		69		NR
Andrew Voorhees OT		70		NR
Karl Brooks EDGE		72	99	NR
Luke Wypler IOL		74	54	NR
Zach Kuntz TE Mid 3rd		77		NR
Kyu Blu Kelly CB		82		NR

Reminder I won’t talk on each pick as Day 3 is where boards really diverge, lots of guys go that aren’t on other people’s boards and my list of universally liked guys runs out so I didn’t grade them.

103. Saints (trade): Nick Saldiveri-Good start to the draft as he was well regarded and if you are trading up for the 1st pick on Day 3 this is the type of guy you get. I see him as an OT/OG tweener but he should stick somewhere and he’s a very good athlete. I like IOL in the 4th as you can still get expected starters where as at most other spots it’s a developmental guy or roll of the dice type. Reason also why I don’t like OGs in the 1st, just like RB as starters are easy to find in the 3rd-4th. Good pick here to start things.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Nick Saldiveri OT	103	84	91	NR

104. Raiders: Jakorian Bennett-He was opposite Deonte Banks last year and was a very solid #2 CB. He’s a good athlete but didn’t have the cleanest tape and I saw him being a guy with better measurables than what you saw on film so they didn’t fully translate to the field. I had a mid to late 3rd on him so good value here and the Raiders really need CBs, Christian Gonzalez at 7th was a possibility, so good value/good fit.

3rd straight traded pick to start the day as again you want the universally regarded guys that fell out of Day 2. Likely the Eagles get another steal….damn it!

105. Eagles (trade): Kelee Ringo-Their obsession with the Bulldogs is silly at this point. Most love this pick but I did not. He was Top 70 for PFF and Top 50 for Jeremiah but was 123rd to me. He was beat a lot and grabbed a lot. I don’t see him ever being a good CB and moved him to FS. He’s big and fast and experienced though so at 105 it’s not a bad pick, I just don’t see steal like most do. He was in my Top 7 universally regarded though so it again shows the Eagles working this draft to perfection. Hopefully I’m right and this is a strikeout because Jalen Carter probably won’t be. Yikes their roster is stacked.

110. Colts: Adetomiwa Adebawore-The Colts are working their way up the draft rankings as they got my #1 player in Anthony Richardson and now get one of the biggest steals of the entire draft. I had a late 1st round grade on this kid and saw him as comparable to Ezekiel Ansah who went 5th Overall had a solid career. He’s a DE/DT tweener with elite arm length and awesome strength. I don’t see a difference in talent between him and Tyree Wilson and considered them both 4-3 SDE who will dominate against the run and be solid #2 pass rushers (6-10 sacks a year types). To get him at 110? That’s crazy and PFF sees it similarly as he was a mid to late 2nd on their board. Outstanding value here, he was my #1 available for about 20-30 picks now, ever since Drew Sanders was taken mid 3rd.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Adetomiwa Adebawore EDGE	110	20	56	NR

111. Browns: Dawand Jones-Wow I didn’t even like this kid but I see it as a steal here. He got some late 1st round buzz and I was against that but gave him a 3rd as he’s the biggest, tallest guy in this draft but also not a great athlete. He’s a gigantic RT who could dominate if things go right but I see his pass pro as being very bad and I’d worry about him constantly against speed or slippery rushers. At 111 though it’s a no brainer and some will call this pick the steal of the draft. PFF had him #31 on their board and is why he was one of the “Top 7” I posted. No surprise 3 of the 7 are gone 10 picks into the 4th.

113. Falcons: Clark Phillips III-Another of my “Top 7” now 4 gone in 12 picks, Phillips was one of my favorite players to grade in this draft as I love the small, feisty ballhawk types. He’s comparable in talent to Asante Samuel Jr., Jalen Pitre, etc. and those guys were early 2nd rounders who have been great pros so I don’t see why these guys keep dropping on draft day. Elijah Moulden went in the late 3rd a few years ago, same type of guy. This is a steal and yes I was higher on him than most but PFF had a late 2nd grade on him and he goes in the early/mid 4th. Massive steal as I expect very good starter with high INT totals. He’s a great compliment to AJ Terrell as Terrell can man up on the best WR while Phillips can play the other with safety help and cheat regularly for picks as he has help if he guesses wrong. That’s how I’d play them but we’ll see as some saw him as a career slot guy which would hurt his value. In either spot he’s a steal in the 4th.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Clark Phillips III CB	113	24	62	NR

115. Bears: Roschon Johnson-Great pick here as I was lower on him than most, some had 3rd round grades I had 4th, but you can see their thinking as he’s a perfect complement to a smaller, more athletic back which is what they have in house with Khalil Herbert. Johnson will be battling D’onta Foreman for that big back role and might give them an opportunity to move on from Foreman down the road. Another example of moneyballing the RB position with Day 3 picks (Herbert/Johnson) supplemented by cheap veterans (Foreman). The trio will be more than adequate and costs your team little draft capital or salary cap. It’s a smart way to build though I agree also on the occasional overpay if it’s your identity (Falcons, Seahawks, etc.).

126. Browns: Isaiah McGuire-Another of my “Top 7” and the Browns are adding steals left and right in the 3rd and 4th round. McGuire was a late 2nd/early 3rd round rusher to me as he’s a very physical power rusher. It’s not by type of rusher so I was surprised I was the leader of his fan club but he was the only guy I saw give Darnell Wright trouble last year and that really impressed me. He’s as physical and strong as any EDGE in this class so in the mid 4th it’s a massive steal.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Isaiah McGuire EDGE	126	60	95	NR

Cowboys are on the clock in 2 picks so here is my updated Top 10.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Jaelyn Duncan OT		26		NR
Nick Herbig EDGE		30	64	NR
Noah Sewell LB		37		NR
Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson CB		40	69	NR
Moro Ojomo DT		41	93	NR
Zion Nelson OT Mid 2nd		42		NR
Eli Ricks CB		47		NR
AT Perry WR		52	96	NR
Ivan Pace Jr. LB		59		NR
Tyler Scott WR		62	85	NR

128. Rams: Stetson Bennett-I love this pick. He was my QB6 and had a grade close to Will Levis (didn’t like Levis). I get it he’s tiny and old but he has a good arm, had elite productivity the past two seasons, and he has elite athleticism. I think he is faded a bit because he’s white as the kid is a special athlete and was incredibly efficient as a runner in the SEC. He can’t be a true dual threat guy but if Stafford gets hurt for a few games I think Bennett can come in and win a game or two and if they unleashed him as a runner he’d be a stud. Yes he’d get hurt if that was done for a whole season but as a backup playing only a couple games why not run him into the ground and make him a star for a game or two. I wanted the Dolphins to take him as he’d fit that season perfectly and Tua gets hurt so he’d play but this is a solid fit.

129. Cowboys: Viliami Fehoko-I didn’t scout him. He’s a DE from San Jose State. This is an even odder pick as DE is clearly the team’s deepest position. Parsons/Lawrence/Fowler/Armstrong/Williams is their top 5 and they are adding to it? Even if I like the guy, I’ll scout him later, I consider it a waste. They’ll probably have to redshirt him as most teams don’t keep 6 DEs on their roster and they are stacked at the top 5. I don’t get it at all. PFF had him ranked #141 on their board.

131. Bengals: Charlie Jones-Oooh this is interesting. Jones is that Hunter Renfrow type career slot guy that I knew would go Day 3 and I suspect will be a 10 year player. He’s not a star but he’s an underrated athlete who runs great routes, has amazing hands, and is very strong. He was a star last year at Purdue but is older and did nothing at his first two colleges. Put on the Penn State film and you see him flat out beat Joey Porter Jr. (1st pick in the 2nd round) over and over again. I graded him as an early 4th but I almost changed it to mid to late 3rd as his contested catches and film was so damn good. He could definitely be a steal and paired with two big boys on the outside (Chase/Higgins) it’s a perfect fit. I think he’s going to surprise. Great pick/great fit.

132. Steelers: Nick Herbig-Another one of the biggest steals of this entire draft. I was out on a limb with him and had an early 2nd round grade but PFF had him 64th so most would say it’s a massive steal at 132. I actually think he can be a 3-4 OLB but most don’t see him as a rusher because he has short arms. He was a top graded rusher each of the past two seasons by PFF, had double digit sacks back to back seasons, and he has about as good of bend as any rusher in this draft. It’s funny how people see one negative and move on. He’s fast, he’s bendy, he’s physical, he has elite production but but but he has short arms. Okay I get it so take him in the 3rd but late 4th round? That’s insane. He had far better stats than Tyree Wilson the past two seasons and better tape yet Wilson goes Top 12 and Herbig goes 132. Good luck with that. The Steelers got another steal to join Broderick Jones and Darnell Washington. They quietly are having a Top 5 draft class.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Nick Herbig EDGE	132	30	64	NR

133. Bears: Tyler Scott-Another massive steal, he’s one of the last of my “Top 7” still on the board. I had him as a poor man’s Zay Flowers as he’s a small guy but is thick and far more than just a speed guy. His speed is right up there though with Hyatt and Mims as the best in this entire draft class so I don’t get why he goes so late. Fields will like this kid and he has limited competition for the 4th WR spot behind Claypool, Mooney, and Moore so I suspect he sticks. Great value pick here.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Tyler Scott WR	133	62	85	NR

138. Colts: Darius Rush-I liked him but some loved him (PFF #70) so it was shocking he lasted this late, early 5th round. He has good film as a corner and moves very well for a bigger guy. He reminds me a bit of the Central Florida CB a few years ago Aaron Robinson who has been a good player for the Giants. He’s big, physical, and feisty so he fits in a press scheme.

143. Jets: Israel Abanikanda-Good pick here. I was lower on him than I thought the consensus would be and then checked rankings and saw I was actually a little higher than the consensus. Yes he has his flaws as he doesn’t break tackles and is a one year wonder but he has a good frame, has elite long speed to take it to the distance, and he’s one of the younger players in this draft class. In the 5th round it’s a steal as I could see him being a Chubba Hubbard type low end starter/high end backup. Hubbard was my comp both style and talent wise and was a 3rd or 4th for the Panthers a few years ago so in the 5th it’s a steal.

144. Titans: Josh Whyle-I liked Josh and I get that he doesn’t have great athleticism but he’s a very smart TE who knows how to get open and has good size and ball skills. I think he’ll be a steal and had him #95 on my board so at 144 it’s a steal. He was ranked by me ahead of Luke Schoonmaker though Luke has better speed. Josh ran better routes and had better hands. He’s probably a career #2 TE but I see the same with Luke. In the 5th round it’s a steal for that type of guy, in the 2nd it’s a reach. Just saying…

148. Bears: Noah Sewell-The brother of Penei, he’s a huge ILB who fits well in a 3-4 scheme where he won’t be in man coverage and can float as a middle zone guy. He has great instincts, great bend, and was a dominant tackler in 2021 but had a down year in 2022. I loved his film and graded him on par with Jack Campbell as a mid 2nd so the fact Campbell is a reach as a mid 1st and Sewell drops to the 5th is wild to me. Neither are good in coverage but Sewell had some poor man’s Devin Lloyd tape as that bendy, physical, instinctive inside backer. I don’t get why no one liked him but he might surprise as a long term starter in Chicago.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Noah Sewell LB	148	37		NR

157. Ravens: Kyu Blue Kelly-I get why he dropped as he’s not the fastest guy and is a little tight but he was very solid in man coverage for multiple years at Stanford. I had a Top 100 grade on him and saw him as a low end #2 CB or high end #3 CB so this is a steal to me. He was beat deep by Jordan Addison and probably needs safety help but he has good size and good ball skills so in the right scheme I suspect he’ll surprise and be another steal for the Ravens. Very solid pick here.

9 of my Top 10 were picked early but 1 (Luke Wypler) is still available. I wonder if he had medical issues no one knows about as he’s a top available by Kiper and Mike Renner (PFF guy I trust). It’s very odd he’s still available as I wouldn’t have had an issue with him going in the late 2nd/early 3rd.

Jaguars: Antonio Johnson-I liked him but PFF loved him so it’s surprising he’s still here. He’s a SS type with poor man coverage skills but good instincts and great run support. PFF liked his cover skills more than I did but everyone loved his big hits and run support. This is another example of why SS is just like RB in that you can find starters on Day 3 all the time and it’s just super easy to find these guys. Johnson could easily become a starter and will be among the cheapest starters in the league if that happens so great value here.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Antonio Johnson S	160	122	53	NR

164. Vikings: Jaren Hall-I love this pick and had him as QB7. He has a weaker arm but he’s very accurate, has underrated athleticism, and was a smart pocket passer that got it done for BYU. In the 5th it’s a steal and he’s QB12 taken already (record by the way) so good job by the Vikings getting value even after so many have been taken. Guys with better arms were taken earlier but he’s smarter, a better decision maker, and more accurate. He’ll be a good backup and might surprise as a starter down the road which is what the Vikings are hoping for with Cousins contract coming up.

167. Texans: Henry To’oTo’o-Great pick as he’s a very small, thin MLB and has size issues but he has elite instincts, good athleticism, and had elite productivity at Alabama. He was a stud and is similar to Brian Branch in that you just have to accept the size limitations and focus on the film. Henry is that Dat Nguyen type player that all the analytics say no but the film says hell yes. Trust the film in the 5th round and take a guy like him. He’ll also be a great special teamer.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Henry To’oto	167	109		NR

With the Cowboys up in 1 pick, here is my Top 10 available.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Jaelyn Duncan OT		26		NR
Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson CB		40	69	NR
Moro Ojomo DT		41	93	NR
Zion Nelson OT Mid 2nd		42		NR
Eli Ricks CB		47		NR
AT Perry WR		52	96	NR
Ivan Pace Jr. LB		59		NR
DeWayne McBride RB		65	98	NR
Kayshon Boutte WR		69		NR
Andrew Voorhees OT		70		NR

169. Cowboys: Asim Richards-I did not scout him. He’s an OT for North Carolina and PFF ranked him #227 so not much love for him but I’ll scout him and see.

I’ll post sporadically through the final 2 rounds but refresh less frequently as this is the spot in the draft where I don’t know many players. I predict the Cowboys take Max Duggan in the 6th if he’s there.

176. Colts: Evan Hull-It’s not surprising he went this late as I didn’t even catch him on my first wave but added him late after seeing fantasy Twitter like him so much. I loved his film as he reminded me of Dameon Pierce with better receiving skills. Hull is a bulked up short guy with great inside running ability and is great at picking his way through traffic. Those guys usually don’t have good receiving skills but he has a burst and is a solid receiver. He could be a 3 down back but his talent level means he probably never will be, especially with JT in the backfield. Still in the 6th round it’s a steal and continues the very good drft by the Colts.

178. Cowboys (trade) Eric Scott-I didn’t scout him. Interesting that they traded up for him. #335 by PFF.

182. Rams: Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson-I had him 40th on my board as he was the damn Thorpe Award Winner. He also has blazing speed and good ball skills so why the hell did he go 182nd? He has terrible, actually probably non-existent is a better word, technique and is a wild player. He got away with it in college as he’s an elite athlete but he’s a project and is raw. That being said he’s insanely fast, is tough as hell, and has great ball skills. I compared him to PacMan Jones as that insane athlete with a lot of rough film. Still though at this spot it’s crazy value and I really like the fit as they play a mix and match scheme in their secondary which will allow him to be in zone and in man at times. They got the most out of Ramsey but also lesser talents like LaMarcus Joyner who is similar sized. I think this could be one of the steals of Day 3 and love the fit.

186. Titans: Jaelyn Duncan-Discrepancy wise this is arguably the best pick of the entire draft as my 26th best player goes 186th. I had an early 2nd round grade on Duncan and he had some 1st round buzz when he was at the Senior Bowl and dominating so I don’t know why he fell so far. I do know he’s soft and lazy so it could be character issues but Duncan is a legit LT with great athleticism and the smoothest backpedal in this entire OT class. I repeat no one, not even Paris Campbell taken in the Top 10, has a smoother backpedal than Duncan does. He has a thick lower body too which allows him to handle power better than you’d expect, so this has to be a medical or character issue. I said he’s a stud but do you really want to re-sign him as he’s always going to be a soft player. I get why he’d drop to the 3rd or 4th maybe but 186 for a top 5 talent at OT? It’s very odd but the Titans have themselves a talent and Vrabel is a good bet to motivate him.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Jaelyn Duncan OT	186	26		NR

190. Browns: Luke Wypler-Well I was right on 6 of my “Top 7” as being universally liked but Wypler apparently should not have been on that list. Wypler is a OG/C guy with good versatility who had great tape last year. I liked him, PFF loved him, and he projects as a Day 1 starter so I was hoping the Cowboys would take him to be their LG next year. Alas the Browns got him and continue their underrated draft as they’ve had a number of steals on Days 2-3. Guys like Wypler start all over the NFL and is why OG is one of the easiest positions to moneyball but I’m still shocked he went this late. I heard 2nd-3rd round buzz on him. Antoher where maybe there’s a medical issue I never heard about.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Luke Wypler IOL	190	74	54	NR

195. Saints: AT Perry-The Saints got my favorite RB sleeper Kendre Miller and now my favorite WR sleeper AT Perry. Who knows if either work out but I suspect one of these two will look like an absolute steal in a couple of years. I saw Perry as vastly underrated. He is a very big guy but has sneaky athleticism and is really sudden in his routes like a Cedric Tillman. He also had elite production the past couple of years and is a big, strong handed man that can win red zone targets. I think he fits perfectly long term next to Chris Olave who is a pure speed, deep threat and if Michael Thomas stays injury prone he might be one of the better rookies next year. He’s super polished as a route runner and receiver so I think he’ll surprise as a rookie and bea n impact player. As you can see from the rankings, I was much higher on him than anyone but give it a few years and I think Perry sticks. One of the best picks of Day 3.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
AT Perry WR	195	52	96	NR

212. Cowboys: Deuce Vaughn-Hell yeah this is a great pick! I’d have gone DeWayne McBride but Vaughn I really liked, especially as a receiver, and thought he had late 3rd/early 4th round value so in the 7th it’s a steal. He was 107 on my board, 109 on PFF so we saw him in a similar light as a career #2 RB, scat back type who is a complementary piece. One of the reasons I was lower on Gibbs than others is because Vaughn is 80% of what Gibbs is as a receiver and you can get those type of guys (Kenny McIntosh too) very late in the draft. Give me Devon Achane in the 3rd and Deuce Vaughn in the 7th vs. Gibbs in the 1st and I ‘d argue I have both a cheaper and a better backfield. This isa great pick BUT a little odd as it doesn’t complement Pollard at all. Is this just a value pick? Are they planning on bringing back Zeke as they still need a bigger back with inside running skills. Is this a sign they might not extend Pollard? It’s interesting as to how it plays roster wise but either way it’s a steal and I’m glad the Cowboys got one at least on Day 3.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Deuce Vaughn RB	212	107	109	NR

Deuce Vaughn Kansas State 5’5 179 He didn’t run but had a ‘35 ½ vertical (average) and 9’8 broad (bad). He was a solid player in 2020 (642 yards 5.2 ypc 7 TDs), had a great year in 2021 (1,404 yards 6.0 ypc 18 TDs, 49 468 4 TDs as a receiver), and another great year in 2022 (1,558 yards 5.3 ypc 9 TDs, 42 378 3 TDs as a receiver). He, Kenny McIntosh, Spears, and Gibbs are the best receivers in this RB class. A tiny RB from Kansas State, who does he remind me of? Hmm…the comparisons are obvious to Darren Sproles but Sproles was so much thicker and stronger. I actually see more Danny Woodhead with Vaughn than Sproles and see him in a similar role in the NFL. He led his team twice in both rushing and receiving but he’s so tiny I don’t know how many rushing attempts he’ll get. As an outside runner on a zone play he could be effective due to his outstanding speed, vision, and quickness but he’s very hit or miss on runs and I don’t think many teams would put up with it. I’d love to see him with the Dolphins or 49ers and see him get 5-10 carries a game just to see how effective he’d be. He has some amazing highlights making guys miss but for the most part he’s just a speed guy and hits the hard full blast so for a team like the 49ers that can scheme him into space he’d be effective due to how quickly he hits the hole. His speed really is special and I’m surprised he didn’t run the 40. He glides down the field at times and gets to top end speed so quickly that he’s an extremely dangerous player in the open field. I see him being more dangerous as a receiving back though and think that’s where he’ll be most effective as Kansas State. Option/arrow routes will be scary with him vs. linebackers but he can run deeper routes and showed it a times. I think his middle of the field work vs. man coverage will be incredibly effective and will make him a long time NFL back, albeit a #2 back in the Tarik Cohen role. He showed great durability at Kansas State but I do worry he’ll have a shorter career, like Cohen, and don’t see full time starter for him despite his elite speed. Overall I love Deuce for what he is and won’t try and make him something he’s not as he’ll be a high end #2 back who excels more as a receiver than as a runner but will never be a full time starter. Late 3rd as my #11 RB 4/19/23.

215. Rams: Zach Evans-Man the Rams are cleaning up late with Hodges and now Evans. These would have been reasonable picks in the 3rd and they are getting them in the 200s! Evans is an elite athlete who runs hard and breaks some tackles. He has the frame to add weight and what intrigues me is what he could be like in 2-3 years at 210 lbs with some improved pad level and a more polished running style. He runs hard and aggressively but isn’t a smooth runner and looks raw to me. He was the 1B to Kendre Miller’s 1A at TCU and then was the backup again at Ole Miss. In both spots he wasn’t the man despite a great YPC so I think the coaches also saw his raw running style. He needs to gain experience but he has starter level talent, I just wonder if he’ll ever get there. With the Rams he’ll immediately look more explosive than Akers and could win the job, especially if the Rams go full on rebuild youth movement which seems likely. He’s a great pick here and makes a lot of sense.

222. Vikings: DeWayne McBride-Another RB steal let and another good fit. The RB rookie have just gone to the worst spots (Gibbs to Lions, Charbonnet to Seahawks, etc.) but Achane, Evans, and now McBride are all value enhancing spots. The Vikings are moving on from Cooks but they didn’t give Mattison a big deal or a long deal (2 years) so McBride could take over that spot in 2024 easily if he shows the tackle breaking ability I saw out of him. I really loved his film as he had Arian Foster mixed with Nick Chubb vibes and was one of the best inside runners in this draft. He was a guy I was hoping the Cowboys took to replace Zeke but the Vikings have him and I really like the fit. I think he’ll steal carries from Mattison very quickly.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
DeWayne McBride RB	222	65	98	NR

241. Steelers: Cory Trice Jr.-The sneaky good draft by the Steelers started in the 1st round with Broderick Jones (my OT1 who goes OT4 after they slide ahead of the Jets to take him) and ends in the 7th with Cory Trice Jr. a very solid CB prospect I had a 3rd round grade on. They really did a great job from start to finish and will be one of my Top 5 teams in my draft review. PFF actually liked him even more than I did and graded him 77th so at 241 he’s one of the biggest “discrepancy” picks of this entire draft.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Cory Trice Jr. CB	241	104	77	NR

244. Cowboys: Jalen Brooks-I didn’t scout him, PFF ranked the South Carolina WR #346

249. Eagles: Moro Ojomo-Ugh as if their draft couldn’t get any better. They end it with one of the biggest values on Day 3. I was out on a limb a bit of Moro but I really liked his tape and saw pass rush potential with him. He’s a 5th year kid but only 22 still and seems like he’s a late bloomer who is just putting it together. I love this pick as it’s +200 spots later than my rankings. Even if you go off PFF’s rank of 93 it’s a great value so the Eagles start with DT Jalen Carter, a steal at 9, and end with Ojomo, another DT steal this time at 249. They know what they’re doing over there in Philly.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Moro Ojomo DT	249	41	93	NR

256. Packers: Grant Dubose-I like this pick and it’s a good fit. I had him #102 on my board so at 256 it’s a steal and I think he sticks. He reminds me of a slightly better Josh Palmer who has been a WR3-4 for the Chargers and I think there are reps available in Packer land so Dubose could be a sneaky 7th round pick.

Alright that’s it for me today. I’ll write a full Cowboys review tomorrow but suffice it to say, this draft was underwhelming and most analysts do not think the Cowboys did well this week. Mazi Smith is well regarded by most, Luke has a few admirers, Overshown is loved by a small group liked by a large group, and Deuce is a steal but regularly it felt like the Cowboys were reaching a bit or taking positions out of order. Why not LaPorta and Keannu Benton vs. Mazi and Luke? Why not Drew Sanders and Darnell Washington vs. Luke and Overshown? Why not McBride instead of Deuce? Why wasn’t OG addressed at all? Why did they stray from a decade plus strategy of not valuing the DT position and suddenly overpay for a 2 down run stopper? So many had Kincaid as one of the blue chip players in this draft, why was a trade up not worth it since Dak’s game works so much better with an elite TE working the middle of the field? There seemed to be a lot of better options on the board so we will trust the Cowboys brass and hope they know what’s best but often when people are left surprised and confused by picks it doesn’t work out in the end.

Live Blog (Day 2)

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I mentioned it on Twitter but to recap I think TE, OL, and CB are the likely targets Round 2 and TE, OL, and RB are the likely targets Round 3. I strongly think the Cowboys will take a TE in Round 2 and a RB in Round 3 or 4. Apparently the Cowboys are linked to my RB2 Kendre Miller so a Sam LaPorta or Drew Sanders (not a position of need necessarily but the highest rated player on my board, 13th Overall, and adds to a great defense) and Kendre Miller would make me a happy man. This RB class is so deep though that I could see them wait until the 4th and hope a Miller or McBride drops that far. Same with TE being an option in Round 3, especially if they don’t see a difference between LaPorta and say Luke Musgrave. Lots to consider but I feel confident the Cowboys will make a “sexy” pick or two tonight after doing a meat and potatoes type pick with Mazi Smith. Finally I’ll mention that Mazi is a reach by many but the Chiefs were trying to move up for him and he is well regarded. He’s just one dimensional as a run stopper but he’s probably the 2nd best run stopper in this draft, Jalen Carter #1, so if that’s what you feel is your biggest weaknesss on defense then taking an elite player in that area makes sense. It was an odd pick but it wasn’t a terrible pick at all and he’s so damn strong at the point of attack that I think fans will grow to like the pick.

Finally, DT they considered their biggest need. I think their actual biggest need is OG so if this is more of a fill your needs draft and you are going all in, not best player available, then look out for Steve Avila, O’Cyrus Torrence, or John Michael Schmitz. In that grouping Schmitz is by far my favorite and has versatility to play OG or C. If they go best player available then CB might be the pick as this CB position is also super deep and a guy like Joey Porter Jr., Clark Phillips, or Julius Brents all could have been 1st round picks in other years. There was no CB run like normal but when it happens it will go fast. Remember the WR run where at pick 19 there were 0 WRs drafted and then 4 picks later the position was picked clean (Jaxon, Flowers, Quentin, Addison in 4 straight picks). I suspect a CB run will happen early to middle 2nd round.

Below are my Top 25 available as we get started.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Drew Sanders LB		13	48	NR
Brian Branch S		16	15	31
Adetomiwa Adebawore EDGE		20	56	NR
Cedric Tillman WR		22	61	NR
Clark Phillips III CB		24	62	NR
Gervon Dexter DT		25		NR
Jaelyn Duncan OT		26		NR
Darnell Washington TE		28	37	25
Jalin Hyatt WR		29	55	40
Nick Herbig EDGE		30	64
Sam LaPorta TE		31	43	42
Hendon Hooker QB		32	47	44
Sydney Brown S		33	76
Joey Porter Jr. CB		34	21	20
Julius Brents CB		35	68
Trenton Simpson LB		36	71	43
Noah Sewell LB		37
BJ Ojulari EDGE		38	57	35
Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson CB		40	69
Moro Ojomo DT		41	93
Zion Nelson OT Mid 2nd		42
John Michael Schmitz IOL		43	35	48
Keannu Benton DT		45	58	47
Eli Ricks CB		47
Derrick Hall EDGE		48	87

32. Steelers: Joey Porter Jr. –Good pick as most had him as a 1st round corner. I had him as a 2nd as he has poor ball skills and was beat a lot but he’s a long athletic CB with a high ceiling. Everyone loves the bloodlines though as he goes to the team his dad became famous at and he’ll be a fan favorite. It’s a good pick but he’s a high risk/high reward player and needs to clean up his technique and get better at reacting to the ball in the air. He’s not a clear cut starter IMO so we’ll see how it goes but hopefully it works out and he stars for them and makes his dad proud.

33. Titans (trade): Will Levis-I obviously am not a fan of Levis as you can see from my ranking. He was ranked 50-60 spots lower than PFF/Jeremiah and if I was a GM I’d have taken him off my board as I see total bust. I also saw bust in Malik Willis (hit) and Josh Allen (massive fail) and Trey Lance (appears to be a hit but still too early) so I’m not 100% but Levis is SO BAD at handling the rush, reading defenses, and I just see him as a robotic guy with elite arm talent and nothing else. He’s not Josh Allen he’s Christian Hackenberg to me so we’ll see how it works out but this is a great spot for him as he can sit a year under Tannehill and then they can see what they have in 2024. I just think this is going to be looked at negatively down the road and they’ll be very disappointed in what they got.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Will Levis QB	33	73	7	12

34. Lions: Sam LaPorta-Well shit I was really hoping he’d be a Cowboy. I had him as TE3 but neck and neck with Washington for TE2 so this isn’t surprising at all to me. He’s such a stud as a receiver and can be your full time slot if you want. I call him baby Kittle as his YAC is great, his routes are great, and in the right offense he could be a star. Kincaid and LaPorta going 1-2 shocks everyone but me. He was an early 2nd round grade on my board and as you can see from below I was higher on him than others. After two very questionable picks last night the Lions are back to their good drafting ways and LaPorta will be a great chess piece for their underrated OC to use.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Sam LaPorta TE	34	31	43	42

35. Raiders: Michael Mayer-Well we have our TE run and Cowboys likely will be taking another position at 58. Mayer is a guy I never loved but many saw him as TE1. To me he’s too slow and is very robotic. He also is super strong, has great YAC, and potentially will be a good blocker something Kincaid and LaPorta aren’t so it’s different strengths. Mayer projects to me as that starting TE who struggles to get open and the Raiders eventually bring in a more athletic Hback TE to supplement his lack of athleticism. To me that’s not early Rd 2 but PFF had him 19th so we’ll see how he does. The Raiders drafted him to replace Darren Waller so he’ll be a starter on a completely retooled offense with Garoppolo, Meyer, and the holdovers of Adams and Jacobs. It’s an interesting nucleus and Garoppolo is great at working the middle of the field so he might fit in well.

36. Rams: Steve Avila-Wow that’s 3 potential Cowboys targets gone in the first 5 picks. Avila was a solid OG and I thought he was decent and then I saw the consensus and was shocked he was getting late 1st/early 2nd grades. I didn’t see that tape but he’ll be a solid starter day 1 and he does have versatility to play OG or C. I just feel that John Michael Schmitz is the better OG/OC tweener type and O’Cyrus Torrence is the better pure OG so Avila was lower on my board. The Cowboys did like the local kid from TCU though so another one bites the dust.

37. Seahawks: Derrick Hall-Interesting pick as I loved this kid but no one agreed with me. He’s pure speed and I gave him a Dee Ford comp. He was 48th on my board but 87th to PFF so it’s a small reach to me but a huge reach to most. I saw a lot of talent and am a big believer in speed, length, and bend for sacks not size/strength so he fit my profile which I consider to be the most successful. Good pick in my eyes.

38. Falcons (trade): Matthew Bergeron-This is a pretty big reach to most people, I had 79th/PFF had 65th/Jeremiah UR, so unsure why they took him here. The Falcons run a unique scheme so they might be reading into OL profiles a specific skill set that others aren’t but right now this looks like by far the worst pick in the 2nd so far as no one was banging the table for this kid as a late 1st and all the top guys on the board right now are in that category. Draft a guy who “dropped” out of the 1st or trade back. These are extremely valuable picks and they also traded up for him. Maybe I’m missing something but this is very odd.

39. Panthers: Jonathan Mingo-Not a fan of him but he had his fans as a big wideout with great ball skills. He’s a huge framed, huge hands guy who can’t get open but he has good YAC when he does get the ball so think AJ Brown route tree. He never had good numbers at Ole Miss and always seemed more athlete than player to me. I saw him as a 4th WR like a Noah Brown as he’s arguably the best blocking WR in this draft so I was not a fan. I’m especially not a fan of this pick with Cedric Tillman still on the board who is just a better version of that big WR. Bad pick to me but some will like it.

40. Saints: Isaiah Foskey-Not a fan of him either but this was ND career sack leader but he was a bull rush type with bad bend, mediocre speed, and was just a one trick pony. I have my types and a power rusher with poor bend and with a bunch of late in the play motor sacks is just not going to impress me. It didn’t impress PFF either as he was 73rd on their board, 110 on mine so massive reach here for the Saints.

41. Cardinals: BJ Ojulari-Good pick. All three had him ranked in this range. He’s the brother of Azeez Ojulari who is also a DE but they couldn’t be more different as BJ wins with hands, strength, motor, and has some sneaky bend/speed. He’s a power guy with speed/bend in a speed body so it was odd but overall he was that rusher with a lot of ways to win and no elite tools but good at everything. I saw #2 rusher for a team and thought it was good in this spot.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
BJ Ojulari EDGE	41	38	57	35

42. Packers: Luke Musgrave-Well another Cowboys target is gone. Musgrave was the 1 guy I changed grades on after posting as I got a bad read on him. It was easy to do as he had only 2 games played in 2022 but Luke is a big framed guy wtih very good speed so at worst he’s probably an injury prone Mike Gesicki and he has a much better ceiling that Gesicki. Musgrave has some star potential so I was gonna be okay with him at 58 though would prefer LaPorta or Washington. I am a little surprised he went this early due to injury issues but he definitely has better receiving potential than Washington so the Packers jumped off for the receiving TE.

43. Jets: Joe Tippmann-Not a big fan of Joe except for his versatility. He’s 6’6 and could play OT, OG, or C so I saw him as a 6th OL but his tape was mediocre so I thought low end starter or super versatility backup. Not a fan of that this early in the draft but Jeremiah had him 33rd on his board so his grades were all over the place. I think it’s because he played at so many positions so where did he fit. He’s a smart guy too but I’d take the beefy OG like Torrence over the versatile weak guy like Tippmann.

44. Colts: Julius Brents-Love this pick. In a number of years a long, physical corner like Brents would have been reached for in the late 1st but everyone knew this CB class was so deep that there were surprisingly no reaches like in the previous few years. Brents at 44 is a steal. He had a bad game vs. Quentin Johnston but he’s a great press corner with long arms and is arguably the most physical DB in this class (Witherspoon probably 1st). He’s a little older and is a good not great athlete but he has elite length like a Caleb Fairley at 6’3 and the Colts might have a steal here.

45. Lions: Brian Branch-That’s a steal here. I get it, he’s short and thin and plays safety which is a lower value position but Branch is THE BEST safety in this class and I had a mid 1st grade on him so to get him at 45 is a wow moment for me. Also the Lions moved up ahead of the Patriots and if the Pats had gotten Christian Gonzalez my CB1 at 17 and then Branch my S1 at 46 would have been an epic draft. I know everyone will pan this too as the Lions now have taken RB, LB, TE, and S literally 4 of the 5 least valuable positions (OG is the other) but LaPorta and Branch are two great picks. He was the #2 available on my board and 16th Overall on my board.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Brian Branch S	45	16	15	31

46. Patriots: Keion White-I was curious where he was gonna go as I had a 3rd round grade on him but heard late round 1 buzz. He settles in the mid 2nd and that’s a little better. He has some great tape and I had him as a 3-4 DE so a perfect fit for the multiple schemes run by the Patriots. He can play 4-3 SDE, 3-4 DE, or 4-3 DT so move hm all around and he’ll be good. Good pick fit wise though it’s a little early for me. It’s a steal for some as his grades were all over the board.

47. Commanders: Jartavius Martin-Huge reach here but what they love is his versatility. He played on that Illinois secondary which was the best in the nation but he was the 3rd best DB in that secondary and he’s the 2nd taken. You can’t tell me he was better than his teammate Sydney Brown. They were on the field for years together and no fan or scout would say Martin was better. A very weird reach for Martin here but he projects as a decent starting safety and one that can play some man coverage so he’ll be valued more by man schemes that want man coverage from their FS.

48. Bucs: Cody Mauch-I love this kid. He’s very old, like 24 or something, and comes from Canada and a lower level of competition so he has some oddities/red flags to him but the boy is a smooth athlete who will hit you in the mouth. One of my favorite IOL prospects in this draft and I think he’ll be great. I had him rated ahead of Avila and Tippmann who went earlier. He also could play RT if you had to but I see him as a great OG. He’s another guy I would have loved the Cowboys take at 58 but never heard them connected so I didn’t mention. He feels like the perfect guy for the Packers. I’m curious if they were eyeing him.

49. Steelers: Keannu Benton-Really solid pick and I’ll just point out that he had the EXACT same grade as Mazi Smith and the same 2 down run stopping DT style. Mazi was slightly better as a run stopper but they were both mid 2nd grades on my board and I wrestled back and forth which one was better. My point is guys like Mazi very often are available in the 2nd and is why I like Mazi but it’s still a reach to me.

50. Packers: Jayden Reed-Interesting as I thought I liked him but 50th was WAY early for me. He’s a polished wideout but I didn’t see elite size,speed, or stats. He was 91st on my board and not top 100 for PFF so huge reach here but he’ll have a great chance to succeed on that depth chart which has been depleted.

51. Dolphins: Cam Smith-Solid pick. I see it as a reach but I liked his film and loved his confidence. He shutdown and beat up Jalin Hyatt but at other times he struggled.

52. Seahawks: Zach Charbonnet-Haha fantasy owners of Zach are screwed. Every year the Seahawks make a head scratching pick and this is it this year as this is a big surprise. It’s a high value pick here and they draft the backup to Walker? I don’t get it. I know they love a 2 back system but another 2nd a year after the one you used worked out brilliantly seems like a waste of resources. Take McBride in the 3rd. Also it reinforces my view on Zach in that everyone assumes he’ll be a workhorse back. Why? He is a mediocre receiver and was used that way by UCLA. He wasn’t great at it and 3 down work horse back is more about the system they go to in the NFL not just their skill set. I have him as very overrated and this is a terrible landing spot. Okay enough fantasy back to real football.

53. Bears: Gervon Dexter-Vindication!!!! I had him rated 25th on my board because I just watch the guys and rank them and often have no clue what others think. So I was shocked when PFF had him outside their Top 100 and Jeremiah had him unranked in his Top 50. This guy had a better grade than Mazi but I didn’t even bring it up because no one agreed with me. He’s actually a pass rushing DT and is just a monster who is just scratching his potential. He seems like that kid that could be an All-Pro if things work out but no one liked him and most will see this as a huge reach so we’ll see in 3 years who is right.

54. Chargers: Tuli Tuipulotu-He led the nation in sacks but I didn’t like his tape. There have been a few uber productive Pac-12 sack artists who were bad athletes and they all failed so I faded him big time but if you value productive this is your guy. Some say he’ll bulk up and be a DT which is intriguing to me and maybe I graded him at the wrong position but at DE I’m out as he’s very slow and his hand fighting, power, and motor game with his bad athleticism probably won’t translate.

With 3 picks till the Cowboys are on the clock here are my Top 10 available. I’m hoping for Drew Sanders or Darnell Washington. Jalin Hyatt as a wildcard? They’ve basically turned Michael Gallup into a glorified deep ball guy so why not bring in Hyatt and cut Gallup next year. It makes some sense and is great value at this spot but I’d be surprised.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Drew Sanders LB		13	48	NR
Adetomiwa Adebawore EDGE		20	56	NR
Cedric Tillman WR		22	61	NR
Clark Phillips III CB		24	62	NR
Jaelyn Duncan OT		26		NR
Darnell Washington TE		28	37	25
Jalin Hyatt WR		29	55	40
Nick Herbig EDGE		30	64
Hendon Hooker QB		32	47	44
Sydney Brown S		33	76

55. Chiefs: Rashee Rice-Another reach at WR as I had him 103, PFF 72nd but at least he had great production. Unsure the fit honestly on this one but Mahomes makes everyone better than they are so it’s good for his prospects. I do wonder when we start saying they suck at drafting wideouts as Sky Moore did nothing, Rashee is a reach, and Hardman was a reach and was mediocre overall so that’s three 2nd rounders and no clear cut studs. Maybe next year we complain about them?

56. Bears (trade): Tyrique Stevenson-Solid pick, some (including the Cowboys) were REALLY into him so curious if the Bears moved up to make sure the Cowboys didn’t take him but I still think CB isn’t much of a need and they’ll pass on the position. Stevenson is a press corner with length and speed who was inconsistent on film but has good starter traits. I was intrigued but had a 3rd grade on him.

57. Giants: John Michael Schmitz-Well THIS WAS THE GUY I wanted if they took OL as he’s very good, consistent, versatile, and can play C in 2024 if they don’t re-sign Biadasz and would have played LG in 2023 so it was a perfect fit. I never heard a lot about him as a match for the Cowboys though so not really mad as I don’t think he was their guy.

58. Cowboys: Luke Schoonmaker-I am very disappointed. They had Washington still on the board and a lot of talent at a lot of spots but instead reached for the next tier TE. Also they didn’t just go down a tier but they skipped the tier below Washington which Zach Kuntz was in and went two tiers below. The Cowboys clearly value bigger guys who can block and who will run very short route trees as they continue to draft these #2 TE types and stay away from the star athletes, great routes runner types. It’s an odd strategy and I’m not alone being meh on Luke as PFF had him 92nd and I’d be surprised if he was not available for their 3rd round choice. This feels like another reach but we’ll see as Jake Ferguson was solid last year so maybe they see something I do not. I will say he has one great trait and that is speed so he’s faster than Mayer or Ferguson and maybe they see him as a different TE to pair with Ferguson and he’ll be that seam route guy. Below is his ranking and bio.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Luke Schoonmaker TE	58	125	92	NR

Luke Schoonmaker Michigan 6’5 ¼ 251 Sr. He barely played in 2019 (2 54 1 TD), didn’t play in 2020 (Covid), was a bit player in 2021 (17 165 3 TDs), and then had his best year in 2022 (35 418 3 TDs). At the Combine he ran a 4.63 40 (good), ‘33 ½ vertical (below average), 10’7 broad (elite), and 4.27 shuttle (average). Luke is a unique prospect in that he has a very valuable trait, pure speed, but is pretty mediocre in other aspects. His straight line speed is impressive and at times you can see Michigan accentuate it (2022 Iowa game with deep seam route and later a sneak out pylon throw for almost TD, 2022 Indiana game with speed shallow cross) but overall he wasn’t used that much. He’s not a very agile player and is tightly built so his YAC and fluidity on short and intermediate routes isn’t great. Yet his speed makes him dangerous on shallow crosses, Michigan didn’t utilize him nearly enough in that capacity, and he’s very dangerous as a “surprise route runner” who blocks regularly and then suddenly runs a deep route and catches the defense off guards. I prefer more well rounded players like Tucker Kraft but many teams will prefer Luke as he’s a #2 TE with one great skill. He’s definitely a #2 TE as he doesn’t have great hands (he fights the ball), is poor on YAC, doesn’t run good routes, and is tightly built so his lack of agility is noticeable on short change of direction routes (glorified dump offs) but having the speed to threaten a defense on a deep seam route will make him valuable in some schemes. Overall I’m underwhelmed by his tape but see the pure speed and think he’ll stick as a #2 TE. On deep routes he has value and I am curious how effective he’d be if a team used him on shallow crosses more frequently as his tape vs. Indiana was intriguing when he ran that route but I didn’t see it very often by Michigan. Early 4th round as my #9 TE 3/18/23.

59. Bills: O’Cyrus Torrence-Great pick as this was the pure OG I liked the most in this range and am a little surprised he didn’t get more love as he had some 1st round buzz. He’s a massive man and will be that mauler. He could struggle with quicker guys and he’s not scheme diverse as he needs to be in a power run game but he’ll beat up DL and can create holes. Those maulers usually are coveted as they are rare but the Bills got one late 2nd. Great value.

60. Bengals: DJ Turner-He’s one of the elite athletes in this draft but his film was very mediocre. The Bengals took my boy Dax Hill last year in the 1st and now take Turner so they are building an insanely athletic secondary. He has great versatility as he can play slot or outside but he’s more athlete than player and barely got on the field earluy in his career so he’s very raw but the elite traits are there.

61. Jaguars: Brenton Strange-First guy I didn’t scout.

62. Texans (trade): Juice Scruggs-Wow back to back guys I didn’t scout.

63. Broncos (trade): Marvin Mims-I was not a fan of him but he does have elite speed and has position versatility as he can play outside and in the slot. He drops a lot of balls, doesn’t run good routes, and is a pure speed guy so to me he’s KJ Hamler 2.0 who I also faded when he came out. I’m shocked neither of the Tennessee wideouts have been taken yet, especially with Rice/Mims going as I saw them as much more talented.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Marvin Mims WR	63	101	75	NR

64. Bears: Zach Pickens-Never hard of him

65. Eagles: Tyler Steen-Know of him but didn’t scout.

66. Eagles: Sydney Brown-An absolute steal here as I mentioned it earlier when his teammate was takent ahead of him. He’s both a big time hitter and a great playmaker in coverage so I had him as an early 2nd rounder (33rd Overall) and the Eagles get him at 66. They continue to stack their amazing draft.

67. Broncos: Drew Sanders-Probably the best pick tonight as he’s been my #1 available for 40 picks now. I know I was higher on him than most but he’s a steal for a lot of people at this point. Kiper called it his favorite pick tonight too. I don’t get why he dropped but he had the same mid 1st grade I gave Logan Wilson a few years ago and he goes almost exactly at the same spot. He’s going to be a comparable steal as Wilson has been a regular Pro Bowler. Sanders has great film as a pass rusher and I’d love for a team to use him at times in that capacity but he also flashes elite ability in coverage AND as a run stopper so basically wherever you play him he’ll be a good to great player. Absolute steal here and I’m happy for Joe but was wanting him next to Parsons.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Drew Sanders LB	67	13	48	NR

68. Lions (trade): Hendon Hooker-Wow this is a great pick. I liked Hooker and saw him as a potential starter. I get it his OC and WRs and scheme made a lot of easy throws and he’s 25 years old and might not play as a rookie so a lot of red flags but his stats were elite and he throws an amazing deep ball. His TD/INT ratio is among the greatest of all time and the Lions have a great fit for him as Gibbs/St. Brown/LaPorta all will give him good easy targets and then he can throw that amazing deep ball to Jamison Williams. This is a perfect fit for this odd prospect and I think it’ll work out. Hooker this year is my Ridder last year. Give it a few years to shake out and I think they’ll look like steals as 3rd rounders.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Hendon Hooker QB	68	32	47	44

69. Texans: Tank Dell-Great pick and a perfect landing spot as Stroud doesn’t have a lot of good targets down there. Dell was one of my sleepers in this WR class as too many people focus on his size but he has elite routes, quicknes, and hands. I see him being that Diontae Johnson type and he’ll be a usage hog in that offense. Metchie has no talent and Dell will outshine him by the end of training camp. Look out for the Tank as he’s rolling into a starting job.

70. Raiders: Byron Young-Didn’t scout him but knew he’d go early. He would have been in my “next wave” if I had gone back. PFF #100 prospect

71. Saints: Kendre Miller-Well the dream is officially dead. I wanted Dalton Kincaid/Sam LaPorta at TE and Drew Sanders and Kendre Miller. All are now off the board. He was my RB2. No one agrees with me but I saw very good size (his weight is basically the same as Bijan) and elite athleticism. He’s also got weird tape in that he goes down easily at times but runs hard and I think if he’s coached up a bit and told to slow down and work on being a more smooth, less frenetic runner then he’ll be a star. He gave me Myles Sanders vibes as that elite athlete who doesn’t use it correctly. Sanders put it all together last year and Miller might be the same way as a guy that takes a little bit of time but he has a very high ceiling. Reminds me of the Saints taking another super talented RB in the 3rd round a few years back named Alvin Kamara. This is how you moneyball the position Cowboys. We’ll find out in the next few years if they can do it successfully or if they don’t even try and extend Tony Pollard to a big deal.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Kendre Miller RB	71	55	114	NR

72. Cardinals: Garrett Williams-I liked him, some loved him. He’s a big guy who has some ball hawk talent but I see him more as a FS than CB and he struggled at times vs. speed. He’s just a really good football player who you scheme around so he can stay on the field as he has physical limitations. Solid pick here but that’s why I had him later as he has some risk.

73. Giants: Jalin Hyatt-This is an absolute steal here. I don’t see much difference between Jamison Williams and Jalin Hyatt. Jalin has to bulk up and improve as a route runner but he has elite speed and he has that Will Fuller type speed where they just float down the field. His frame allows him to also be a shallow cross guy which I think would be deadly. Quentin Johnston did that at TCU but Tennessee didn’t really do that and it could unlock value for him.

74. Browns: Cedric Tillman-Another huge steal here. I was not shocked Hyatt dropped as he was polarizing but Tillman? He has routes, YAC, size, strength. I will take Cedric Tillman over Jonathan Mingo every day of the week and don’t get what GMs are seeing with those two guys. Mingo moved up in this draft full of small wideouts but Tillman dropped? He has better routes, better stats, better burst, and consistently separated. He reminded me a little of Drake London as that big possession receiver with a clever route tree and athleticism to get separation without being fast. I’m shocked he went 74th.

75. Falcons: Zach Harrison-Didn’t scout him

76. Patriots: Marte Mapu-Another guy in my “next wave” as I knew he’d go around here. He’s a perfect Patriot as a small school, ultra versatile player.

77. Rams: Byron Young-Didn’t scout him

78. Packers: Tucker Kraft-I ranked him well ahead of Luke Schoonmaker as he was a better overall athlete. Kraft had elite Combine numbers and a 10.0 RAS score (best ever by a TE). He seemed to be the roll of the dice athlete you’d take in the 2nd not Schoonmaker though both were probably more 3rd round types.

79. Colts: Josh Downs-Good pick. I faded him despite great stats and great film because he’s just so damn small. He looks like a kid out there and that’s in college, in the NFL he’s probably going to get hurt. But if he doesn’t he could be good like a Cole Beasley type as his routes, hands, and quickness are all elite. He’s so polished and fun to watch but high bust potential due to size so here it’s a good roll of the dice. He’s also a great fit for Richardson as they have two big boys on the outside and could use someone different like this who wins with quickness and works the middle of the field.

80. Panthers: DJ Johnson-Didn’t scout him

81. Titans: Tyjae Spears-Loved this kid’s tape. He was my RB6 but is more than just a scat back and is far better on inside runs than he’s given credit for. I actually think Tulane didn’t really use him that well as he didn’t get a ton of carries until his final year and he’s a far better receiver than he’s given credit for. He’s probably a #2 RB but I could see him surprise as a starter. He’s a steal here.

82. Bucs: Yaya Diaby-Didn’t scout him

83. Broncos: Riley Moss-Broncos fans you got yourself a white defensive back. Ha! He’s a good athlete but to me he’s either a safety in that Jordan Poyer style (CB turned S) or he’s a zone corner. I actually liked his film but saw him as more of a 4th.

84. Dolphins: Devon Achane-Wow this is a perfect fit. I love this kid. I don’t get why so many faded him. He’s a special athlete and at 188 lbs he’s got good tackle breaking ability. You can run him inside all day. Obviously he’s a better outside runner than inside but he runs far harder and breaks more tackles than Gibbs at 199 lbs. Achane I comped to Raheem Mostert and then the Dolphins draft him. Mostert has had an odd career as he couldn’t stay healthy but on a per carry basis he’s been a top 5 back the past half decade. What if Achane actually can stay healthy in that Dolphins scheme? He’ll be a star. This is an amazing pick, perfect fit, and great value (66th on my board as RB5) and I can’t wait to see him show out.

85. Chargers: Daiyan Henley-I didn’t like his film but PFF had him 59 so some loved this kid. He had weird film as he was almost too versatile and moved around a lot. He played a lot of coverage but he’s a versatile player and has good athleticism so maybe I missed on him. I just heard he’s a former WR which makes sense as his instincts were off and he’s the kind of guy you need to give simple schemes as he has no instincts. So a raw, super athletic kid. It’s reasonable here.

86. Ravens: Trenton Simpson-Absolute steal here as I saw him as LB2 or 3 and he has elite athleticism. He has mediocre instincts but so did Willie Gay and he went in the mid 2nd and has been a good starter. You can have 1 linebacker with bad instincts and you just give them a defined role and their other LBs are studs with elite instincts (Roquan Smith) so he’s a perfect fit. Great value, great fit, great pick.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Trenton Simpson LB	86	36	71	43

87. 49ers: Ji’Ayir Brown-Another steal as I had him 58. He’s a SS but he’s very versatile and has great film in zone, as a pass rusher/blitzer, and in run support. I said you basically can do anything you want with him except man coverage and that gives you scheme flexibility. I’m sure the coverage issues were why he dropped but I really loved his film and think he’ll be a long time starter. Great pick here.

88. Jaguars: Tank Bigsby-Solid pick but I like McBride and a few RBs ahead of him. He has some Travis Etienne (poor man’s version) to his game so I’m not surprised they liked him a lot.

89. Rams: Kobie Turner-PFF had him #79 but I had him #120 so not as big of a fan. He had okay film but I wasn’t wowed by him and think he’s a career backup from what I watched.

Cowboys are on the clock so here is my Top 10 available. Darnell Washington sure stands out but back to back TEs? Jaelyn Duncan isn’t liked by many but he has some first round tools so a steal here.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Adetomiwa Adebawore EDGE		20	56	NR
Clark Phillips III CB		24	62	NR
Jaelyn Duncan OT		26		NR
Darnell Washington TE		28	37	25
Nick Herbig EDGE		30	64
Noah Sewell LB		37
Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson CB		40	69
Moro Ojomo DT		41	93
Zion Nelson OT Mid 2nd		42
Eli Ricks CB		47

90. Cowboys: DeMarvion Overshown-This is a solid pick. I had him lower because he’s very raw and more of a 4th round developmental type but PFF had him 89th and he was drafted 90th so not a reach at all to them. His frame is amazing as he’s this long, lean kid with good speed. He’s a former SS and doesn’t really read plays very well. I see him as a good player to bring in and be a backup as a rookie and he might develop. He’s a big time hitter but he has poor technique and he was very much a guy that flashed talent at times but was inconsistent. I’m not upset about this pick at all except for the fact we could have drafted Drew Sanders and Darnell Washington instead of Luke Schoonmaker and DeMarvion Overshown. Same LB/TE combo but I think my combo would be vastly better long term.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Demarvion Overshown LB	90	131	89

Demarvion Overshown Texas 6’2 ⅝ 229 Sr. He ran a 4.56 40 (good for a LB but average for his smaller size) and had a 10’4 broad (above average) while measuring ‘32 ¼ arms (average) and ‘9 ½ hands (below average). He’s a 5th year senior so he’s an older prospect. He redshirted in 2018 (1 tackle), was a DB in 2019 (18 tackles, 7 TFL, 2 sacks, 1 FF, 1 INT), moved to LB in 2020 (60 tackles, 8 TFL, 1 sack, 2 FF, 2 INT), had a similar year in 2021 (74 tackles, 5.5 TFL, 2 sacks), and then his best season in 2022 (96 tackles, 10 TFL, 4 sacks). He’s basically a muscled up SS but has a good frame and could add even more weight if a team wanted to. Initially his frame made me think 4-3 WLB was his only spot but with added weight he could play any 4-3 spot and maybe could bulk up to a 3-4 ILB. Texas often played him like a 3-4 OLB and I didn’t like the fit. I know he had 4 sacks but he’s not a pass rusher at all and he was miscast in that role. He’s an odd frame as he sort of looks like a SS but then you watch more of him and see he’s very long legged and tight. His lateral agility and bend are both bad so I’d bulk him up. He plays the edge well and is a very physical player but he shows no pass rush ability and I think 4-3 SLB at 6’3 240 will be his best fit. He’s a big hitter but has poor technique and doesn’t wrap up or get his lower body in position to strike a player. He has the frame to play any 4-3 position but he has poor instincts and often was caught out of position so 4-3 SLB again looks like his best fit. Demarvion has talent but right now he’s more “frame than game” and looks like he’s just a mid round developmental guy. I’d be intrigued to see him in 3 years as a more experienced 6’3 240 4-3 SLB who battles RTs and TEs, sets the edge, and occasionally blitzes or drops into coverage. He has the frame and athleticism to do that but he has poor instincts, poor technique as a tackler, his tightness makes me question how good he’ll be in coverage, and he never showed good tape as a rusher so he has a lot of question marks. Overall I see potential with him but he’s a developmental kid that needs time. He was only a LB three years and it shows but he might develop into an average starting linebacker down the road if given time and coaching. Mid 4th round as my #9 LB 4/9/23.

91. Bills: Dorian Williams-Good pick, I had him much higher on my board (also a LB) vs. Overshown and he’s snapped up 1 pick later. Always annoying to see that happen. Dorian was a tackling machine and had elite arm length and speed so I saw him as a better developmental guy.

92. Chiefs: Wanya Morris-I didn’t scout him

93. Steelers: Darnell Washington-Absolute steal here. I’m shocked he went this late as yeah he might not be fast but wow he’s one of the best blocking TEs I’ve ever graded. If the Cowboys were so happy with their two TEs then this was the type they should get and Washington could have been that in line blocking TE and the other two could be the Hback role. There are rumors he had medical issues on his knee but even then it’s shocking he went so late. Okay so don’t give him a 2nd contract. I still see this as being one of the steals of Day 2. Look at these rankings. Everyone loved him so it’s odd he went 93rd.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Darnell Washington TE	93	28	37	25

94. Cardinals: Michael Wilson-Interesting pick as I faded him a bit on medicals as he basically couldn’t stay healthy but he has some outstanding tape. He has Cedric Tillman routes as a big guy with Jonathan Mingo jump ball skills so IF he can stay healthy then he could be a steal here. I still think it’s early as I don’t think he’ll stay healthy. He missed like 15 games the past two years or something. His body is probably broken.

95. Bengals: Jordan Battle-Good pick here. He’s not a great safety but he’s a solid player and should be a decent starter which in the late 3rd is good value. He’s smart, experienced, and has solid ball skills. He lacks the elite athleticism or ball skills you want in a true CF but he’ll be a solid starter.

96. Lions: Brodric Martin-I didn’t scout him.

97. Commanders: Ricky Stromberg-I didn’t scout him.

98. Browns: Siaki Ika-Massive man but one I didn’t see much talent beyond battle OL. He can’t be moved but he can’t stack and shed, isn’t a trail defender, and I gave him a free agent grade so I see backup for a couple years at best.

99. 49ers: Jake Moody-He’s a kicker, I didn’t scout the position.

100. Raiders: Tre Tucker-I didn’t scout him.

101. 49ers: Cameron Latu-I didn’t scout him.

102. Vikings: Mekhi Blackmon-I didn’t scout him.

Day 2 Recap

Some of my favorite picks tonight were:

Lions: Sam LaPorta-I wrote about him needing a creative OC to get the best out of him and he went to the perfect spot. They have a great core around him, arguably the best OL in the league, and the OC will get him in the right spots for him to shine. I think Sam is going to be a stud.

Lions: Brian Branch-After a terrible 1st round, they made two of my favorite picks as Branch is that do everything safety that everyone undervalues on draft day but is huge for a defense. I also will point out that he can be a full time slot corner. That versatility is great but also if you value him as a slot corner and not a safety then you can use a higher pick on him. Branch is a stud and people will wonder why this guy dropped to mid 2nd.

Broncos: Drew Sanders-This was the best value pick of the draft as I had a mid 1st and he went mid 3rd. He can do any role you ask him and I still have no idea why he dropped. He’ll be a Top 10 LB in my opinion, not of this draft but in the NFL, and I see Pro Bowls being likely. Best pick of the draft.

Browns: Cedric Tillman-The Browns basically have Amari Cooper and a bunch of question marks. Yes Elijah Moore, Peoples, Bell all have shown flashes but I could easily see Tillman establish himself as WR2 by the end of the year as he’s a very polished kid and is a great complement to Cooper. I’m shocked after so many years of wideouts getting overdrafted that Tillman somehow fell to the mid 3rd.

Dolphins: Devon Achane-Not the best value, it was good value, but maybe the best FIT for any pick in this draft. I’d say FIT wise Achane with McDaniels or Christian Gonzalez going to Belichick is just pure poetry and fits in every way. Achane is going to have so many chances to star in that system and he really could be the surprise fantasy player in this draft. The speed, vision, and ability to break runs outside is just perfect for McDaniels system. I expect fireworks with this pick.

Cowboys Recap

It is interesting that Louis Reddick specifically pointed out that Overshown was one of his favorite picks in this entire Day 2. It excited me and I did see a great frame and big hits with Overshown so maybe I missed something with him. Only time will tell but right now I think the Cowboys added a Day 1 starter at DT and a developmental TE and a developmental LB. That’s a really bad haul for your first 3 rounds and I see none of them having any Pro Bowl potential. The Cowboys have been the best drafting team in the league over the past 10 years so I get the people who say we should all give them the benefit of the doubt but these all feel like reaches to me. Maybe Mazi isn’t as that’s part reach and part going against my drafting philosophy of taking run stopping DTs too early but Luke and Overshown were not stars in college. Both have interesting traits but developmental guys are Day 3. Also the Cowboys Round 3 draft history has been atrocious so I think if we look at history they deserve the benefit of the doubt on Mazi not Overshown as they have more All-Pros from their 1st round as any team in the league but here are their 3rd rounders since 2015:

Jalen Tolbert-backup all year, DNP most of the year

Osa Odighizua-good starting DT

Chaunce Golston-bust, cut

Nahshon Wright-bust, cut

Neville Gallimore-bust, cut

Connor McGovern-career backup

Michael Gallp-good #2-3 WR with one great season but still a good pick

Jourdan Lewis-career #3 CB but still a good pick

Malik Collins-good starting DT

Chaz Green-bust, cut

That’s a mediocre group and basically has been atrocious outside of Osa since 2019. I don’t think we need to assume these guys will be starters when we look at the Cowboys draft history here. I still am shocked the Cowboys somehow missed out on this great TE class. Luke’s backers probably only had him as TE5 and it’s disappointing they didn’t put more focus on the position as value and need seemed to intersect perfectly. I would have traded up for Kincaid or traded back for LaPorta as that was always my two targets but Drew Sanders and Darnell Washington would have been a great haul too and these prospects seem like reaches and almost afterthoughts. Hopefully Louis Reddick is right and Overshown is a stud and the glimpses of elite speed and talent I saw with Luke are real and he surprises. I want to be optimistic but so far this draft has been very mediocre. I’m not surprised RB hasn’t been addressed as I always saw that as a Rd 3-4 spot so hopefully a DeWayne McBride or Zach Evans gets taken so this draft class can start turning around. See you tomorrow morning at 11am for Day 3.

2023 Live NFL Draft Blog (Day 1)

Refresh live blog regularly

This could be a wild draft at the top as right now no one knows what’s going to happen other than 1st Overall with Bryce Young. The Texans at #2 and the Cardinals at #3 (very open to trade) will have a cascade effect as there are a lot of rumors of teams outside the Top 10 (Titans, Texans at 12, Vikings) who want to leap frog the Colts at 4, Seahawks at 5, and Raiders at 7 for a QB. The Bears at 9 and the Eagles at 10 are sure hoping that happens so the blue chip non-QBs fall to them but grades vary on Stroud, Levis, and Richardson so does anyone need to trade up for their guy? Will one of those 4 have a huge slide a la Brady Quinn, Aaron Rodgers, Lamar Jackson? Trades, QBs going off the board quick, rumors abounding….this draft is going to be fun.

Below are the Top 15 guys on my board along with the rankings by PFF and Daniel Jeremiah (Top 50) for reference:

Name	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Anthony Richardson QB Top 5	1	11	10
Bijan Robinson RB	2	8	3
Will Anderson EDGE	3	3	2
Christian Gonzalez CB	4	12	11
Bryce Young QB	5	1	1
Jalen Carter DT Top 10	6	2	5
Dalton Kincaid TE	7	10	9
CJ Stroud QB	8	6	7
Calijah Kancey DT Mid 1st	9	14	27
Broderick Jones OT	10	20	17
Emmanuel Forbes CB	11	26	34
Will McDonald EDGE	12	29	26
Drew Sanders LB	13	48	NR
Anton Harrison OT	14	24	NR
Jaxon Smith-Njigba WR	15	8	19

1. Panthers: Bryce Young-Good pick. Obviously he’s my QB2 but he was far and away ahead of the other QBs (Stroud/Levis) and Richardson is a risk while Young is a sure thing. I see Young being a Top 20 QB immediately and he’s going to impress but I don’t see superstar QB and consider it a “safe” pick. 3 years from now we probably look at Young and say he’s good but he’s no Richardson/Caleb Williams/Drake Maye as those guys have so much higher of a ceiling due to height, weight, speed, and arm talent. Young will be a good QB but I think those guys will be GREAT QBs. Nonetheless it’s a good pick and a team with no QB gets a massive upgrade with Young. They are a better team than they were last year with no future QB and Christian McCaffrey. They now have a path to success.
2. Texans: CJ Stroud-After all the drama it still ends up being Young/Stroud in some order for 1st and 2nd. What a smokescreen after all the talk of Watson’s agent connection, the S2 test, struggling with pressure, DeMeco Ryan’s wanting a War Daddy, etc. Stroud has great arm talent and production but I’ve always worried about him against pressure as he doesn’t seem to be good at keeping his eyes up when pressured and reminds me of Derek Carr with his highs and lows (clean pocket/open WR vs. pressure/tightly covered guys). Everyone who says “but but the Georgia game” great I saw it too but he rarely showed that outside of that game and was the 97th ranked QB by PFF against pressure. It’s dishonest to say the Georgia game was anything other than an outlier. We’ll see how he fares in the NFL but I do buy into the idea he’s not the smartest kid and we might hear stuff of playbook issues as well. He’s a big risk to me but far and away better than Levis.
3. Texans (Cardinals trade): Will Anderson-Well my mock was ruined but I did get Anderson to the Texans as it makes a ton of sense. Anderson is probably the “cleanest” prospect in this draft as he has great tools, great production, is at a value position, and everyone likes him. I doubt anyone had him lower than Top 5 and I like those “consensus guys” as they are the true blue chip guys and have a very low bust rate. I had him 3, PFF was 3rd, Jeremiah was 2nd. The Texans coming away with Stroud/Anderson is very smart and worth paying up for.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Will Anderson EDGE	3	3	3	2

4. Colts: Anthony Richardson-Well 3 QBs in 4 picks, no surprise as good QB prospects fly off the board so now we have 1 left in Levis and the question now is who is getting antsy and will trade up. I’ve been a massive fan of Anthony Richardson this entire process and think his QB skills are vastly underrated. He’s going to be THE SECOND GREATEST RUSHING QB OF ALL TIME but he’s also great at maneuvering around the pocket, understands how to go through progressions, and he is the best deep ball thrower in this draft. The issue is his inconsistent accuracy but Florida schemed him terribly and I think a team that gives him RPOs and rollouts with designed deep shots will be surprised how good he can be as a rookie. I don’t think he’s nearly as raw as people think he is and I don’t think people understand how much better he’s going to be as a passer vs. Lamar Jackson or Cam Newton. His rushing could be historic and he will be a very solid passer. I see franchise QB with him and if the Colts hit on this it will make the Panthers and Texans look silly as the film showed him as having all the tools. This is my guy.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Anthony Richardson QB	4	1	11	10

5. Seahawks: I like him, others love him. As you can see from the rankings I was the outlier but it’s more just that he isn’t super tall/long, or fast, or have elite ballhawk skills. I see him as a low #1 CB or high end #2 CB. Yes he is super physical and lights people up but let’s see if you’d prefer Witherspoon or Gonzalez or Forbes as he was my CB3 for a reason. He’s the oldest of the three, has the fewest INTs of the three, and had the worst 40 time of the three. He won’t be a bust but I don’t see future star with Witherspoon so it’s a big reach to me at 5th. I’m curious if this was the pick if Richardson was still on the board as I saw Richardson being a perfect fit for the Lions or Seahawks. The Seahawks love to run the ball and throw it deep. Both are Richardson strengths and throwing moon balls to DK Metcalf and Lockett while doing RPOs and being the most run heavy team in the league really intrigued me. Pete Carroll is the oldest HC in the NFL so this might be a sign they are going all in. Hooker with their 2nd pick is still in play though so we’ll see how much they truly believe in Geno Smith.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Devon Witherspoon CB	5	23	4	6

6. Cardinals (trade): Paris Johnson-Not a huge fan of him and everyone sees this as a reach but none as much as me. He was OT4 I think on my board and I saw him as Andrew Thomas like who I also didn’t like coming out of Georgia. He’s a great athlete but he’s soft, his technique is iffy, and I didn’t like his tape very much. I don’t see why so many saw him as better than Broderick Jones who had better tape in 2022 and has better tools in my opinion. The fact they Cardinals trade up, means someone was seeking him out, and I think it was the Bears at 9, so they got their guy and Kyler Murray is happy as he wanted them to take him. He also wanted Tristan Whirfs a few years ago so maybe he’s good at scouting OTs but Paris wasn’t worth a Top 10 pick for me so big reach here.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Paris Johnson OT	6	27	16	16

7. Raiders: Tyree Wilson-Another guy I am much lower on but PFF had similar views on him so he split the room as a prospect. Daniel Jeremiah had a top 5 grade on him, Kiper liked him a lot (16th) but PFF and I saw him as a solid pass rusher but more as a run stopper than pass rusher. He actually pairs well with Maxx Crosby and both will be physical guys with high motors so maybe he works out. Guys that transfer like him, are one year wonders, and didn’t have a high sack total usually aren’t worth first round picks so I see this ALSO AS A BIG REACH. A lot of reaches so far this early in the first round.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Tyree Wilson EDGE	7	39	28	4

8. Falcons: Bijan Robinson-I love the pick and I get all the analytics but I say every draft that too many teams are trying to fix their biggest weaknesses instead of improving their biggest strengths. Tyler Allgeier was an average running back prospect and Cordarrelle Patterson was a cast off yet they were an insanely dominant run team last year and I think adding Robinson is going to take their biggest strength to a whole new level. It gives them an identity and I like them keeping Desmond Ridder as he’s pretty talented and looked solid in limited time. Ridder/London/Pitts/Robinson is a good core to let play out for a year or two, especially as the 2024 draft is QB heavy as well. Don’t reach for Levis, build your strength and create an identity. The Falcons ran the ball more than any team in the NFL and now have the best RB prospect of the past decade. It’s pricey I get it but I still like it.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Bijan Robinson RB	8	2	8	3

9. Eagles (Trade): Jalen Carter-Well shit this is scary. I had him ranked 6th overall and I gave the WORST GRADE! This could be the steal of the draft and he’s the perfect fit as he teams with a dominant DL already which loves using a rotation to keep them all fresh and it’s a confident, established locker room that will probably keep him straight. Carter has elite potential and reminds me of Jeffrey Simmons as that rare DT who can wreck havoc as an interior pass rusher. He has a lot of red flags but he has one of the highest ceilings in this draft and he goes to one of the best rosters in the league. SHIT!!!

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Jalen Carter DT	9	6	2	5

10. Bears: Darnell Wright-Well it’s another slight reach but much lower than Paris Johnson as I liked Wright’s film far more than Paris’. He’s possibly more of a RT than LT, though he had a great game vs. Will Anderson which made him a lot of money, but he’s going to be a dominant run blocker and he’s underrated athletically. I was not surprised the Cowboys brought him in because if they had taken him at 26 it’s a steal and they can play him at LG in 2023 and then move him to RT in 2024 and let Steele go. It made sense but that’s out the window and is the first target of theirs off the board. This OT class has varying grades but I had Wright OT3 and Paris OT4 so whomever gets OT1 Broderick Jones or OT2 Anton Harrison will be getting the values. Soon Peter Skoronski will go, OT1 to some but I disliked him and had him as a 3rd rounder so he’ll be the worst graded pick in the first off my board. He’ll be coming soon as the OT run has begun.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Darnell Wright OT	10	18	22	15

11. Titans: Peter Skoronski-Well no surprise as he was mocked in this region but I don’t see it as I actually thought his film was mediocre and very chaotic. He had sub ’32 arms so to me he’s clearly an OG not an OT. I don’t see him playing LT ever and I don’t want an OG in the first round ever, especially not a zone OG who lacks strength. I just didn’t see it but look at these discrepancies as PFF and Jeremiah had Top 10 grades on him and mine was 71st. I don’t pretend I see something I don’t and I just didn’t like him. We’ll see how it works. He’s comped to Alijah Vera-Tucker who I also hated and he’s been good so maybe I jsut dislike his type.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Peter Skoronski IOL	11	71	5	8

12. Lions: Jahmyr Gibbs-WOW I did not see this coming and goodbye DeAndre Swift as you are gone! Copy and paste my comments on the Falcons-Bijan pick but the difference is I didn’t see Gibbs as a superstar prospect. I love him as a receiver though and their OC is one of the most creative in football so let’s see what they plan on doing with him as it could be very effective. Nonetheless I’m disappointed the Lions first pick is RB AND NOT BIJAN as to me you either splurge on Bijan and make a monster or draft one of many good ones in the 3rd or 4th round. Gibbs in the first and whomever goes in the 2nd is that no man’s land to me that you don’t want to be a part of.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Jahymr Gibbs RB	12	57	34	29

13. Packers: Lukas Van Ness-Jeremiah loves it value wise but I do not. He reminded me of Zach Allen coming out of BC a few years ago but that’s not a great comp for 13th Overall as he’s that DT/DE tweener who can move all around the line and he’s more run stopper than pass rusher. I don’t see the value and always wondered why he was considered a top prospect. We’ll see how he pans out but Cam Thomas from San Diego State or Zach Allen from BC were valid comps and both were 3rd round picks. I saw him style and talent wise in that category so a huge reach to me.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Lukas Van Ness EDGE	13	80	27	14

14. Steelers (trade): Broderick Jones-Great pick and about time as I don’t like saying so many picks are reaches but Broderick Jones is a perfect fit here. He was my OT1 as I saw good film this year but more importantly he showed elite tools and I see him being a really good OT in a few years. He’s young, strong, long, and athletic so it surprised me he wasn’t OT1 for most teams and even more odd he was the 4th OL drafted. Let’s talk about Broderick vs. Paris in 3 years. He made my PFF vs. Jon comp for a reason as he has some Tyron Smith athleticism/film on him. Another guy that I really liked. Great pick!

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Broderick Jones OT	14	10	20	17

The Jets are on the clock and have Christian Gonzalez staring at them. Gonzalez with Saucer Gardner? Oh wow that would be a scary CB duo. I know they want OL but sometimes you just take what the board gives you and Gonzalez at 15 would be an absolute gift.

15. Jets: Will McDonald-Well another pick most see as a reach but I do not as I had him 12th Overall and saw him as the EDGE2 ahead of Tyree Wilson. He has elite arm length, elite bend, and in 2021 had a great year of production. The big thing with him is he was in a scheme that was a bad fit for his talents and he STILL had good numbers. He’s my pick as the DE we come back in 3 years and say why wasn’t he drafted higher? I expected that statement to be asked since he went in the 20s or 30’s but this is not a reach. In my eyes bend and length and speed are far more important traits than strength and weight. McDonald has all the right traits and will surprise people with how productive he is.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Will McDonald EDGE	15	12	29	26

Cowboys are 10 picks away so a reminder of who they are probably targeting:

Bijan Robinson-gone

Zay Flowers

Michael Mayer

Dalton Kincaid

OL or trade down

1 down, 3 still available. If 3 get down but they are only a few picks away, I think they start calling to move up but we’ll find out soon enough.

16. Commanders: Emmanuel Forbes-One of my favorite players in this draft as I think he’s going to be Richard Sherman in the pros. No one agreed with me and had him 15 and 23 spots later on the board but it’s because they focused too much on his weight (166 lbs) and didn’t notice how he had 0 missed games with injury, he was good against the run, and he’s much stronger than most CBs in this draft. He’s tall, he’s long, he’s fast, and he had elite ball skills. This is the kind of guy you go after in today’s pass happy NFL which emphasizes scoring over defense. You can’t stop offenses, you have to cause turnovers. Great pick!

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Emmanuel Forbes CB	16	11	26	34

17. Patriots: Christian Gonzalez-Best pick in the draft so far in my opinion as I had him 4th on my board and saw him as equally as talented as Byron Stingley and Saucer Gardner who were Top 5 picks last year and were great. Gonzalez has no weaknesses and going to the Patriots where they can mix in man and zone and he can work under the best DB coach in the league makes this a perfect fit. I absolutely love this pick and can’t wait to see what Bill has in store for him.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Christian Gonzalez CB	17	4	12	11

Alright here comes the gauntlet, Cowboys fans need Calijah Kancey, Will Levis, and Nolan Smith to go. If that happens plus Jaxon it’s likely the Cowboys have at least one of their 3 targets. Lions at 18 are the first team that might be hunting for one of their players. Replace Hockenson with Mayer or Kincaid? Do they like Levis? I’m very interested in these Lions 18/Seahawks 20 spots.

18. Lions: Jack Campbell-It fits their personality and I like the fit too but this pretty bad value. I had him as LB5 and he goes LB1. Some loved Drew Sanders like me but most at least had Nolan Smith ahead of him and to me this is just bad value. An inside linebacker in top 20 with poor coverage skills? Not in today’s NFL. I think this draft has been a disaster so far for a team that the past two seasons seemed to be really improving and making all the right moves. If you want Campbell, move down. He’d be there in the late 1st. Just a waste of value. If you told me the first two picks by the Lions would be Gibbs/Campbell I’d have thought they traded out of the 1st round for more picks next year to get a QB. Huge missed opportunity here.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Jack Campbell LB	18	51	39	49

19. Bucs: Calijah Kancey-Another guy I was much higher on than the consensus as I see him as a star interior pass rusher. He’s undersized but he has elite athleticism for a DE let alone a DT. The Bucs are a mess but this makes perfect sense as a 3 technique who fits perfectly in their scheme. They are in full rebuild mode but with a few pieces could revive their D around White. Kancey as a disruptor and White as the star LB is a start. Good pick here.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Calijah Kancey DT	19	9	14	27

How much does Dallas like Jaxon? I didn’t have him on the list as I assumed he’d go in the teens and Dallas wouldn’t try and trade up but if the Seahawks don’t take him do they start looking to move up for WR1? That would be a great fit too and fits my opinion that Dallas wants an offensive skill position player added in the first (TE or WR preferably) and then go CB/OL/RB in some order in Rds 2-4.

20. Seahawks: Jaxon Smith-Njiba-Great pick as he was sticking out as the best value. I had him 4th best available but PFF had top 10 grade with him and all three had top 20 so taken 20th is a steal. He also fits perfectly with Lockett and Metcalf who are otuside guys who threaten deep. Jaxon works the middle and his biggest weakness is their biggest strength (speed) so it’s a perfect fit. Also this solidifies that Carroll wants to win now. F the QB of the future, give me players that let me win now! Witherspoon and Jaxon is a great two picks. I think it’s good, some will say it’s best 1st round of any team tonight. Lions have whiffed so far, Seahawks have won so far.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Jaxon Smith-Njigba WR	20	15	8	19

Alright we have 5 picks left with 3 guys so now we are playing my favorite game, please someone take Michael Mayer before the Cowboys pick! Come on Chargers, he’s perfect for Herbert to work the middle and open up the field for Williams/Allen. Just do it!

21. Chargers: Quentin Johnston-Well he’s a polarizing kid but he went to the perfect spot as Herbert will be maximizing his deep ball skills. Johnston is big, fast, and has great ball skills but he leaves a lot to be desired in other aspects so I faded him. At 21st it’s not terrible and I really like the fit but I still think Flowers is far and away the better player.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Quentin Johnston WR	21	50	25	30

Baltimore and Vikings are up next with neither needing a TE so unless a TE goes 24th AND 25th then Mayer or Kincaid is now going to be there for the Cowboys. I think that will be the pick.

22. Ravens: Zay Flowers-I love this pick as he replaces the Marquise Brown role in that offense and last year you could tell they missed his deep speed. It’s not surprisng that the offense struggled at times after Brown left as teams could double Andrews and get away with it, especially after the Bateman injury. I wonder how Beckham feels about this? Flowers I was higher on than most and had him and Jaxon neck and neck. He has elite speed but he’s more than just that as he’s physical, wins catches in traffic, and has great elusiveness. He’s very Tyreek Hill like and I wasn’t surprised the Chiefs worked him out as he’d have been perfect. It’s also why I wanted the Cowboys to take him but another guy is off their list.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Zay Flowers WR	22	17	33	22

3 picks till the Cowboys are on the clock and only Jacksonville sort of has a need at TE (Vikings-Hockenson, Jags-Engram on franchise tag, Giants-Waller) so unless we have some trades the Cowboys likely take a TE at 26.

Bijan Robinson-gone

Zay Flowers-gone

Michael Mayer

Dalton Kincaid

OL or trade down

23. Vikings: Jordan Addison-Interesting pick as he replaces Adam Thielen opposite Jefferson. He has really good routes and is a natural playmaker so he’ll be good. I had him as WR3 but a few had him as WR1 (Daniel Jeremiah, Booger) and he had a range by everyone around here so good value. I was underwhelmed by his 2022 tape and faded him a bit as he’s a good but not great athlete which at sub 180 lbs isn’t ideal. I see #2 WR but with the Vikings that’s perfect. Solid pick.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Jordan Addison WR	23	21	23	13

Second trade up by 1 spot this draft, a very rare scenario. Usually that means someone else was trying to trade up so were Cowboys trying to snag someone at 24? Deonte Banks or Brian Branch I assume.

24. Giants (trade): Deonte Banks-Great pick as everyone loved him, it fits a need, and it’s a great fit style wise. Banks is an elite athlete who is very fluid in his backpedal. I had him CB4 while some had him higher because he has mediocre ball skills but he’s a star athlete and makes a ton of sense.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Deonte Banks CB	24	19	18	24

Did the Bills just save my night and trade up for Michael Mayer leapfrogging the Cowboys a la Eagles with Dallas Goedert years ago?

25. Bills (trade): Dalton Kincaid-Fuck you Bills (in Cartman voice)! Fuck youuuuuu!!!! This was my guy but when I grabbed the rankings I was surprised to see how many people agreed with me as he’s a probable star. I had the highest rank on him as anyone but everyone had a Top 10 rank on him as TE1. I’m very disappointed the Cowboys didn’t see Kincaid as clearly the best player and they will probably now take Mayer unless it’s all been a smoke screen on Mayer to hide their love of Kincaid.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Dalton Kincaid TE	25	7	10	9

Here is my Top 10 available with the Cowboys on the clock.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Drew Sanders LB		13	48	NR
Anton Harrison OT		14	24	NR
Brian Branch S		16	15	31
Adetomiwa Adebawore EDGE		20	56	NR
Cedric Tillman WR		22	61	NR
Clark Phillips III CB		24	62	NR
Gervon Dexter DT		25		NR
Jaelyn Duncan OT		26		NR
Darnell Washington TE		28	37	25
Jalin Hyatt WR		29	55	40

26. Cowboys: Mazi Smith-Well that’s interesting…was Kincaid their guy the whole time and that’s why they took so long as they tried to trade out? Very odd but Mazi is a reach here but a guy I do like and does fit a need as DT is one of their weaker positions. He’s solely a run stopper but he’s a very physical guy with great strength and he’ll be great in that role. I had him similar ranked to PFF and Jeremiah so we all see it as a reach and had early to mid 2nd round grades on him. I assume they tried to trade back but got stuck. Very off but it’s not a terrible pick, just a slight reach and not what I was expecting. Below is his profile.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Mazi Smith DT	26	44	36	41

Mazi Smith Michigan 6’3 323 Soph He only did a vertical (‘34-elite) and measured ‘33 ¾ arms (very long) with ‘9 ¾ hands (average). He redshirted in 2020 (3 tackles, 1 TFL), had a good year in 2021 (37 tackles, 2.5 TFL), and improved in 2022 (48 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 0.5 sacks). His two year totals of 5 TFL and 0.5 sacks shows he’s definitely a run stopper not a pass rusher. Mazi is one of those prospects that it takes me 2 minutes to evaluate as his Combine, stats, and film all match up identically to each other. He’s a long armed, thick bodied, very strong run stopper who has great technique at stacking and shedding. He offers little to no pass rush and teams selecting him will either accept that all he does is push back the pocket on passing plays or they will sub him out and make him a 2 down DT. His value will be as a run stopper as he’ll be a very good run stopper. I don’t see him being a great fit as a 3-4 NT but see him more as a two gap 4-3 DT and think he’d be great in that role or as the designated run stopper in a 4-3 scheme and paired with a more athletic pass rushing DT. In either scheme he’ll stack his man, control two gaps, and make the plays when they run at him. He was very good at this with Michigan and he requires little projection on how he’ll be in the NFL as I don’t see teams being able to unlock much pass rush potential with him and his arm length, technique, and strength all are NFL ready. He’ll be a highly polished rookie who should start on Day 1 but offers a lower upside than other DTs. I like him but he’s limited. One caveat is his bend is outstanding and somewhat abnormal for a guy with his frame/weight but he bends very well. If he had a better burst I’d play around with him as maybe a sneaky good pass rusher but he’s pretty slow so 2 down DT is likely. I love his film, love his physicality, and think he’ll be a high end run stopper but you know my rule “you don’t draft DTs in the first round if they aren’t elite pass rushers” so he’s not graded as a 1st and I consider him overrated by the community. Mid 2nd round as my #5 DT who will be a very good run stopper but offers little to no upside as a pass rusher and will be overdrafted 4/6/23.

Probably the best thing about this pick is that it isn’t Mayer and sets them up to possibly take a TE in Rd 2 (Washington/LaPorta would be great) or Rd 3 (Musgrave would be a good value there). If they can get LaPorta in Rd 2 and a RB in Rd 3 or 4 then it can still be a very good draft. Mazi isn’t a terrible pick, it’s just boring and a bit of a reach but he was in a lot of mocks as a late 1st so some saw him in that light. I even mentioned he’d get overdrafted I just didn’t expect my team to do it.

27. Jaguars: Anton Harrison-Just so you know he was my 2nd best available with the Cowboys on the clock and he went 1 pick later. I loved his film, PFF liked him, and Jeremiah didn’t at all (not Top 50) so he was polarizing but he had great film and I think he’s underrated as an athlete. I see him as a LT not a RT but some will see him as a RT. He dominated Felix at Kansas State, a guy likely to go off the board soon, and he is a big time run blocker. Great value pick here.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Anton Harrison OT	27	14	24	NR

28. Bengals: Myles Murphy-A steal for some but I faded him a lot as he’s an underachiever who is soft, doesn’t have great speed, and has a mediocre motor. I was very underwhelmed by him and smelled bust but he has all the tools and was the #1 DE out of HS so he has elite pedigree but it’s never worked out for him. My comp was Kwity Paye, not an amazing comp.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Myles Murphy EDGE	28	49	17	23

29. Saints: Bryan Bresee-Well Murphy was the #1 DE out of HS and Bresee was the #1 DT yet they both underwhelmed. It’s odd they both still go in the first round since Clemson fans will tell you they weren’t very good. I think this is too early but I agree he has elite tools. He reminds me of Robert Nkemdiche, also the #1 DT out of HS, who did nothing in college, went in the first and was a massive bust. I think Bresee is a big time roll of the dice and I don’t like those in the first. We’ll see how he works out but not a fan of this pick.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Bryan Breese DT	29	61	40	37

30. Eagles: Nolan Smith-Well the Eagles, Seahawks, and Cardinals won the draft tonight and it’s not even close. I’m not even a huge fan of Nolan Smith but at 30th? The question with Smith is what do you do with him. I know some say he’s Hasaan Reddick but he didn’t do it that often at Georgia and he’s more athlete than player right now. If he develops into a rusher he’ll be a steal but I see more off the ball linebacker. I think the Eagles will move him around and try different spots and it’s a perfect spot for him as that raw, elite athlete as he’ll have time to grow. This is a good pick in my eyes and I was lower on him. For some it’s an absolute steal and paired with Jalen Carter is pretty scary what the Eagles are doing.

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Nolan Smith LB	30	46	13	18

Give Patrick Mahomes Jalin Hyatt just for fun. Do it, do it….

31. Chiefs: Felix something something-I’m not spelling that name right now. Felix has a lot of supporters but it was hard to like him after watching him get his ass kicked by Anton Harrison. He has an elite motor, good hand fighting, and had some nice stats but there have been a lot of high motor, hand fighting power rush guys come out of college and their track record is pretty bad. I aded him for that but he’s a decent duo with last year’s pick George Karlaftis and has some similar traits. They are clearly rolling the dice on those second tier pass rushers but Felix to me was more 4th tier. We’ll see how he works out but I see what they’re doing and Karlaftis played better than I expected (I had a 2nd round grade on him, 3rd for Felix).

Name	Drafted	Jon’s Rank	PFF Rank	Jeremiah Top 50
Felix Anudike-Uzomah EDGE	31	81	32	32

Cowboys Recap: It was a pretty uneventful night for the Cowboys so not much to recap. I want to know if Kincaid was their guy and Mayer was a smokescreen the whole time. I also want to know if they declined a trade down because it sure felt like Mazi was a good fit, just early. Move down for Mazi and LaPorta in the 2nd? I love it. Stay at 26 for Mazi? Pretty questionable, especially since many had Keannu Benton as the better DT and Bryan Bresee was higher on many boards-taken a few picks later. Overall it was confusing BUT Mazi is a perfect fit as a run stopper next to the pass rushing, penetrating Osa already at DT. Add in that sometimes they drop their DEs (Sam Williams, DeMarcus Lawrence) to DT on pass rushing downs and he does fit very well. So in conclusion it wasn’t great value but it’s a great fit and should work out relatively well. It all still feels weird though so hopefully they did this reach because TE is so deep and only 1 has been taken so Darnell Washington, Sam LaPorta, Luke Musgrave all are in play in Round 2. This draft could turn really quickly if they knock it out of the park on Day 2 with LaPorta and McBride/Kendre Miller (RB) a few favorites of mine or Steve Avila (OG) and Musgrave (good value OG/TE on Day 2). There are a number of combinations that make sense. I also would love to see them go after a wideout type on Day 2 and going DT in Round 1 and trading for CB Stephon Gilmore could allow Day 2 to be all offense. We’ll see tomorrow as fans will be hoping for something more exciting from them than a two down run stopping DT named MAWWWWZEEEE. Good night, see you online tomorrow at 6pm.

2023 PFF Rankings vs. Jon’s Rankings

The draft is starting soon but I wanted to post my PFF vs. Jon comps for the year before it gets going so I don’t cheat and pick the comps after we have landing spots. Below are 11 discrepancies that I found interesting and will keep tabs on.

QB1

Name	Jon’s Ranking	PFF Ranking
Anthony Richardson	1	11
Bryce Young	5	1

CB1

Name	Jon’s Ranking	PFF Ranking
Christian Gonzalez	4	12
Devon Witherspoon	23	4

EDGE2

Name	Jon’s Ranking	PFF Ranking
Will McDonald	12	29
Lukas Van Ness	80	27

OT1

Name	Jon’s Ranking	PFF Ranking
Broderick Jones	10	20
Peter Skoronski	71	5

OT2

Name	Jon’s Ranking	PFF Ranking
Anton Harrison	14	24
Paris Johnson	27	16

WR

Name	Jon’s Ranking	PFF Ranking
Zay Flowers	17	33
Quentin Johnston	50	25

LB

Name	Jon’s Ranking	PFF Ranking
Drew Sanders	13	48
Jack Campbell	51	39

QB

Name	Jon’s Ranking	PFF Ranking
Hendon Hooker	32	47
Will Levis	73	7

RB

Name	Jon’s Ranking	PFF Ranking
Kendre Miller	55	114
Chase Brown	141	106

CB

Name	Jon’s Ranking	PFF Ranking
Clark Phillips III	24	62
Cam Smith	83	41

RB

Name	Jon’s Ranking	PFF Ranking
DeWayne McBride	65	98
Zach Charbonnett	85	50

2023 Top 150 Prospects

1. Anthony Richardson QB Top 5
2. Bijan Robinson RB
3. Will Anderson EDGE
4. Christian Gonzalez CB
5. Bryce Young QB
6. Jalen Carter DT Top 10
7. Dalton Kincaid TE
8. CJ Stroud QB
9. Calijah Kancey DT Mid 1st
10. Broderick Jones OT
11. Emmanuel Forbes CB
12. Will McDonald EDGE
13. Drew Sanders LB
14. Anton Harrison OT
15. Jaxon Smith-Njigba WR
16. Brian Branch S
17. Zay Flowers WR Late 1st
18. Darnell Wright OT
19. Deonte Banks CB
20. Adetomiwa Adebawore EDGE
21. Jordan Addison WR
22. Cedric Tillman WR
23. Devon Witherspoon CB
24. Clark Phillips III CB
25. Gervon Dexter DT
26. Jaelyn Duncan OT
27. Paris Johnson OT Early 2nd
28. Darnell Washington TE
29. Jalin Hyatt WR
30. Nick Herbig EDGE
31. Sam LaPorta TE
32. Hendon Hooker QB
33. Sydney Brown S
34. Joey Porter Jr. CB
35. Julius Brents CB
36. Trenton Simpson LB
37. Noah Sewell LB
38. BJ Ojulari EDGE
39. Tyree Wilson EDGE
40. Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson CB
41. Moro Ojomo DT
42. Zion Nelson OT Mid 2nd
43. John Michael Schmitz IOL
44. Mazi Smith DT
45. Keannu Benton DT
46. Nolan Smith LB
47. Eli Ricks CB
48. Derrick Hall EDGE
49. Myles Murphy EDGE
50. Quentin Johnston WR
51. Jack Campbell LB
52. AT Perry WR
53. O’Cyrus Torrence IOL
54. Cody Mauch IOL Late 2nd
55. Kendre Miller RB
56. Tank Dell WR
57. Jahymr Gibbs RB
58. Ji’Ayir Brown S
59. Ivan Pace Jr. LB
60. Isaiah McGuire EDGE
61. Bryan Breese DT
62. Tyler Scott WR
63. Michael Mayer TE Early 3rd
64. Luke Musgrave TE
65. DeWayne McBride RB
66. Devon Achane RB
67. Tyjae Spears RB
68. Keion White EDGE
69. Kayshon Boutte WR
70. Andrew Voorhees OT
71. Peter Skoronski IOL
72. Karl Brooks EDGE
73. Will Levis QB
74. Luke Wypler IOL
75. Jartavius Martin S
76. Josh Downs WR
77. Zach Kuntz TE Mid 3rd
78. Steve Avila IOL
79. Matthew Bergeron OT
80. Lukas Van Ness EDGE
81. Felix Anudike-Uzomah EDGE
82. Kyu Blu Kelly CB
83. Cam Smith CB
84. Nick Saldiveri OT
85. Zach Charbonnet RB
86. Zach Evans RB
87. Jordan Battle S
88. Ronnie Hickman S
89. Jakorian Bennett CB 
90. Parker Washington WR
91. Jayden Reed WR
92. TJ Bass IOL
93. Stetson Bennett QB Late 3rd 
94. Brandon Joseph S
95. Josh Whyle TE
96. Tucker Kraft TE
97. Israel Abanikanda RB
98. Evan Hull RB
99. Tyrique Stevenson CB
100. Garrett Williams S
101. Marvin Mims WR
102. Grant Dubose WR
103. Rashee Rice WR
104. Cory Trice Jr. CB
105. DJ Turner CB
106. Dorian Williams LB
107. Deuce Vaughn RB
108. Dawand Jones OT
109. Henry To’oto
110. Isaiah Foskey EDGE
111. Jarrett Patterson IOL
112. Blake Freeland OT
113. Antonio Mafi IOL
114. Jalen Moreno-Cropper WR
115. Jaren Hall QB Early 4th
116. Charlie Jones WR
117. Jonathan Mingo WR
118. Darius Rush CB
119. Andre Carter EDGE
120. Kobie Turner DT
121. Tank Bigsby RB
122. Antonio Johnson S
123. Kelee Ringo S
124. Tuli Tuipulotu EDGE
125. Luke Schoonmaker TE
126. Joe Tippmann IOL
127. Kenny McIntosh RB
128. Henry Bainivalu IOL
129. Tanner McKee QB Mid 4th
130. Jaquelin Roy DT
131. Demarvion Overshown LB
132. Trey Palmer WR
133. Roschon Johnson RB
134. Christopher Smith S
135. Riley Moss CB
136. Emil Ekiyor IOL
137. Olusegun Oluwatimi IOL Late 4th 
138. Eric Gray RB
139. Jaylon Jones CB
140. Jaleel Billingsley TE Early 5th
141. Chase Brown RB
142. JL Skinner LB
143. Cooper Beebe IOL
144. Max Duggan QB Mid 5th
145. Keaton Mitchell RB
146. KJ Henry EDGE
147. Michael Wilson WR
148. Daiyon Henley LB
149. Trey Dean S
150. Sean Tucker RB
151. Anthony Johnson S Late 5th
152. Siaki Ika DT Free Agent
153. Jammie Robinson S
154. Chris Murray IOL
155. Xavier Hutchinson WR

2023 WR Rankings

1. Jaxon Smith-Njigba Ohio State 6’0 ⅝ 196 Jr. He didn’t run but had a ‘35 vertical (average), 10’5 broad (average), 3.93 short shuttle (elite-best WR score at the Combine, 4th best WR time since 2007), and 6.57 3 cone (elite, best WR score at the Combine, 12th best WR time since 2007). He barely played in 2020 (10 49 1 TD), had a special year in 2021 (95 1,606 9 TDs), and then a down year in 2022 (5 43 0 TDs in only 3 games). He was 2nd in the nation in receiving yards in 2021. Since 2015 he’s one of only 7 WRs in Power 5 to average +3ypr vs. man and zone in their career (Jaxon, Chase, DeVonta, Waddle, Higgins, Jeudy, Marquise Brown). It’s quite a list. His career ended on a poor note as he basically never could get healthy in 2022 and finally shut it down so he’s oddly a one year wonder. His one year was special though and he outproduced both Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave. He’s a good sized receiver, basically 6’1 200, and has elite quickness and routes which make everyone think he’ll be a dominant slot receiver. It’s his most natural fit, especially with his mediocre long speed, but his routes are so good I think he could play outside comfortably. He’d just need more change of direction routes and no verticals as he gets open the easiest on start and stop stuff as that’s where he’s special. He’s not much of a YAC guy and doesn’t show great tackle breaking ability or even really good elusiveness. His lack of elusiveness surprises me with his elite quickness and how fluid he is but it’s not really his game. The 2021 Nebraska game was the only one where he really showed any elusiveness. He also lacks deep speed and won’t be a big play guy. He didn’t run at the Combine but he looks like a 4.5 guy to me and he’s not a super versatile player that can beat you a lot of ways. Yet he is special in the few ways he does beat you as he has elite routes, elite quickness, and is a bigger bodied wideout with great fluidity so he can dominate by being almost uncoverable on short and intermediate routes. My comp for him is Cooper Kupp as neither have great speed but know how to get open and make easy targets for their QB. Jaxon had 15 receptions for 240 yards vs. Nebraska and 15 receptions for 347 yards vs. Utah in 2021. In both games the defense just had no answer for him as he’s a one trick pony but that’s okay when literally no defender can stay with him on his change of direction routes. He’s going to be a PPR star and will be among the league leaders in receptions year in and year out. I also think he’ll be very feast or famine as he’s not an elite athlete, he just has elite quickness, and if a team has a super quick CB that can handle him (I suspect Denzel Ward would be able to stick with him) then he won’t have a bunch of “countermoves” to win and he’ll be shut down. He has a good frame but he doesn’t win with physicality or ever play an above the rim game and he lacks good long speed to beat a guy deep so he’ll dominate or he’ll struggle based on the matchup. I also think he very easily could be bracketed as his route tree is very limited and having a CB with temporary help from a safety or linebacker would allow him to overplay Jaxon and not allow him a “two way go” which is where he’s most effective. I see how simple he makes things for his QB and how effective he is in the middle of the field. I respect it but I do wonder how the NFL will play him as it did seem like Ohio State got away with easy coverages since they had Wilson and Olave on the outside and defenses couldn’t scheme for Jaxon at all. I 100% disagree with Brian Hartline stating Jaxon is better than Garrett and Chris (he probably just said it since he wasn’t drafted yet, help their draft stock) as Garrett is a do everything #1 WR and Chris is a big play threat. Garrett is far more talented than Jaxon, Chris is same tier and comparable, and I see Zay Flowers as not too far off Jaxon. Overall I love Jaxon as a future star slot receiver but see his limitations and think he’s being a little overrated by scouts right now. He has the potential to be Cooper Kupp 2.0 but he’s not an elite athlete and Kupp only became a star with McVay so if Jaxon goes to a bad team or a bad scheme he could be underwhelming as I see him potentially being easily shut down with double teams. He’s a one trick pony as a receiver, lacks any real YAC skills, isn’t very physical, and doesn’t have great speed so he’s a little risky for a guy considered to be comparable to last year’s ROY Garrett Wilson. I think he works out in the end and is the next #1 WR in the NFL but he has more red flags than some other recent guys and therefore don’t have him as highly ranked as others do. Mid 1st as my #1 WR 4/27/23.
2. Zay Flowers Boston College 5’9 ¼ 182 Sr. He ran a 4.42 40 (very good), ‘35 ½ vertical (average), and 10’7 broad (good). He was a bit player as a true freshman in 2019 (27 195 1 TD), had a good year in 2020 (56 892 9 TDs), had a down year in 2021 (44 746 5 TDs), and then his best year in 2022 (78 1,077 12 TDs). Zay is a very small, very fast wideout who plays much bigger than his measurables and looks like he can stay outside and not be just a slot receiver. He has similar measurables to Josh Downs but Downs plays tiny while Flowers plays big like a Steve Smith type. He runs great routes and has outstanding acceleration so he usually wins with speed and routes but he breaks tackles, wins jump balls, and shows off great physicality at the catch point. He actually is very good on contested balls and he is 5th in this draft class for WRs with 503 yards after contact. He’s dynamic with the ball in his hands with his speed, elusiveness, and physicality and he’ll be a very good YAC player. He has such good vision and when he finds a crease in a defense he often takes it all the way. It’s why a common comp with him is Jaylen Waddle as you can see how good he’ll be exploiting defenses on those intermediate routes with YAC like Waddle does with the Dolphins. Flowers is arguably the best route runner in this draft and has the speed to stay outside. He’ll be a deep threat but he’s a complete player and brings far more than just pure speed to a team. He has 26 TDs the past three seasons, elite production, and a decent number of them are on red zone targets which is abnormal for a guy his size. He has great hands, plucks the ball consistently away from his body, and can make the acrobatic catch. Flowers dominated weekly at BC and had very good numbers which is impressive because his QB’s were bad the past two years. No other player had even 400 receiving yards as Flowers had 746 and 1,077. There is a lot of film of him being open and the QB making a bad throw so it’d be interesting to see how much more hyped he’d be if he had been teamed with a better QB. Flowers is a complete player and a highly polished, ready to dominate Day 1 prospect who just is small. I wish he was 6’0 200 but I’d be shocked if he was anything worse than a high end #2 WR and think he has the speed, routes, hands, and natural playmaking ability in the open field to be a #1 WR. He missed 0 games with injury the past few years but did get nicked up a bit and BC talked about protecting him at times so he might get beat up in the pros as a smaller wideout. He’s right on the mid 1st/late 1st bubble but in the end he’s a late 1st as my #2 WR 4/23/23.
3. Jordan Addison USC 5’11 ⅛ 173 Jr. He ran a 4.49 40 (average), ‘34 vertical (below average), and 10’2 broad (below average). His Combine was not good, especially for a 173 lb wideout. He was a good wideout as a true freshman in 2020 at Pitt (60 666 4 TDs), had his best season in 2021 and made Pickett a 1st round QB (100 1,593 17 TDs), and then had a down year despite playing with the Heisman winner in Caleb Williams (59 875 8 TDs). He didn’t play in 3 games and barely played in a 4th (1 catch for 2 yards vs. Colorado) so his numbers were really only in 10 games but it’s still disappointing after he torched the nation with Pickett. Addison is a smaller wideout who has very good speed, runs good routes, and is a natural playmaker. He was the 2021 Biletnikoff winner and USC used him in a variety of ways to get him the ball as he’s a natural playmaker with the ball in his hands. He has very good YAC potential as he’s both fast and elusive but at his weight I don’t expect many broken tackles. He has the frame to add weight to but didn’t gain any weight the past two years (listed at 175 in 2021 and 2022) so I do worry a little that he has trouble gaining weight. To really maximize his talent he should be 5’11 185 at least and it would help his YAC and ability to get off press. His routes are very good and he’s a natural at separating. I think he’s one of the safer players in this draft as he’s highly polished and an easy projection. My only issue with Jordan is I don’t think he has an extremely high ceiling as he’s fast but not elite and he’s a smaller player who’s probably going to be a high end #2 WR and not a star wideout. My comp for him is a little obscure but Jeremy Maclin as that quality #2 WR that somewhat underwhelms career wise as everyone wanted him to be a little bigger, a little faster and he was always good but never great. Addison is a more natural playmaker and is more elusive in the open field but is also smaller than Maclin and I see it more as a comp on route running and talent level as Addison always leaves me wanting a little more. He’s a little soft at times, doesn’t come down with the tough catch in traffic, and is a good athlete but not a great one. I worry he’ll struggle at times against the press on the outside and will be used more often in the slot. That’s not ideal for his value as he’s not great on YAC and really needs to add weight and be a dynamic outside receiver on routes and quickness who can be a deep threat. I want him to be more DeSean Jackson and less Diontae Johnson but I fear he’s going to more the latter and it makes me less excited with him. I have no doubts he’s a starting wideout in the NFL and he’ll be productive but he’s a little overrated as he had two teams funnel targets to him and isn’t an extremely well rounded playmaker. He can’t win with size or strength and struggles on contested catches so he’s a finesse wideout without great speed. I still like him but he’s a little one dimensional and I was surprised how much less I liked his 2022 USC film vs. his 2021 Pitt. To me it cemented the fact he’s not a great athlete and is more #2 WR than #1 but he still ends as a late 1st as my #3 WR, just someone I think is a little overrated 4/27/23.
4. Cedric Tillman Tennessee 6’3 ⅜ 213 Sr. He ran a 4.55 40 (bad), ‘37 vertical (above average), 10’8 broad (good), and measured ‘32 ¾ arms (long) with ‘10 hands (big). He barely played in 2018 (1 reception), 2019 (4 60 1 TD), and 2020 (3 67 1 TD), had by far his best year in 2021 (64 1,081 12 TDs), and then a down year in 2022 as Jalin Hyatt became the guy (37 417 3 TDs). He missed 7 games with injury in 2022 and on a per game basis his 2022 was solid (only played in 6 games). He’s already 23 years old so he’s a much older prospect. Cedric is a big, physical wideout with great hands who excelled at the contested catch. He ran a bad 40 and doesn’t appear fast but he does have some film of beating defenses deep so unsure if he has sneaky speed or he just caught them unaware due to him being primarily a possession receiver. I love his body control and fluidity for a big wideout as he’s really good at adjusting to the ball in the air and he’s a natural red zone target for fades. He also has some of the strongest hands in this draft and has a lot of film of holding on after a big hit or catching it in traffic. That’s huge as he won’t be great on separation due to his poor speed. He plays faster than 4.55 as he has good quickness and has that outstanding fluidity so he has similar routes as Drake London last year in that they aren’t fast but are sudden at the right moment in their route and get enough separation to play their possession receiver game. I do worry that it won’t continue at the next level of competition as possession receivers in the NFL often become busts while speed receivers become possession receivers. His best two games were in 2021 vs. their best opponents (Alabama and Georgia) though so he had some big games vs. elite talent. That Georgia game in particular really stood out to me as he had a nice slant route which he broke a tackle on for a +50 yard gain (mostly YAC) and then later had a 9 route with no separation where he won a jump ball on for +50 yards (no YAC). In both scenarios he won against a “better athlete” due to size, strength, routes, and ball skills and that’ll be how he wins at the next level. Add in the 12 yard TD on a slant boxing out future NFL CB Kelee Ringo (tough contested catch again) and it was an awesome performance against a top defense. The more I watch Tillman the more I love his quickness, fluidity, and potential for YAC. He isn’t fast and you can see that as he’s caught from behind regularly but his change of direction for a big wideout is special and he’s really going to work that short and intermediate route area to perfection for some team. His route tree will be very QB friendly as he’ll excel on slants, shallow crosses, and quick outs and can do damage on YAC with those simple throws for a QB. My comp for Tillman is Tee Higgins as Tillman is 6’3 ½ 218 with a 4.55 40 vs. Higgins 6’4 216 with a 4.54 40. Both have sneaky speed but win more with routes, quickness, and elite physicality and body control which make them difficult to defend even if you’re right on top of them. Tillman also is one of the best run blockers in this WR class and adds that dimension to a team. I expect him to be a high end red zone target who has double digit TDs numerous times in his career and think he’ll have some deep ball ability on purposeful underthrows which is how Higgins operates. I worry I’m overrating him as he is coming off a down year and is 23 years old but I see a lot of high end traits with Tillman and his film really stood out as comparable to Higgins so I’m giving him a similar grade. Late 1st as my #4 WR 4/28/23.
5. Jalin Hyatt Tennessee 6’0 ⅛ 176 Jr. He ran a 4.40 40 (elite), ‘40 vertical (elite), and 11’3 broad (elite) so his Combine confirmed what the tape did in that he’s an elite athlete. He was a bit player as a true freshman in 2020 (20 276 2 TDs), had a similar year in 2021 (21 226 2 TDs), and then a massive year out of nowhere in 2022 (67 1,267 15 TDs). His signature game was the Alabama game where he had 207 yards receiving and 5 TDs! He had 5 +100 yard games though so it was just a great year overall for Hyatt as he was the best deep threat in the nation in 2022. His 18.9 ypr average is ridiculous for 1,267 yards as usually players can’t maintain such an elite average with high volume. On film Hyatt is a blur and has Will Fuller like speed and size (tall frame but very skinny) so it’s an easy comp. He’ll need to bulk up but easily could add 15 lbs and be 6’0 190 as he has a great frame. The Tennessee film is tough to evaluate as their OC was great at schemes, Hooker threw a great deep ball, and Hyatt was wide open streaking down the field quite often. It’s hard to tell who was most responsible but someone deserves credit for such an amazing offense and I often felt like Hyatt’s pure speed was the straw that stirred the drink with Tennessee. He is a long legged kid with poor lateral agility so his route tree will be limited to 9 routes, post routes, and the occasional shallow cross or comeback to keep a defense honest. His speed is elite and his 4.40 40 is good but I’d argue he’s the fastest player in this draft so 4.30 seems more appropriate. Watch the 2022 Alabama film and you see him just glide past DBs and split double teams with that rare speed. I know you have to discount him due to the likelihood he gets jammed at the LOS, won’t have as many perfect balls in stride to him, and his limited route tree but if he goes to the Chiefs, Chargers, or Dolphins are we sure he won’t be a star? It’s odd to me that everyone was so high on Jamison Williams last year and so low on Jalin Hyatt this year as they are pretty similar profiles. Jamison is bigger but both are one year wonders who had great QB play and are primarily just deep threats. I consider Hyatt a better prospect than Will Fuller or Christian Watson and he’ll have a comparable role. Fuller was a 1st rounder and Watson was a 2nd yet some have Hyatt going in the 3rd and see him as a likely bust? He’s a much more fluid wideout than Fuller who never felt big on film and he has far better hands and routes than Watson so I think Hyatt really could add some weight and be more of a complete wideout. Even if he doesn’t he’ll be a high end #3 WR who is the designated speed guy but if he works on his routes and bulks up he has low end #1 WR potential. He isn’t good on YAC at all, unless catching it in a straight line, and when he runs comebacks he gets no YAC afterwards. His lateral agility is bad and his route tree will need to accommodate for that but I think shallow cross would be interesting for him. Tennessee didn’t really do that with him but occasionally had him schemed for a touch on motion with a quick out and is a similar movement which he did well on. Put on the Packers 2nd half of the season film and you can see how they adjusted a few things schematically for Christian Watson which I think would work well with Hyatt. He can be more than just a deep threat if schemed to where he has a running start when he gets the ball. His change of direction is very bad but YAC could work if he’s schemed appropriately. He’s somewhat soft and doesn’t seem to be the most confident kid. In the South Carolina game he seemed to be affected by Cam Smith’s trash talking and he had two drops in that game which might be related. I could see him lose confidence early in his career if he struggles to it is a red flag. Overall I love Hyatt and see him as one of the most underrated players in this WR class. At one point he was widely regarded as a 1st rounder but somehow that changed and he was considered overrated and now is considered a big risk. I disagree and see him as an early 2nd as my #5 WR who has a similar profile to Will Fuller or Christian Watson yet shows a more well rounded game and could be a star if put in the right offense 4/28/23.
6. Quentin Johnston TCU 6’2 ¾ 208 Jr. He didn’t run but had a 40 ½ vertical (elite), 11’2 broad (elite), and measured a ridiculous ‘33 ⅝ arms (very long, 4th longest of 52 WRs at the Combine this year). He was a solid player in 2020 as a true freshman (22 487 2 TDs), improved a bit in 2021 (33 634 6 TDs), and then had a huge year in 2022 (60 1,069 6 TDs). His 3 year yards per reception average were 17-22 showing he’s always been the deep threat. In a WR class with a bunch of small guys, Johnston is the big boy and also probably the most polarizing player in this class. There are a lot of red flags when it comes to Johnston but let’s be honest, he and Kendre Miller were the reasons for TCU’s amazing run last year. Everyone loved their QB but he often just threw up hail marys to Johnston who came down with them for a 17 ypr average and then would hand off to Kendre for a 7 ypr average. That’s a pretty efficient offense, neither related to anything Duggan was doing. Johnston is far from a complete wide receiver but he’s great on two aspects of his game. First is the deep route as he often gets open with speed but if not open he has the ability to win jump balls and has a very high success rate on supposed 50/50 balls. The second skill is his YAC as he is a long legged, bigger wideout who has some poor quickness numbers (his 3 cone drill at pro day was 7.31-bottom 4% for WRs) but on film he’s constantly using a spin move to get out of tackles and shows outstanding YAC potential. Due to the number on the jersey, the style of game, and the measurables to me he’s clearly a Kevin White comp. He was very hit or miss production wise as he had 5 games with under 30 yards receiving but also 4 games with over 130 receiving yards. Also 2 of his 4 best games were against ranked teams and only 1 of his 5 worst games was against a ranked team (the disaster championship game vs. Georgia) so competition level doesn’t appear to be related. His style is just very much based on the big play and he ran a limited route tree. He doesn’t change direction very well and struggles to get separation on anything that isn’t straight line. He’ll be best as a 9 route, post, dig route, and shallow cross which makes me think he’s kind of this year’s Treylon Burks though their bodies don’t look very similar at all. Johnston’s career contested target rate was 6th worst since 2017 (WRs drafted top 4 rounds, worst 5 were Arcega-Whiteside, Nico Collins, Josh Palmer, Denzel Mims, Hakeem Butler-yikes that’s a terrible list to be on!). It’s a very manicured stat but shows that guys like him that don’t get regularly are often times huge busts. He also had a low career conversion rate on contested targets (40.7%) so he doesn’t get open and plays soft? He’s a very weird prospect but you can see the size/speed ratio and the natural playmaking skills. His big matchup was vs. Kansas State in 2022 when he matched up against Julius Brent. It was an ideal matchup for both as it was strength on strength with Johnston being the premier big WR in this class and Brents being the longest, best big corner. Right off the bat Johnston won a 9 route for 53 yards against Brent who was slightly beat with speed but couldn’t find the ball in the air. He later was beat for +25 yards on a missed coverage (he switched with inside receiver but teammate didn’t switch, got a FF on trailing tackle though), beat later for another +50 yarder (post) and this one was the most wide open, had PI on jump ball in end zone (never looked for ball), but then came back and made up for it with great coverage and INT on fade route 3 plays later. Later he had another PI on a 9 route (he was beat on but again didn’t locate the ball in the air), almost an amazing INT when he left Johnston on a post route to track a ball to another wideout for a near highlight reel leaping INT over his head, and finally he was slightly beat on a post for another almost +50 yard gain but stripped Johnston at catch point for PBU. As you can see from the summary it was a wild game with a lot of plays made by both players but overall I have to give the win to Johnston who consistently got open deep vs. Brents. It’s interesting to me that Brents, who scored 9.99 on his RAS score, consistently got open vs. Johnston who’s analytics say isn’t a good athlete. To me it speaks to the fact that Brents isn’t as good of an athlete as his measurables and Johnston is better than his measurables so we should take the bad 3 cone drill etc. with a grain of salt. Overall Johnston is a physical freak who is going to run a limited route tree and has some major bust potential but I still like him as he was a superstar at times last year and did it against good competition and with a mediocre QB. He has similar strengths and weaknesses to Treylon Burks but with a little more speed and without the tweener WR/TE debate I had with Burks last year. Neither project as true #1s and will have to be schemed correctly for top production but both have the potential to dominate if used correctly. I understand the dislike of Johnston but he’s basically 6’3 210, has very good long speed, and is outstanding on YAC if he caught the ball in stride. There are a lot of things a team can work with and I expect he’ll be a good #2 WR and a big play artist in the NFL. Mid 2nd round as my #6 WR 4/23/23.
7. AT Perry Wake Forest 6’3 ½ 198 Sr. He ran a 4.47 40 (average), ‘35 vertical (average), 10’10 broad (good), and measured ‘33 ¼ arms (long). His measurables were average overall but for 6’3 200 they were actually pretty good. He barely played as a true freshman in 2019 (4 62 1 TD), was a bit player in 2020 (15 211 1 TD), had a huge year in 2021 (71 1,293 15 TDs), and had a similar year in 2022 (81 1,096 11 TDs). AT Perry is a guy I’ve never once heard about this draft cycle but I’m impressed. He’s a big possession looking receiver who was listed as 6’5 205 at Purdue but came in 6’3 ½ 198. I could see 6’3 210 being his playing weight in the NFL so he’s a big wideout but he’s got good straightline speed and very surprising quickness. His agility and body control are both outstanding for a big wideout and I really like his routes as well as how he can adjust to the ball in the air. Add in the fact he’s coming off back to back 1,000 yard seasons and we have ourselves a sleeper. His hands are also outstanding and he’s a natural hands catcher who is probably top 5 in this class in terms of catching consistency and acrobatic catches. I like him as a possession receiver with those great hands and good body control but what really surprised me was how twitchy he was on his routes as he shows good speed and very often won with speed and routes not size/strength. I don’t want to oversell him but he reminds me of a poor man’s George Pickens as Perry was 6’3 ½ 198 with 4.47 40, ‘35 vertical and Pickens was 6’2 ½ 195 with 4.47 40, ‘33 vertical. Pickens has better skills as a jump ball artist but Perry looks a little faster and both are very physical players that set a tone. He was more of a deep ball guy in 2021 (18.2 ypr) and then transitioned to more of a focal point as defenses crowded him more (13.5 ypr). He’s one of the biggest sleepers in this draft, regardless of position, as I’ve never heard about him and think he has a small chance of developing into a legit #1 wide receiver. 6’3 210 with great body control, great hands, good routes, and good speed. What am I missing? He also has very long arms and looks very comfortable catching contested balls so at worst I think he’s a #2 WR for a team and a Marvin Jones type who surprised with some deep balls but I really do think #1 WR is a possibility. His route running is very nuanced and he presents a great target for his QB to throw to. The tools are there for him to be a high end #2 WR as a more physical Juju Smith-Schuster but he has better speed than Schuster and his taller and heavier. Tools wise he’s more of a Pickens level talent which teases you as a possible #1 WR while his game is more Schuster or Keenan Allen as he relies more on routes than strength/acrobatic catches which Pickens does. Overall I love his film as he’s big, strong, physical, has great hands, runs very good routes, has speed, and is coming off two really productive years. I don’t get why no one else is interested in him but call me fan #1 in his newly created fan club. Feel free to email me at jonwasright@hotmail.com once you realize he’s one of the best WR prospects in this draft. Mid 2nd round as my #7 WR who is the biggest sleeper in this entire draft class as no one is talking about how good this kid already is and how great he potentially could be 4/23/23.
8. Tank Dell Houston 5’8 ⅜ 165 Jr. He ran a 4.49 40 (average for a WR but terrible for 165), and 10’1 broad (bad). He was a good wideout as a true freshman in 2020 (29 428 3 TDs in only 8 games), had a great year in 2021 (90 1,329 12 TDs), and a similar year in 2022 (109 1,398 17 TDs). He led the nation in receiving yards and TDs in 2022. Tank is a short AND rail thin wideout who is an elite route runner, has great elusiveness, and good speed. If he was 6’0 200 with the exact same film he’d be a Top 15 pick but at 5’8 165 I really don’t know what to do with him. He’s not just short but he’s super skinny and I really worry he’ll be beat up in the pros. That being said he plays faster than his 4.49 40, probably low 4.4s, and is right up there with Jaxon, Flowers, and Downs as the best route runners in this draft. I really worry about him holding up physically over 17 games but I don’t worry about him being effective if healthy as his quickness and polish as a route runner will make him extremely hard to press. I know everyone thinks he’ll get pressed due to his 165 weight but it’ll be a pretty tough matchup to be super aggressive over and over again with his speed and quickness. Add in that he’ll usually be in the slot and I think it’s a guarantee he’ll at least be a productive injury prone wideout. He went to the Senior Bowl and dominated in 1x1s, no surprised as press isn’t allowed, but he played his same game vs. top corners as he did at Houston vs. low end talent. I get people fading him for his weight and lack of competition but he had back to back +90 catch +1,300 yard +10 TD seasons and then left school early. What else was he supposed to do? He also is a very complete wideout who has great hands, makes the acrobatic catch, wins jump balls sometimes, and is so good on routes that he was a consistent red zone threat (29 TDs the past two seasons). Again I know his faults but I don’t think people are giving enough credit for just how good he was the past two years. No one could ever stay in front of him but I’m supposed to believe he’ll never be able to get off press ever again at the next level? He’ll probably be in the slot due to his poor weight but he gives me Diontae Johnson vibes as that quicker than fast, elite route runner. Johnson only weighed 183 and also had competition questions (Toledo) but has been a borderline #1 WR for the Steelers and Tank has similar potential. You don’t find guys with his quickness, route running, speed, and hands very often and I’d be shocked if he was a bust. Tank is a big time sleeper in my opinion who has a more well rounded game than Johnson did and is going to surprise some people as he’s as polished of a rookie as they come so he’ll probably burst onto the scene this fall. Expect a lot of backtracking from those seeing 165 lbs and fading him as he’s one of the better wideouts in this draft and at worst will be a great slot receiver but he potentially could stay outside as a Diontae Johnson full route tree player who wins with quickness and routes. Late 2nd round as my #8 WR 4/27/23.
9. Tyler Scott Cincinnati 5’10 177 Jr. He ran a 4.44 40 (good), ‘39 ½ vertical (elite), and 11’1 broad (elite). He barely played as a true freshman in 2020 (3 20 0 TDs), was a solid #2 receiver for Desmond Ridder in 2021 (30 520 5 TDs), and then had his best year in 2022 (54 899 9 TDs). Tyler is a very short, thicker wideout with elite speed. He never had a great year but he left early and shows some real upside as he’s only 21 years old and had good to great numbers across the board at the Combine. He’s a small wideout but he shows good elusiveness in the open field and appears to be more than just a speed guy. He also has good hands and made quite a few impressive catches in traffic. Add in a decent number of broken tackles and he’s a much more complete wideout than I expected he’d be and is more than just a small, speedy guy like some others in this class. He runs solid routes as he’s quick and very fast but they aren’t great and he’ll need to clean those up in the pros for him to really be effective at his size. He was listed at 185 last year so he maybe dropped weight for the Combine but hopefully he can play in that 185 range as I wouldn’t be worried about his weight at that spot. Scott is one of the most sudden wideouts in this class and I do wonder if he would have become a more complete wideout if he’d had Ridder in 2022 as he had some mediocre QB play at times which hurt his production. He’s an elite athlete that seems to just be scratching the surface of his potential and he could really surprise in the NFL if he develops his route running. He’s still raw and wins with athleticism but you see flashes of dominance with him and I really like his potential. He lacks the polish of a Dell or Downs but has almost a Zay Flowers like all around game, just a very raw version of him, and I see him as a sleeper. One of many in this odd WR class. Late 2nd as my #9 WR 4/27/23.
10. Kayshon Boutte LSU 5’11 ¼ 195 Jr. He ran a 4.50 40 (below average), ‘29 vertical (terrible, worst among 52 WRs) and 9’10 broad (terrible, worst among 52 WRs). Well his Combine was a disaster so there’s that. He was a great true freshman in 2020 (45 735 5 TDs), had a great 2021 but only played in 6 games (38 508 9 TDs), and then a down year in 2022 (48 538 2 TDs). His career has gone the wrong direction lately and it continued with just an atrocious Combine. His vertical was tied or bested by 23 of the 51 OL at the Combine so to say it was terrible for a wideout is an understatement and he’s in that bottom 1% of athletes in that drill. Looking at his career he had 4 of his best games against big opponents (UCLA, Georgia, Auburn, Florida) so he played his best against the best. Combining that with his terrible Combine (did he even train?) and downward trajectory stats wise and it makes me think he’s the classic underachiever with bad practice habits. On film he’s a wideout with good size who runs nice routes and is a very fluid athlete. He isn’t super fast but he has decent speed and is fluid so I see him as a #2 WR type who works intermediate routes and wins with routes and quickness. Despite his mediocre production he did lead LSU in receiving yards 2 of his 3 seasons (2020 and 2021) besting Terrance Marshall Jr. in 2020 in his great freshman year. In an alternate universe he would have had a thousand yard season last year, had a decent Combine, and Boutte would be talked about as a late 1st/early 2nd so for a team ready to roll the dice on a high upside wideout with bust potential on Day 2 he’s probably your guy as he could have been a Day 1 guy if things had played out differently. He’s a very natural receiver who understands where to stop vs. zone coverage and he’s pretty polished on routes and as a hand catcher away from his body. He doesn’t have deep speed but his fluidity makes him a good route runner and I’d be surprised if he doesn’t separate consistently at the next level. LSU played him both outside and in the slot and I see him having that same versatility in the NFL. Slot might be slightly preferred but I think his routes and size are good enough to stay outside. In either spot he’ll work the short to intermediate areas and be a good possession receiver who wins with routes and quickness. I came in expecting to not like Boutte as his Combine and stats were telling me something bad but his film was very good. I leaned on his 2021 film over his 2022 and think teams will need to deep dive with him on his attitude, work ethic, and character but I see #2 WR film with him and think he could be a steal if/when he falls on draft day due to his down year and horrible Combine. Early 3rd as my #10 WR 4/28/23.
11. Josh Downs UNC 5’9 171 Jr. He ran a 4.48 40 (average), ‘38 ½ vertical (very good) and 10’11 broad (elite). He barely played as a true freshman in 2020 (7 119 3 TDs), had a huge year in 2021 with Sam Howell (101 1,335 8 TDs), and then another similar year with Drake Maye in 2022 (94 1,029 11 TDs). It’s impressive that he didn’t miss a beat with the QB change but to be fair it was going from one NFL prospect to the next so he’s been living good. Josh is a very short, very skinny wideout with great athleticism. He’s a quicker than fast guy who has elite change of direction and will be a slot receiver in the pros. He’s a smaller, slightly faster version of Jaxon Smith and makes QB’s happy as he naturally separates on his routes and gives his QB a great target. He also has elite hands and is both consistent catching the ball and can make the acrobatic catch on tough throws. He and Smith are the two most polished wideouts in this draft class and both will be very effective day 1 as rookies. Frame wise he reminds me a little of Mecole Hardman but Downs is much quicker and a better route runner. Comping him is hard, and that’s a worry for me, as there aren’t many wideouts his size in the NFL. As good as he is in space and as a route runner, I think he’ll be neutralized vs. press and he needs to be schemed for a free release. Is this just an overhyped Jaelon Darden and Downs will be a bust as an overrated prospect due to being the #1 target for two NFL starting QBs in college? I don’t think so but it’s a red flag. Darden had inconsistent routes while Downs is precise and consistent. Also Darden had some drops and some attitude issues whole Downs is widely regarded as one of the top character guys in this entire draft. Ace Sanders, Tavon Austin, Jamison Crowder are all decent comps and all should scare a team considering drafting Downs early. Downs though is far more polished than anyone but Crowder and seems better adjusted to the pure slot role than gadget guy Tavon Austin was who had some of his best film at RB. Downs strengths and weaknesses are very easy to evaluate and make him a good fit as a slot receiver in a spread offense. How successful he’ll be will depend on scheme and how durable he is as his frame makes me worry he’ll be potentially injury prone. There is major risk with Downs but I think he’ll work out in the end as his burst, quickness, routes, and just overall suddenness as a receiver is special and I just don’t think bigger cornerbacks will consistently be able to jam him and ruin his game. I also love his body control, something I never really noticed with Darden or Crowder and his ability to maneuver post catch makes me think he’ll have some YAC ability despite his size. Early 3rd round as my #11 WR who has elite film, very good production, and is one of the most polished wideouts in this class. He’s a very tiny pure slot but his quickness, burst, and route running should allow him to translate to the NFL despite his bottom 1% size 4/23/23
12. Parker Washington Penn State 5’10 204 Soph He didn’t work out at the Combine. He was a decent true freshman in 2020 (36 489 6 TDs), had a good year in 2021 (64 820 4 TDs), and then had a down year in 2022 (46 611 2 TDs). He was hurt (ankle injury) and missed the final 3 games but still his final year was disappointing as it felt like he was about to break out with Dotson leaving for the NFL last year. Parker is 5’10 but he doesn’t play like a small slot receiver and it’s too bad he’s not 6’2 220 as I love his film. He has great hands, makes a ton of acrobatic catches, and is very difficult to bring down. He’s short but he’s thick and is a YAC monster at times. I love his hands as he plucks the ball away from his body and is one of the most natural hands catchers in this WR class. I think he’ll be a multifaceted wideout as he has good quickness and routes and can play the slot but he’s really good as a possession receiver on the outside and I’d move him all around the field. His 2022 Ohio State game was incredible and he had 4 amazing highlight reel catches on it. My comp for him is Tylan Wallace who also was 5’10 and made acrobatic catches. Wallace had better numbers, wasn’t coming off an injury, and was even better on the jump ball but Parker might succeed where Wallace failed as he’s better in the slot whereas Wallace had to play on the outside and he couldn’t get it done due to his size as his game just couldn’t translate when the CBs got bigger and faster. Parker at worst will be a solid slot receiver with great YAC skills but I think he can play outside too and if he’s successful in both spots then he’ll add a lot of value to his NFL team. He’s a great player for WR screens due to his YAC ability and vision. Overall I love Washington’s film and his versatility as he has a lot of value as a slot receiver with his YAC skills but he also is surprisingly effective on jump balls and is a natural playmaker who plays bigger than his 5’10 frame. He’s coming off a down year which also ended with an injury and kept him from participating at the Combine so he might drop on draft day and be a steal. Mid 3rd as my #12 WR who I view as one of the sleepers in this WR class 4/23/23.
13. Jayden Reed Michigan State 5’11 187 Sr. He ran a 4.45 40 (good), ‘33 ½ vertical (bad), and 10’1 broad (bad). He was a very good true freshman for Western Michigan in 2018 (56 797 8 TDs), sat out 2019 as he transferred to Michigan State, was a bit player in 2020 (33 407 3 TDs), had his best year in 2021 (59 1,026 10 TDs), and then a down year in 2022 (55 636 5 TDs). Despite 5 years out of HS, he’s still only 22 years old but is still a slightly older prospect (will be 23 before his first game). Jayden is a thin, angular player with a good frame who could add weight to it and probably should so he can be about 6’0 200. He has good not great speed and has enough speed to separate but doesn’t look like he’ll be a deep threat in the NFL. He’ll be an intermediate route runner who excels with routes and body control as he’s a very polished wideout. He has good hands, knows how to work a sideline on the toe tap drill, and makes the most of his good but not great speed. I like his film a lot and think he’s a bit of a sleeper in this draft since he’s coming off a down year. Again I’d like him to bulk up a bit as he looks too skinny despite decent weight at 187. His QB regressed from 2021 to 2022 and Jayden was option 1B to Sophomore Keon Coleman but his film was good. He has a number of plays where he had to adjust to a poorly thrown ball and he showed great ability in this regard due to his outstanding body control. I don’t see a high ceiling with Jayden but like him as a low end #2 WR or more likely a high end #3 WR. He has the size to stay outside so he should be a wanted man for a team with a high end #1 WR and a slot already in place. Smaller Romeo Doubs is a good comp or Tyler Boyd. I like Jayden’s combination of frame, speed, routes, and body control and think teams that accentuate good route running like the Chiefs, Rams, and Vikings will be very interested in him as a complementary receiver. Mid 3rd as my #13 WR 4/27/23.
14. Marvin Mims Oklahoma 5’10 ⅞ 183 Jr. He ran a 4.38 40 (elite) and 10’8 broad (very good). He was solid as a true freshman in 2020 (37 610 9 TDs), improved a little in 2021 (32 705 5 TDs), and then had his best year in 2022 (54 1,083 6 TDs). Mims is a true speedster who average +20 ypr each of the past two seasons. His 4.38 speed translates to the field and he has effortless speed. He’s not the biggest guy but 5’11 185 is actually kind of big in this class of tiny wideouts. He’s on the bubble whether he’s a career slot guy or can play outside but with his speed I’d try him outside until he fails. He and Hyatt have the most “no one is within 10 yards of them as they race into the end zone” in this class. He’s not very elusive and isn’t much of a YAC guy except on deep routes taken to the house. He also doesn’t show anything special quickness wise and is a mediocre route runner. His game is all about speed and he’s pretty one dimensional but will go later in the draft than Hyatt and seems to be faster than Jalen Moreno-Cropper from Fresno State. His speed is effortless and he’ll be a deep threat in the NFL. I just worry he won’t be much else so he’ll need to add a little weight to his frame and work on improving his routes. If he ever becomes a more well rounded player than he’ll be something special but I have my doubts he’ll ever be more than just a speed guy. I like him more than similar type guys of recent vintage like Mecole Hardman and KJ Hamler but he isn’t a complete wideout and is multiple levels below a Marquise Brown type. He also shows some ability as a kick returner but only did it 3x the past two years for a 30 yard average (very good). A major issue with Mims are drops and he’ll have to address it to be trusted on the field. If he does I think he can carve out a Hardman like role on a team and would be a great fit with the Chiefs, Chargers, Dolphins, etc. that like to extend the field and throw deep. Overall I love Mims speed and see potential for him to develop but most likely he’s just a #3 speed wideout. His frame is decent and could have weight added to it, his speed is elite, and he’s only 21 so there’s a possibility he develops into more than that but most likely he’ll be the designated speed guy. Late 3rd as my #14 WR 4/25/23.
15. Grant Dubose Charlotte 6’2 201 Sr. He ran a 4.48 (average, above average for his size), ‘38 ½ vertical (very good), and 10’11 broad (elite). Grant is a good sized wideout who flashes the ability to win with size, speed, and routes. He will be moving up multiple levels of competition from Charlotte so his film is tough to grade as he was both bigger and stronger than the cornerbacks he faced but you can see NFL athleticism with him. His body control and hands are outstanding and he’d be a great back shoulder guy with the right QB. He also has good but not great speed and his 4.48 40 made him a lot of money as he’ll be a good #2 WR in the NFL if he can win with speed and routes as his size, good hands, and body control are obviously NFL quality. At worst I think he’ll be a good #3 WR as a possession receiver but I really like his tool set and his blend of skills makes me think starter. He’s a very polished wideout who has good suddenness in his routes, catches the ball away from his frame, and has very strong hands. He should be good on the contested catch and likely will be in that possession receiver mold at the next level. My comps are rich man’s Josh Palmer or more polished Donovan Peoples-Jones as bigger guys with speed who are sort of combo wideouts as they are well above average in size but not true “big wideouts” who are 220s and still have enough speed to get open but aren’t speedsters. Those combo wideouts are good fits as #2-#3 wide receivers and I see Dubose in that style. He won’t be a star but he’s a Day 3 guy and might be a late Day 3 guy so I think the team drafting him will be surprised with how talented he is. Late 3rd round as my #15 WR who is one of the sleepers in this WR class 4/25/23.
16. Rashee Rice SMU 6’1 204 Sr. He ran a 4.51 40 (below average), ‘41 vertical (elite), and 10’8 broad (very good). He was a decent receiver as a true freshman in 2019 (25 403 1 TD), improved in 2020 (48 683 5 TDs), had a similar year in 2021 (64 670 9 TDs), and then his best year in 2022 (96 1,355 10 TDs). His 2022 season came out of nowhere and his career arc is not a great one as a one year wonder who only dominated as a senior (23 years old so an older prospect). Rice is a bigger wideout with okay speed who tends to win with size and strength so he projects as a future possession receiver in the NFL. He has just enough speed to threaten a CB deep and make his full route tree work so he’s not slow but at the next level he’ll use that speed predominantly to work the short and intermediate routes. He runs good routes, has very good hands, and is a nice run blocker so he’s a pretty complete wideout but one without great speed. His film is very good and I think he’s underrated. I worry about his mediocre speed, his lower level of competition (some of his highlights were against atrocious defense), and his one year wonder status but I could see him working out as a decent #2 WR down the road. I wish he was a little quicker and faster but he has some athleticism and with his good size/weight/hands/routes it’s probably enough for him to be a decent starter. He has a low ceiling due to his athletic profile but is highly polished and should be a solid rookie. Late 3rd as my #16 WR 4/27/23.
17. Jalen Moreno-Cropper Fresno State 5’11 ⅛ 172 Sr. He ran a 4.40 40 (very good), and 10’1 broad (bad). He made some big plays as a true freshman in 2019 (20 343 3 TDs), had a great year but in only 6 games in 2020 (37 520 5 TDs), another good year in 2021 (85 899 11 TDs), and then his best year in 2022 (83 1,086 5 TDs). Jalen is another smaller, speedy wideout but one with a bigger frame and probably could add some weight. He is a bit soft and doesn’t really have much tackle breaking ability or contested catch ability. He’s also really bad at being elusive in the open field and won’t be a YAC guy other than streaking down the field for a TD if he gets past a defense. He’s all speed all the time and doesn’t have the well rounded game of someone like Zay Flowers. Fresno State used him regularly on end arounds but he didn’t show a knack for it and didn’t have great vision, elusiveness, or tackle breaking ability. He’s a pure wideout who will need to be a slot early in his career but if he can add 10-15 lbs over time I think he could be an outside receiver. It’ll depend how he handles press coverage as he is soft but his frame tells me he’s more than a pure slot. He doesn’t run great routes but his pure speed allows him to run a nice comeback route as cornerbacks have to respect his feed. I like him as a Kenny Stills comp who just needs to add weight. He doesn’t have a ton going for him outside of elite speed but he’s 5’11 and if he can add weight and be a 5’11 185 lb wideout with basically 4.3 speed then he’ll be a decent #2 or good #3 WR who runs the deep routes to keep a defense spread out. He’ll be a career complementary receiver but one that I like and I see him as pretty underrated. Late 3rd as my #17 WR 4/23/23.
18. Charlie Jones Purdue 5’11 ⅜ 175 Jr. He ran a 4.44 40 (very good), ‘36 ½ vertical (average), and 10’4 broad (below average). He’s had an odd career as he started in 2018 with the Buffalo Bulls (18 395 3 TDs) then took 2019 off and popped up in 2020 with Iowa where he was a bit player in 2020 (21 221 1 TD) and 2021 (37 285 0 TD), and then transferred again this time to Purdue where he was a star in 2022 (110 1,361 12 TDs). He was 5th in the nation in receiving yards last year. He’s 24 and is one of the oldest prospects in this draft. He has red flags galore with his career path, especially the fact he is both a one year wonder AND one of the oldest prospects. Purdue has for the past 5 years or so had an insanely productive receiver with some physical limitations (Rondale Moore, David Bell, Charlie Jones) and so far none have done much in the NFL. Jones at least more easily fits an NFL profile as he’ll be a slot receiver who runs good routes, has good hands, and is a natural playmaker. He ran a 4.44 but looks to be more of a 4.5s guy but you see decent athleticism. His hands on contested catches is his most intriguing aspect of his game and I think he could be a solid slot receiver. He also has great body control and runs good routes but I don’t see him being able to beat a defense deep and at 175 lbs he’ll struggle on the outside to get off press so career slot receiver seems like his best fit. Overall Jones was super productive but he’s a slot WR, an old prospect, comes from a system with a poor track record of NFL success, is a one year wonder, and is rail thin so I’d roll the dice on him as a mid round guy but am fading him despite his very good film. Early 4th round as my #18 WR 4/23/23.
19. Jonathan Mingo Ole Miss 6’1 ¾ 220 Sr. He ran a 4.46 40 (good, especially for his weight) and measured ‘10 ⅜ hands (huge, 2nd biggest hands of 52 WRs at the Combine). He was a bit player in 2019 (12 172 1 TD), had a similar role in 2020 (27 379 3 TDs), improved in 2021 but only played in 6 games (22 346 3 TDs), and then had his best year in 2022 (51 861 5 TDs). He never led his team in receiving yards (2nd in 2022, 4th in 2021 and 2020) which is a red flag to me. Jonathan is a big framed wideout with great size, strength, and hands. He has some of the best one handed catches in traffic of anyone in this WR class and his hands are massive (2nd largest in class) so it allows him to extend his catch radius and be dangerous as a jump ball artist down the field. His highlight reel of contested catches (back shoulders/jump balls are pretty much all of it) is impressive and that will be his role in the NFL. Unfortunately that’s about all he does well and a team drafting him will need to use him in this fashion or he’ll be a bust as he doesn’t separate well at all. His stats weren’t very good in 2022, for it being his best season, and they were even worse if you take out the Vanderbilt game (9 247 2 TDs). In that game the defense was just atrocious and he had two long TD runs, both of which were not impressive. Remove that game and his stat line in 2022 (42 614 3 TDs) is pretty poor. Ole Miss occasionally lined him up at TE to sneak him out into passing routes. That’s a red flag to me as it shows they knew they needed to scheme him open. They also did it though because he’s probably the best blocking wideout in this class and he has great film in that role. He gets his arms extended and sustains blocks like a legit TE or OT and I see the appeal of him as a #3 WR who is primarily a blocker. That’s how I see him but I see a lot of love for Mingo this draft cycle that I don’t agree with. To me he looks like a “big slot” who will primarily run shallow crosses and try and get YAC. He’d be solid in that role but it’s a very low value route tree and on the outside I see him as only being a 9 route guy who excels on back shoulders and jump balls. All of his stuff is low efficiency or low value. Add in elite blocking and it makes the big slot/Hines Ward type role more appealing but I still don’t see anything special athletically with him. He’s big, strong, and has elite hands but I see career backup who makes a few amazing plays but overall struggles to produce. He won’t be able to get open with speed, his routes aren’t impressive, and he’ll be a possession receiver who has to make acrobatic plays for his production. My comp for him is Aaron Dobson who was a big framed possession receiver out of Marshall with amazing catches and was never heard from again. Another decent comp is rich man’s Noah Brown and he’ll probably have a similar career to Brown as a blocking back who sometimes gets opportunities as a 4th WR. Overall I am fading Mingo and consider him a very overrated prospect. Early 4th as my #19 WR 4/23/23.
20. Trey Palmer Nebraska 6’0 192 Sr. He ran a 4.33 40 (elite) and didn’t do other drills. He barely played in 2019 at LSU (3 65 1 TD), barely played again in 2020 (10 108 0 TD), was a bit player in 2021 for LSU (30 344 3 TDs), and then transferred to Nebraska and had a great year in 2022 (71 1,043 9 TDs). Guys like him are huge risks to be busts as they were nothing at their bigger school for 3 years and then star on a bad team, albeit in a good conference. Trey is an average sized WR with elite speed who excelled as a deep threat. He was very hit or miss with his production with 3 games of +157 yards and 4 games with less than 50 yards. He has enough size to be an outside receiver though and his 4.3 speed transfers to the film as he’s a legit deep threat and will be worth a look for someone seeking a #3 WR with speed. I don’t see a ton more to his game than decent size and elite speed though but his routes are solid and his hands are solid. He ran a very vanilla route tree and the only time I saw YAC potential with him was vs. Purdue but that game film was just ridiculous (7 237 2 TDs) and speaks more to how bad Purdue played on defense than anything he did. Yes he’s fast but he was uncovered at times and on an end around he was never touched and barely left his straightline trajectory to the end zone. There’s some potential that he’s a late bloomer but the fact he couldn’t get on the field at LSU makes me think he’s just a speed guy and will be that #3 or more likely #4 WR for some team like the Chargers who love to have speed on the field next to their stud wideouts who lack it. He’ll be a career complementary speedster like Mecole Hardman, Tutu Atwell, and James Washington. He’s bigger than those guys though so at least he has enough size to comfortably beat press. Mid 4th round as my #20 WR 4/23/23.
21. Michael Wilson Stanford 6’1 ⅞ 213 Sr. He ran a 4.59 40 (bad), ‘37 ½ vertical (average), and 10’5 broad (average). He barely played as a true freshman in 2018 (14 126 1 TD), had a solid year in 2019 (56 672 5 TDs), only had 4 games in the Covid 2020 season (19 261 1 TD), only had 4 games in 2021 due to injury (19 185 0 TD), and then a mediocre year in 2022 (26 418 4 TDs in only 6 games). He only played 14 games the past 3 seasons so he’s a huge medical risk. He’s also 23 years old as a 5th year senior so he has a lot of red flags. Wilson is a bigger wideout at basically 6’2 215 and shows decent athleticism but is a wideout usually who wins with size and strength. His Combine was average and his stats are flat out bad but he made my list to grade because he’s elite in the red zone as a jump ball artist. Some of his highlights are ridiculous as he can sky for balls few people can catch. A less athletic, injury prone Devante Parker is a decent comp as both have ridiculous film as fade guys in the red zone but with questionable film between the 20’s. Due to his medical history he’s going to go late but that probably is best as early in his career he’ll be a blocking WR (he’s outstanding in the role) and a special teams ace. He’s a thicker wideout who could really excel in the blocking role if he takes it to heart and he has a Michael Thomas type body which flashes at times as a playmaker but probably will be a tease. He’s so thick and strong he could be a quality YAC guy as a shallow cross “big slot” and then could be a designated red zone fade artist as that’s his best attribute. He doesn’t have the speed to get open on the outside but the more I watched the more I was intrigued with him over the middle in the slot as he runs interesting routes and really confused DBs at times. Also that thickness made him a YAC monster and Stanford was really bad so he might have had better stats in another environment. Overall I see some elite traits but they are mixed in with a terrible injury history (missed 14 games with injury the past two years), mediocre speed, and poor production so I’m fading him but I do see the appeal and think he could surprise as a late round roll of the dice. I hope he is a big slot as that is what most intrigued me and Stanford didn’t do it too often with him. I think he’s an interesting prospect who I’ll keep tabs on but his bust rate is extremely high due to his injury history. 5th round as my #21 WR 4/27/23,
22. Xavier Hutchinson Iowa State 6’1 ⅞ 203 Sr. He ran a 4.53 40 (below average), ‘36 vertical (average), and 9’8 broad (bad). He didn’t play till 2020 but was good that year (64 771 4 TDs), improved in 2021 (83 987 5 TDs), and then had his best year in 2022 (107 1,171 6 TDs). Hutchinson is a bigger wideout who doesn’t get good separation but was Iowa State’s star receiver the past few years due to his great body control and hands. He was probably the most consistent producer at the WR position in the entire nation last year as he had 12 straight games with 8 or more receptions and 72 or more receiving yards. Their QB was not good last year and he really leaned on Hutchinson and trusted him with throws into tight coverage. Xavier was adept at catching a purposefully high thrown ball that allowed him to sky over the defense to snag it with his good hands/body control. He had a great connection with his QB and his film is good but I don’t see it translating to the NFL. He doesn’t have good athleticism, won’t be able to threaten a defense deep, and his routes are good but not great. He also isn’t a huge wide receiver as he’s basically 6’2 205 and that is above average size but not that 220 size you’d want for a guy with his lesser athleticism. My comp would be very poor man’s Juju Smith-Schuster as he has a similar frame and is a smart player like Juju out of USC but he’s a much worse athlete and “big slot” might be his best spot. He’s a tough player who has a lot of film catching a ball and holding on through a big hit so he’d work the middle of the field well. On the outside he’d be a back shoulder throw wideout as he’s great at it but his lack of separation would allow cornerbacks to play him tighter and likely would make him less effective. Xavier had insane usage at Iowa State and I think it gave him better stats than he probably deserved. Put on the 2022 Iowa game and you see he had 7 targets in the first quarter alone. He was peppered with targets but he wasn’t great with them and his team ended up only scoring 10 points all game. He looks like an overachiever who will be a career backup or a quick bust. I don’t see starter athleticism with him and think big slot is his best chance to be an impact player but even in that role he’s nothing special as you’d prefer a more physical player for YAC. Overall I’m underwhelmed with Xavier and think he’s the classic good college player that doesn’t have the talent to play the same game at the next level. He has good film but lacks the tools to be a starter in the NFL so I’d take him off my board as a GM as I consider him career backup material. Free Agent as my #22 WR 4/23/23.

2023 CB Rankings

1. Christian Gonzalez Oregon 6’1 ⅜ 197 Soph He ran a 4.38 40 (elite), ‘41 ½ vertical (elite), 11’1 broad (elite), and measured ‘32 arms (average). He was a good starter as a true freshman in 2020 (25 tackles, 5 PBUs in only 6 games), had a good year but no INTs in 2021 (53 tackles, 5.5 TFL, 5 PBUs), and his best year by far in 2022 (50 tackles, 1 TFL, 7 PBUs, 4 INTs). He’s only 20 years old and is one of the youngest prospects in this draft. I love his stats for a young kid as he’s only 20 but still had two seasons with +50 tackles and had 4 INTs last year. The first thing you notice with Christian is his flexibility and bendable body and I’m already in love. This kid is about as fluid of an athlete as I’ve ever graded and he just floats around the field at times. He has a rep against Colorado in 2022 where he’s in his backpedal covering a 9 route and the QB throws it so he stops on a dime, bursts upfield, and makes an easy INT on another route he wasn’t covering. It’s not just the best rep I saw all draft cycle by a CB, it’s one of the best reps I’ve ever graded as it had everything you’re looking for with a corner: instincts, route recognition, ball skills, change of direction, and speed. This kid is going to be special as he ticks every box. Elite 40, elite vertical, elite broad jump, good arm length, great ball skills, elite fluidity, elite tackling numbers, etc. I love Devon Witherspoon but to me it’s not a very close race for CB1 in this class. Christian is a blue chip cornerback who already dominates the college scene, has very clean tape (rarely beat, limited penalties), has all the tools you could ask for, and has ballhawk potential. I say potential as he did have 0 INTs his first two seasons but I’ll chalk that up to his age and being unlucky as he looks so natural as a playmaker. He also has elite versatility as he can play press, off man coverage, and zone and will be good in all aspects. Due to this I’d like to see him in a multiple scheme like the Chargers run and give him reps where he can read a QB and react as he shows elite potential as a ballhawk. At worst he’ll be a good but not great INT guy while providing blanket coverage but I sniff elite ball skills with him and could see him lead the NFL in INTs a season or two like a Trevon Diggs type. Overall Christian is a blue chip CB and one of the best CB prospects I’ve graded in a long time. I haven’t seen him linked once to the Texans at #2 but pairing Christian with Derek Stingley and Jalen Pitre to form one of the best secondaries in the NFL. He’s my #1 CB and gets a top 5 grade as he’s one of the few true blue chip prospects in this down year overall 4/24/23.
2. Emmanuel Forbes Mississippi State 6’0 ¾ 166 Jr. He ran a 4.35 40 (elite), ‘37 ½ vertical (good), 10’4 broad (below average), and measured ‘32 ¼ arms (long). I can’t remember ever grading a corner under 170 lbs so it’s a huge red flag and he’ll need to add weight quickly, but does have the frame to do it. He was a ballhawk as a true freshman in 2020 (44 tackles, 0.5 TFL, 6 PBUs, 5 INTs-3 TDs), had another great year in 2021 (60 tackles, 5 TFL, 1 sack, 1 FF, 5 PBUs, 3 INTs), and then his best year in 2022 (46 tackles, 1 TFL, 10 PBUs, 6 INTs-3 TDs). His 14 INTs the past 3 seasons is elite and among the best production I’ve ever graded. His 6 pick six the past 3 seasons IS THE BEST ever (FBS record) so we are talking about an all-time great ballhawk in college. He was 3rd in the nation in 2020 and 2022 for INTs (1st for pick six each year). Forbes is rail thin and needs to gain weight but this kid is tall, long armed, has good speed, has good instincts, has elite ball skills, and has elite ballhawk production so I’m a huge fan of his. His instincts are good and sometimes he jumps routes but a lot of his picks are just deflections as he seems to ALWAYS come down with the ball when it’s around him. He has truly special hands and is going to have a high INT total in the pros. He had a bad game in 2020 vs. Devonta Smith but that’s a little unfair as the freshman was against the Biletnikoff winner and was beat multiple times. He did a better job in 2021 vs. Jamison Williams and showed the speed and quickness to stick with him. Forbes is long legged and a little stiff so I worry about his susceptibility vs. quicker wideouts but he has the speed to stay with wideouts and he’s good at route recognition. He’s a heady player and has special hands so I’d love to see him in a zone scheme or Cover 3 scheme where he can play the Richard Sherman role. PFF had him as the #3 ranked man coverage CB (Will Johnson-not draft eligible, Devon Witherspoon were top 2) so the deeper you dive into Forbes film the more impressed you get. I’m sure teams will downgrade him for his weight as it is definitely in that 1% category but he shows better film as a tackler and in run support than many CBs in this class and I didn’t see it affect him that much. I’d still like to see him bulk up into the 180s but he only missed 1 game in 3 years with injury and had three seasons with +40 tackles (elite production for a CB) so I think it’ll be overrated. He’s long, fast, and projects as a special ballhawk so I’m not overthinking him and will give him a high grade. Everyone will have the more fluid Banks ahead of him and I get it as he’s less of a risk but Forbes is arguably the greatest ballhawking CB EVER and he’s also 6 feet tall, fast, and long armed. People will focus too much on his weight and ignore that he looks like this generation’s Richard Sherman in coverage and you don’t just luck into 14 INTs and 6 pick six. His instincts, ability to diagnose plays, and hands are special. He will be a Sherman/Diggs type playmaker and that is what you are seeking in today’s offensive skewed NFL as no defense can shut down everyone, they have to win the turnover battle to be dominant, and Forbes is the guy to help you do that. Mid 1st as my #2 CB 4/22/23.
3. Deonte Banks Maryland 6’0 ⅛ 197 Jr. He ran a 4.35 40 (elite), ‘42 vertical (elite, historic), 11’4 broad (elite, historic), and measured ‘31 ⅜ arms (average). He was a solid player as a true freshman in 2019 (28 tackles, 2 PBUs, 1 INT), only played in 5 games in 2020-Covid (11 tackles, 1 PBU), only played in 2 games in 2021 (6 tackles), and then had his best year in 2022 (38 tackles, 0.5 TFL, 0.5 sacks, 8 PBUs, 1 INT). For an expected first round prospect his lack of production is very worrisome as he barely played 2 years, had 0 FF and only 0.5 TFL his ENTIRE CAREER, and 2 INTs isn’t anything special. Maryland had him as their #1 CB and he played island man most of the time so there is some defense of his poor run defense numbers as his back was turned to the play regularly. He’s going to be a favorite of teams that use press man regularly in their scheme as he’s a natural at it. He has great fluidity and bend to his movements and shows off outstanding hips which allow him to defend horizontally breaking routes. He also has good technique and tons of film in press, something most corners do not have and requires teams to project how they’ll play. With Banks you know he’ll be a good to very good press corner and I’d be surprised if he was anything worse than a high end #2 as he checks all the boxes with size, speed, and hips. I don’t see 4.35 speed on film but he’s at least a 4.4 guy and has good speed, I just wouldn’t say great speed. His hips/fluidity are what really intrigue me as his change of direction is outstanding for a bigger cornerback. Unfortunately I don’t see good ball skills with him and think he’ll be a low INT guy. He very regularly has a technique where he mirrors the WR close to the sideline and doesn’t locate the ball but waits to strip it at the catch point. For college that’s fine but in the NFL it’s faceguarding and I worry he’s going to struggle with the change in technique as I don’t see good ball recognition/ball skills from him. His premier game was 2022 Ohio State vs. Harrison/Ebuka and he passed that test. He allowed 3 catches (including one insane one by Harrison vs. great coverage) but had 1 PBU, 1 deflected pass (almost INT) on a blitz timing his jump very well, and had almost an INT on a deflection (one foot out of bounds, reversed on replay). Overall he looked like he more than belonged vs. those future NFL wideouts. I really like Banks except for his ball skills. He reminds me a little of AJ Terrell with that elite fluidity but is a little thicker than Terrell who came into the NFL pretty thin and also lacks the ball skills. I see Banks as a high ceiling, high floor prospect as he’ll be a starter Day 1, has the potential to be a shutdown #1 corner (though I don’t expect it), and at worst he’ll be a high end #2 CB. He’s getting a lot of buzz and it’s warranted but I’m fading him a bit due to his questionable ball skills and the fact that his elite, historic Combine doesn’t fully translate on film. I really like him but think he’s overrated if he goes in the Top 15 or so like he’s projected to. Anywhere after that makes sense though and part of my fading is just my belief that ball skills are extremely important for DBs and it’s his biggest weakness. Late 1st as my #3 CB 4/21/23.
4. Devon Witherspoon Illinois 5’11 ½ 181 Jr. He didn’t work out at the Combine but measured ‘31 ¼ arms (below average). He was a good corner as a true freshman in 2019 (33 tackles, 2 PBU), improved in 2020 (33 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 FF, 2 INT), had a big year in 2021 (52 tackles, 8 TFL, 1 sack, 9 PBUs), and then had a massive year in 2022 (41 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 14 PBUs, 3 INT). PFF #2 ranked CB in man coverage. Witherspoon is an averaged sized corner who plays much bigger and embraces the physical side of football. He and Julius Brents are the most physical corners in this class and he’s a much more consistent corner than Brents. He’s a great combination of great physicality and good ball skills as he’s very smart when defending the pass and has a lot of PBUs at the catch point. He had 23 PBUs the past two seasons and is going to be a very good coverage guy. I do question how high his INT totals will be though as he played a lot for 4 years but only had 5 INTs (2 seasons with 0 INTs). He’s also a little tighter than I’d like for a corner his size and he has mediocre arm length. His film is better than his tools and the more you watch him the more you like him but I do wonder how high his ceiling is. A common comp for him is Marlon Humphrey and I get it style wise but Marlon was 6’0 197 with 3 career FF in 2 years as a 20 year old prospect while Witherspoon is 5’11 185 with 1 career FF in 4 years as a 22 year old prospect. I love his film but he very well could settle in as a super physical, high end #2 CB and that’d be a very bad outcome if a team spends a Top 10 pick on him. I think people are overrating him a bit on his trash talking and physicality as he’s not an elite athlete, a super big/long corner, or an elite ballhawk. I also worry that he’ll lose confidence at the next level if he tries to trash talk and is beat often early in his career. Everyone loves his mentality now but will it look as good if he’s not a stud? See Eli Apple as a good recent example as no one wants to hear trash talk from a #2 CB. Witherspoon is going to be a good player but I don’t think he’ll be a great one. He lays some amazing hits periodically and I think it’s blown up his stock to unreal levels as he’s never be a superstar cornerback and I think he was helped tremendously by having two NFL caliber safeties behind him. He projects as a high end #2 CB who will impress with his physicality and run support while being good in coverage and a decent ballhawk. I like him but to me he’s pretty overrated if we’re saying he’s anywhere close to Christian Gonzalez who is taller, quicker, longer, faster, more agile, had MORE TACKLES than Witherspoon, has better instincts, and better ball skills. I don’t see them being very close at all. Late 1st as my #4 CB 4/25/23.
5. Clark Phillips III Utah 5’9 184 Jr. He ran a 4.51 40 (below average), ‘33 vertical (bad), and measured ‘29 ⅛ arms (very short, shortest among 39 CBs at the Combine). He was a solid player as a true freshman in Covid shortened 2020 (25 tackles, 2 TFL, 2 PBUs, 1 INT-1 TD in only 5 games), had a great year as a ballhawk in 2021 (62 tackles, 1 TFL, 2 FF, 13 PBUs, 2 INT-1 TD), and an even better 2022 (24 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 sack, 6 PBUs, 6 INTs-2 TDs). His 9 INTs and 4 pick sixes the past three seasons are both elite numbers as are his 19 PBUs the past two years. He’s a legit ballhawk and probably has the best instincts and ball skills of any CB in this class. I know his small frame and poor length make everyone think slot corner but I’d love to see him in an off coverage/zone scheme like Asante Samuel has excelled in with the Chargers. Asante Samuel Jr. was 5’9 185 with 4.52 40 speed and Phillips is 5’9 184 with 4.51 40 speed so identical and Samuel is an outside corner and extremely successful. In a man heavy scheme though slot corner is his ideal fit and you can see his potential in the Ohio State game when he had a few reps vs. Jaxon and was really good (2 PBUs, 1 FF). He’s one of the few people quick enough to stick with a guy like Jaxon and that will make him a lot of money as a slot corner. Clark is quicker than fast and he can be exploited by pure speed as well as by size. He plays with a chip on his shoulder and is very physical but I wish he was a low 4.4 guy and 5’11 so he could get that elite grade. Guys like him I always fall in love with and often times they work out but Amik Robertson, Vernon Hargreaves, and other ballhawks have busted due to poor size so it’s still a risk. Clark seems lower risk than others though as he’s such a consistent playmaker and everyone raves about his film study. He’s a student of the game and will be ready on Day 1 to contribute. He was PFF’s #5 ranked CB in man coverage so the analytics love him. He had a great matchup with Jordan Addison and largely contained him (great coverage on 9 route for INC, not on him for TD catch, good coverage but QB extended the play on +20 yarder on scramble drill). I’m a big believer in drafting ball skills in DBs and Phillips is the best ballhawk in this year’s draft. He’s undersized and isn’t the fastest but his quickness, instincts, toughness, and ball skills are all elite and I expect him to continue his ballhawking ways in the NFL. Late 1st as my #5 CB who I love but can’t go higher than here due to physical limitations 4/19/23.
6. Joey Porter Jr. Penn State 6’2 ½ 193 Jr. He ran a 4.46 40 (good), ‘35 vertical (average), 10’9 broad (very good), and measured ‘34 arms (elite, historic level) with ‘10 hands (huge). Press teams will love Porter with his top 1% arm length and huge hands. He’s the son of Joey Porter the OLB for the Steelers known for his physicality and aggressiveness. He barely played in 2019 (3 tackles), had a solid year in 2020 (33 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 sack, 4 PBUs), improved in 2021 (51 tackles, 1 FF, 4 PBUs, 1 INT), and then a down year in 2022 (27 tackles, 11 PBUs). Porter is an interesting prospect as some will see a huge corner with perfect tools to be a press corner and elite physicality who plays CB like a safety would while others will see terrible ball skills, 1 INT in 3 years of heavy playing, and a long legged style that will make him susceptible to quickness. He’s all arms and legs and has a very unproportional body which I dislike lower body wise. In the 2022 Ohio State game he had a lot of coverage on Marvin Harrison Jr. and was very solid overall. He gave up 3 for 3 in passing (2 +15 yarders) but he clearly limited the opportunities with his size and ability to shield him to the sidelines. It was a good game overall but Harrison is the kind of guy he’ll be good against as I have no doubts that he’ll excel against the bigger X wideout. In the 2021 Ohio State game he went up against a quicker wideout in Garrett Wilson and wasn’t as good as he allowed 4 for 6 in passing and had a personal foul and had a PI. His one PBU was in the red zone when the field was compacted and his size played to his strengths. It looked like he really had trouble with Wilson’s quickness and routes and he didn’t look good in that game. Porter is a tough evaluation as he’s going to be great in some matchups but struggle in others. He’ll need to go to a press scheme that can help him against quicker wideouts and he’ll then reward the team by being a dominant island corner in more advantageous matchups. Yet in all of his games I scouted he didn’t dominate and leaves a lot to be desired production wise. In the 2022 Purdue game he allowed 9 for 17 including a would be INT he dropped and a PI (should have been 2 PIs). He also easily was blocked for a rushing TD right past him. The entire time I was thinking “he has all the tools but he’s doing nothing with them.” I was also surprised how many times a “top CB” was targeted as they went after him and they had a good amount of success. He doesn’t show good instincts and doesn’t diagnose routes. He’s also not very quick and when a wideout crosses his face he struggles a lot. When he can get his hands on a wideout and keep them to the sideline, he has good technique and is a good corner but quicker guys will eat him alive. He’s a very confident corner and is a trash talker. I see the tools with him and like the confidence as well as how experienced he is against high end talent but he has below average quickness, is long legged, has bad hands and projects as a low INT guy at the next level, and his speed is average at best. I think he’s more of a #2 CB than a #1 and is a bit overrated by the scouting community but guys with his poor ball skills will never be my favorites. He and Brents are very similar guys talent and style wise in my opinion whereas the consensus is Porter is a level or two above Brents. Early 2nd round as my #6 CB 4/24/23.
7. Julius Brents Kansas State 6’2 ¾ 198 Sr. He ran a 4.53 40 (bad), ‘41 ½ vertical (elite), 11’6 broad (elite, best among 39 CBs at the Combine), and measured ‘34 arms (elite, longest arms of the 39 CBs). So the Combine verified what we saw on tape that he’s a big, long, and explosive but not fast cornerback. He’s 5 years out of HS so he’s an older prospect (23 years old before the draft). He was a bit player in 2018 at Iowa (13 tackles, 3 PBUs, 1 INT), didn’t play in 2019, barely played in 2020 (4 tackles, 1 PBU), transferred to Kansas State and had a good year in 2021 (49 tackles, 3 TFL, 2 PBU, 1 INT), and then his best year in 2022 (45 tackles, 3.5 TFL, 1 FF, 4 PBUs, 4 INT). Brents is a tall, insanely long armed corner that reminds me of Caleb Farley a few years ago out of Virginia Tech (make sure you google Caleb Farley not Caleb Fairley or you’ll find out about a murderer by that name). There just aren’t that many corners with ‘34 arms, let alone who have good athleticism and bend as well so press teams will be salivating for him as he’s an ideal fit for their scheme. He’s a little thinner than Farley but doesn’t come with the injury history and Brents is also a little quicker and more agile. I’m a huge fan of his film as he’s not just big but he’s very physical and is one of the best run stoppers in this CB class. On a play vs. TCU he took on a pulling guard head on in a massive collision to ruin the run play. It was borderline reckless on his end but shows his heart and his strength to battle a charging 300 pounder. He’s pretty handsy but he does it in a smart way and really grabs onto wideouts within 5-10 yards. They are borderline illegal contacts but usually you get away with them and would just be a 5 yard variety. I like it as it lets him set a physical tone but in a smart way. His big matchup was vs. TCU in 2022 when he matched up against Quentin Johnston. It was an ideal matchup for both as it was strength on strength with Johnston being the premier big WR in this class and Brents being the longest, best big corner. Right off the bat Johnston one a 9 route for 53 yards against Brent who was slightly beat with speed but more couldn’t find the ball in the air. He later was beat for +25 yards on a missed coverage (he switched with inside receiver but teammate didn’t switch, got a FF on trailing tackle though), beat later for another +50 yarder (post) and this one was the most wide open, had PI on jump ball in end zone (never looked for ball), but then came back and made up for it with great coverage and INT on fade route 3 plays later. Later he had another PI on a 9 route (he was beat on but again didn’t locate the ball in the air), almost an amazing INT when he left Johnston on a post route to track a ball to another wideout for a near highlight reel leaping INT over his head, and finally he was slightly beat on a post for another almost +50 yard gain but stripped Johnston at catch point for PBU. As you can see from the summary it was a wild game with a lot of plays made by both players but overall I have to give the win to Johnston who consistently got open deep vs. Brents. Brents was super close to getting 2 INTs and 1 FF in the game so it shows he’s a playmaker but there are better athletes than Johnston he’ll be facing and I took away from the game that Brents doesn’t have great deep speed so he’ll need safety help over the top and Brents too regularly can’t find the ball in the air to make a play on it. The last red flag is the most worrisome as Brents has the size, length, and physicality to be a good press corner but I don’t see great ball skills and think he’ll be a low to mid INT total corner. Add in the need to have safety help on speedy guys and the fact that he’s an older prospect (23) and it dropped him out of the 1st round mix for me. I still really like Brents and think he’ll be a quality starter but he’s a little less athletic than Farley and is more of a high end #2 CB for me which is 2nd round tier. He’s right at the top of that next tier though as at one point I was considering mid to late 1st with him as his tools are very impressive. Early 2nd round as my #7 CB 4/23/23.
8. Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson TCU 5’8 178 Jr. He ran a 4.41 40 (great), ‘39 vertical (elite), 11’0 broad (elite), and measured ‘29 arms (extremely short, shortest arms of any of the 39 CBs at the Combine). He barely played in 2019 (8 tackles), had a crazy year in 2020 with no INTs but an insane number of PBUs (26 tackles, 13 PBUs), had a good year in 2021 (42 tackles, 2 TFL, 2 FF, 7 PBUs, 2 INT-1 TD), and then another good year in 2022 (50 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 FF, 15 PBUs, 3 INTs). He’s the nephew of Ladanian Tomlinson. I’m not sure I’ve ever scouted a guy with two seasons of +13 PBUs and his 3 year total of 35 PBUs has to be a record. It’s funny scouting Tre’Vius and Clark Phillips as both are 5’8-5’9 180-185 but they are vastly different on film. Clark is a cerebral, quicker than fast ballhawk who is super polished while Tre’Vius is the little boy from The Incredibles “Jack” who is just starting to test out his super speed. Tre’Vius runs around like a maniac, is undisciplined, is constantly grabbing guys for borderline PIs, and gets away with a ton of bad play because he’s such an amazing athlete. Both are intriguing but Tre’Vius definitely has a bigger bust potential due to his raw, undisciplined play. He’s a special athlete though and his feet are so quick that it reminds me of Greg Newsome a few years back with that insane agility. PacMan Jones and Denzel Ward are other reasonable comps as there just aren’t many guys with his speed, quickness, and agility. Clark is more of a zone, ballhawk guy whereas Tre’Vius will be ideal for heavy man schemes as he can be in a wideouts hip pocket all game long. Tre’Vius was a 3x 1st Team Big 12 but he was inconsistent for me on tape. He has elite athleticism but was attacked a lot, reason why his PBUs were so crazy as most good corners aren’t tested that much. He also had a number of penalties called on him and far more not called which could, maybe should, have been called. PacMan also had a lot of penalties in the pros and was an inconsistent player despite his elite athleticism so I think it’s a decent comp for him. There is a lot to like with his athleticism, toughness, and ball skills but he was exploited far more than Clark Phillip was and his ideal fit as a man coverage corner on the outside will accentuate his lack of size as lots of teams will throw back shoulder fades and jump balls against him. He’ll win his share but will probably be picked on and will have a lot of penalties. In the end I have to fade him a bit due to his inconsistent play and penchant for grabbing but I don’t think the talent between him and Top 5 pick Denzel Ward is all that much. He’s a bit of a roll the dice type but he has a very high ceiling. Early 2nd round as my #8 CB 4/19/23.
9. Eli Ricks Alabama 6’2 188 Jr. He didn’t work out at the Combine but measured ‘32 ⅜ arms (long). He was a quality corner for LSU in 2020 (20 tackles, 0.5 TFL, 5 PBUs, 4 INTs-2 TDs), only played in 6 games in 2021 (11 tackles, 0.5 TFL, 1 PBU, 1 INT), and then transferred to Alabama in 2022 and was a disappointment (13 tackles, 1 TFL, 4 PBUs). His career is going the wrong way after a great 2020 season in which he was an All-American. He transferred to Alabama from arch rival LSU simply because he wanted to, a red flag IMO, and he’s a very brash conceited kid so coachability will be a question mark with him. Without question though he has great ball skills and is an NFL athlete. He needs to gain weight and become more physical as he’s a little soft in coverage and a weak tackler but he has great hands, ball skills, and instincts with his ability to diagnose routes being very impressive. With his instincts and ball skills zone would fit as he reads routes and the QB’s eyes very well but press is probably his best scheme due to his height and arm length. If he can gain another 10-12 lbs and be 6’2 200 with ‘32 ½ arms he’d be impressive and I think it’s a likely outcome. He doesn’t bend very well, is long legged, and lacks great hips but he’s so smart at reading wideouts that I am not as worried about it as I’d be with other guys. He matches up best with bigger wideouts as quickness probably will get him in trouble at times but overall I see #2 CB with Ricks and suspect he’ll be a bit of a steal as he might drop on draft day. At Alabama he played more robotically and you can tell he was working on his technique. That could be a reason why his stats were underwhelming but he still had very good coverage on the film I watched. Overall I see Ricks as a prospect that should be a quality #2 CB for a team. He has a great mix of size, length, ball skills, instincts, and route recognition which make him versatile scheme wise. He isn’t an elite athlete and isn’t the most fluid player so he doesn’t have a high ceiling but he’s long, has ball skills, and is confident so I still expect solid starter with him. Mid 2nd round as my #9 CB 4/19/23.
10. Kyu Blu Kelly Stanford 6’0 191 Jr. He ran a 4.52 40 (below average), ‘36 vertical (average), 10’11 broad (very good), and had ‘32 arms (above average). He was productive as a true freshman in 2019 (35 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 1 sack, 5 PBUs, 1 INT), had a quiet year but only played 5 games in Covid 2020 (20 tackles, 1 PBU), had his best year in 2021 (59 tackles, 1 FF, 10 PBUs, 2 INT-1 TD), and a down year in 2022 (35 tackles, 6 PBUs). It’s worrisome that he only had 3 career INTs in 4 years of heavy playing. On film Kyu is a tall, angular corner who has a nice frame but questionable quickness. Despite his limited INTs he actually has good ball skills and shows good hands. He also has long arms and good technique so I expect a number of teams to be interested in him as he can play press but also shows good instincts in off coverage. Unfortunately he’s somewhat stiff and doesn’t have good lateral agility so he struggles on horizontally breaking routes and would be susceptible on routes that require change of direction. I initially thought press scheme with his longer arms but he’s not very strong and is weak for a guy with his frame. He needs to add muscle as he struggles to make tackles and to get off blocks. Put on the 2021 Arizona State game and he’s run against constantly and with easy success. He lacks both strength and toughness as there was a good amount of give up on runs at him. Put on the 2022 USC game and he not only was beat by Jordan Addison on a post but couldn’t make the tackle and gave him 30 yards of YAC on the 75 yard TD. His coverage is pretty good and you could tell that opponents weren’t too interested in attacking him through the air, especially since his teammates were mediocre and there were weaker spots to attack. Yet as a run defender and overall tackler he’s flat out bad and I worry he’ll be exploited a lot. In pass coverage he lacks the pure speed or hips to be great in man coverage and his zone skills (instincts, hands) are good but not great. Also zone corners are expected to be quality run defenders so he’ll be bad in that area too. I went back and forth with him between mid 3rd-early 4th but I gave him a higher grade in the end because his coverage is very good. He’s a poor run defender but the primary skill for CBs is pass coverage and he’s got good technique, has a very nice awareness of what the offense is trying to do, and has good ball skills. Overall I see the potential in Kyu with a good frame, long arms, good instincts, and ball skills but he’s a developmental guy as he needs to get stronger and more physical. If someone can coach him up he could be a good #2 CB but he has a high potential bust rate due to his atrocious tackling. Mid 3rd round as my #10 CB 4/19/23.
11. Cam Smith South Carolina 6’0 ¾ 180 Jr. He ran a 4.43 40 (good), ‘38 vertical (very good), and measured ‘31 ⅝ arms (average). He barely played in 2019 (7 tackles), made some plays in 2020 (16 tackles, 2 PBU, 2 INT), had his best year in 2021 (41 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 1 FF, 11 PBUs, 3 INTs), and then a down year but still solid in 2022 (27 tackles, 1 TFL, 5 PBUs, 1 INT). He was considered their best CB last year but at times I felt he and Darius Rush were pretty comparable. He’s a tall, skinny corner who has good athleticism but is pretty tight. He does flash good ball skills and has impressive instincts with his 6 INTs in 3 seasons being good production. South Carolina moved him around a bit and he was a solid blitzer for them as well as a cover guy. He has decent length but his best fit will be as an off the ball defender as he really reads things in front of him well and his best film is when he’s jumping routes or racing to make a tackle. I like his film but dislike his movement skills so he’ll need to go to the right scheme as I don’t think he’ll be good in press but could be a very good CB in zone or off man. He has really good hands and is a natural with the ball in the air. He isn’t super fast and at times he’s a weak run defender. He missed 2 games each of the past two years and needs to add weight to his skinny frame. Smith’s best film was in 2021. If he had built on that year he’d probably be a 2nd round corner but there are starter traits with Smith and it’s hard to find guys with his height, speed, and ball skills so I could see him being a good #2 CB with decent INT totals if things pan out for him. It’s always risky to take guys off down years but if he can add a little weight and go to a zone team or off coverage team I think he’ll be a good starter. Mid 3rd as my #11 CB 4/21/23.
12. Jakorian Bennett Maryland 5’10 ⅝ 188 Sr. He ran a 4.30 40 (elite, borderline historic), ‘40 ½ vertical (elite), 11’1 broad (elite), and measured ‘31 ⅞ arms (above average, especially for sub 5’11). He barely played in 2020 (6 tackles, 1 TFL, 2 PBUs), had a good year in 2021 (24 tackles, 2 TFL, 13 PBUs, 3 INTs), and another good year in 2022 (39 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 10 PBUs, 2 INTs). His 23 PBUs and 5 INTs the past two seasons is elite production and shows his ballhawk skills. He was thrown at a lot as the #2 corner across from Deonte Banks but he held up well. He doesn’t play nearly as fast as his 4.30 40 would indicate but he has good athleticism (probably more of a 4.45 guy so not very close to his measurables) and just enough size to stay outside at corner, especially with above average arm length. He isn’t a great tackler and had a tough game vs. Michigan in 2022 with a number of missed tackles or ones he had to hold the guy up till teammates helped him tackle the ball carrier. He also doesn’t play much press as they had Banks play press regularly but Bennett usually was in off coverage. He isn’t a fluid player like Banks either and is a little stiff and long legged. He had a tough assignment vs. Ohio State in 2022 but was solid, very regularly matching up against Marvin Harrison Jr. Bennett has good film and while he doesn’t display the elite speed his Combine numbers insinuate, he is a good athlete with good length and agility so I see low end #2 CB with him. He had 5 INTs the past two years but I don’t really see great ball skills with him and think it’s more due to playing opposite of Banks. Mid 3rd round as my #12 CB 4/19/23.
13. Tyrique Stevenson Miami 6’0 198 Sr. He ran a 4.45 40 (solid), ‘38 ½ vertical (very good), and 10’5 broad (average), and measured ‘32 ⅝ arms (long). He was a bit player as a true freshman in 2019 (13 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 sack, 5 PBUs), had a bigger role in 2020 (34 tackles, 1 TFL, 5 PBUs), made his first splash play in 2021 (43 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 0.5 sack, 4 PBUs, 1 INT), and had his best year in 2022 (25 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 7 PBUs, 2 INT). It’s a big red flag he had 0 INTs his first two seasons and only 3 INTs, 0 FF in 4 seasons of heavy playing. He’s a big corner that looks and plays bigger than 6’0 and his arm length and overall physicality is perfect for a press scheme. He definitely has that aggressive mentality press teams want and Miami gave him plenty of reps in man so he’s an easy evaluation for those teams. He is long legged, is a little tight, and isn’t the quickest CB but with his size, length, and physicality I think he’ll be a starter for someone in a press scheme. He reminds me a bit of Alontae Taylor as that long corner but Stevenson has better fluidity and overall film than Taylor who still was a solid player year 1 for the Saints. Stevenson does not have clean film though and gives up some plays. In the 2022 NC game he blew a coverage with his safety for an easy TD (unsure who was to blame) and then gave a +60 yard almost TD on a post. He’s a good athlete but not a great one and he needs to get his hands on wideouts to be effective. His best fit will be in a press scheme with safety help over the top and in that role I think he’ll be a good starter but he’s not scheme diverse as he lacks the instincts to be a good zone corner and probably lacks the pure athleticism to hold up on island man coverage. He doesn’t have great ball skills and shows mediocre hands so I expect him to be a high PBU, low INT guy at the next level. Overall I like Stevenson as he’s a big corner who plays like it and shows great length, physicality, and an aggressive mentality that will make him an ideal fit for press. He isn’t a great athlete and lacks special ball skills or instincts but he should be a low end #2 CB in a press scheme if given safety help. Late 3rd round as my #13 CB 4/23/23.
14. Cory Trice Jr. Purdue 6’3 ⅜ 206 Jr. He ran a 4.47 40 (good, great for a big corner), ‘35 ½ vertical (average), 11’0 broad (very good), and measured ‘32 ⅜ arms (long). He’s a 5th year player so he’s an older prospect but still 22 as of draft day. He barely played in 2018 (1 tackle), had a good year in 2019 (35 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 PBU, 3 INTs-1 TD), had no splash plays in 2020 (31 tackles, 1 TFL, 2 PBUs), barely played again in 2021 (4 tackles in 2 games), and then had a good year in 2022 (34 tackles, 2 TFL, 10 PBUs, 2 INT-1 TD). He has the frame and moves more like a SS than CB. Purdue made him a big press corner and he held up relatively well in college. He knows his strengths and plays to them as he’s very physical and grabby and talks a lot to opponents. He was their boundary corner, a telling sign as it means they wanted less ground for him to cover. He looks like the kind of kid Seattle would draft in the 5th round and make a sneaky good #2 CB. His tape is tough to grade as he pressed some but they often played Cover 3 or had a 3 safety look and he was regularly dropping into zone. His frame says safety to me but I was pleasantly surprised by how quick and agile he was for a big corner. He’s a fluid athlete and he’s clearly a CB to me. He’ll have his suitors due to his elite size and very good arm length and I think he’ll have a chance to be a starting #2 CB. He’s just a very tough evaluation due to the scheme as his CB spot was almost like another safety in how they played him and I didn’t have a ton of film of him in man coverage. Overall he’s a big corner with great measurables at the Combine, long arms, had 5 INTs in his 3 years of playing (2 of his 5 years he barely played), and shows good fluidity. He’s a developmental guy due to the scheme but he might surprise as a long time starter as I love the frame and athleticism. Late 3rd round as my #14 CB 4/19/23.
15. DJ Turner Michigan 5’11 ¼ 178 Jr. He ran a 4.26 40 (elite, historic), ‘38 ½ vertical (very good), 10’11 broad (very good), and measured ‘30 ¾ arms (short). He was a big time recruit but didn’t play in 2019, was only on special teams in 2020, and then finally made an impact in 2021 (33 tackles, 1 TFL, 7 PBUs, 2 INT-1 TD), with his best year in 2022 (36 tackles, 1 TFL, 10 PBUs, 1 INT). DJ is a very athletic corner who is rail thin and lacks NFL strength so it’ll be important that he gain weight quickly. He’s more athlete than player at this point and he has some great highlights but is a very inconsistent player. He doesn’t have good technique and is regularly in poor position. His ball skills though are good and he has outstanding hands so there’s definitely a possibility that he’s going to be a quality starter down the road if given time. If a team can be patient with him and bulk him up and improve his technique he has starter tools but I suspect he’ll have some tough moments as a rookie. His tape is very enticing though as he’s undersized but throws his body around on tackles, he has good instincts (regularly breaks off his man to make a play on the ball elsewhere), and he’s a very twitchy athlete. Overall though his film is lacking and I can’t tell why he isn’t a better player. He played numerous different coverages for Michigan but he very often was way off his man and gave up easy completions. I guess they were worried about him being in press due to his size but the coverage often gave him no chance to make a play on the ball and was very soft. He also isn’t a good tackler and it’s worrisome that he’s so skinny. He’s probably only a nickel corner to start his career but if he ever moves to outside he’ll need to be 185 at minimum. Also his career is very odd in that he’s always been an elite athlete (top recruit too) yet couldn’t get on the field till his junior year. It’s a red flag, as is his skinny frame, as is his poor technique, as is his penchant for giving up easy completions. There are a lot of red flags with him but he has great athleticism and I really do like his ball skills so I’d roll the dice on him as a mid round developmental guy. He probably goes earlier due to those Combine numbers but anyone putting him in a big role as a rookie will regret it as he needs time to mature, both body and overall game wise. Late 3rd round as my #15 CB 4/21/23.
16. Darius Rush South Carolina 6’2 198 Sr. He ran a 4.36 40 (elite), ‘35 vertical (average), 10’1 broad (average), and measured ‘33 ⅜ arms (extremely long, longest of any of the 39 CBs at the Combine). He redshirted in 2018, barely played in 2019 (3 tackles), was a bit player in 8 games in 2020 (8 tackles), had a solid year in 2021 (25 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 sack, 8 PBUs, 1 INT), and then his best year in 2022 (38 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 FF, 7 PBUs, 2 INT). He’s 5 years out of HS and already 23 before the draft so he’s an older prospect. Darius had a great Senior Bowl and really did well on the 1×1 portion. His 4.36 time doesn’t fully translate to the field (probably high 4.4/low 4.5 so a pretty big difference) but his ‘33 ⅜ arms do and he’s a big, long corner who fits well in a press scheme. On film he didn’t wow me with his quickness and agility but in 1×1 drills he looked fluid so I was a little surprised the difference between the Senior Bowl and South Carolina games. I think the difference is that at South Carolina he usually was in off coverage and at the Senior Bowl he was allowed to play up in a guy’s face in press. Press is obviously his best fit so it’s telling that he had decent tape despite being in a system not ideal for him. He’s a long legged corner so I don’t love his style and he’s an older prospect but I see some intriguing tools with him and consider him a late bloomer. His arm length is elite, his potential in press is very intriguing, he played in a poor scheme for him but still was solid, and he shows good physicality and athleticism. I have no idea how he ran a 4.36 40 but even at 4.50 with those long arms he’s worth a look for press teams. He was their team’s #2 or even #3 CB but I think he’s a late bloomer who could surprise as a solid #2 CB in a press scheme. Early 4th round as my #16 CB 4/22/23.
17. Riley Moss Iowa 6’0 ⅝ 193 Sr. 6’0 ⅝ 193 Sr. He ran 4.45 40 (good), ‘39 vertical (elite), 10’7 broad (average), and measured ‘30 arms (very short, especially for almost a 6’1 frame). He’s 5 years out of HS so he’s an older prospect at 23 years old. He was an impact player as a true freshman in 2018 (24 tackles, 3 PBUs, 2 INTs), had an extremely odd stat line in 2019 (5 tackles, 3 PBUs, 2 INTs), a good year in 2020 (43 tackles, 0.5 TFL, 4 PBUs, 2 INT-1 TD), improved in 2021 (39 tackles, 3 TFL, 5 PBUs, 4 INT-2 TD), and then another solid year but fewer INTs in 2022 (47 tackles, 1 TFL, 2 FF, 11 PBUs, 1 INT). His 11 career INTs (albeit in 5 years) is outstanding production as is his 3 pick six. He’s a white guy trying to play CB in the NFL. Let’s be honest here, it might not happen. I can’t think of a white corner currently in the NFL and can’t remember a good one since Jason Sehorn 20 years ago. Yet he has a good frame, albeit with short arms, and he is very explosive. He isn’t super quick or fluid, he’s a little tight and doesn’t bend incredibly well, but he has good film and really looks good in off coverage. Despite being 6’0, his short arms would probably preclude him from being in a press scheme anyway but whether in off coverage man or in zone I think he might work at CB. His pick vs. Penn State where he caught the ball over his head fully extended like Willie Mays in centerfield makes me think FS though is his best fit. It’d continue the long line of CBs from Iowa with great instincts and ball skills who move to safety and that might be the best fit for him. Unfortunately guys taking that route like Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer were much more physical against the run and Riley isn’t in that mold. He’s 6 foot with decent weight but he plays smaller and isn’t always a great tackler. CB in a zone scheme would make him a little less risky as a tackler but whether outside CB in a zone scheme, inside slot CB in a man scheme, or FS in either scheme he’ll need help at times. He’s an NFL caliber athlete but he isn’t a star athlete and he looks to me to be more of a #5 DB than a true starter. I think Riley sticks and will be talked about due to his skin color but he’s more of that #3 CB in a zone scheme who will make plays with his instincts but will also give up a decent amount too. He’s a low ceiling prospect and low end #2 CB in a zone scheme is the best one could hope for and I think #3 CB or #3 S is more probable. Mid 4th round as my # CB 4/19/23.
18. Jaylon Jones Texas A&M 6’2 200 Jr. He ran a 4.57 40 (bad), ‘38 vertical (good), and measured ‘30 ¾ arms (short for a CB but extremely short for a 6’2 corner). He lost a lot of money measuring sub ‘31 arms as I knew he wasn’t a great athlete but now he’s not even a long armed big corner. He was a good true freshman in 2020 (30 tackles, 1 TFL, 6 PBUs, 1 INT), had a better year in 2021 (35 tackles, 1 TFL, 6 PBUs, 2 INT), and then a down year in 2022 (33 tackles, 2 PBUs). He’s always been on my radar as his frame is very NFL caliber but he never quite developed like I hoped he would and, while his frame is ideal for press, he’s a poor version of this type of prospect due to poor speed, poor arm length, and mediocre ball skills. His saving grace is that he’s a very physical player and does seem to be good with the ball in the air. He goes for the PBU vs. INT so he won’t be a high INT guy in the NFL but he’s comfortable locating the ball in the air and making a play on it. He’s also very fluid and bends well so his backpedal is very good, especially for a bigger corner. There are definitely positives with him but short arms, slower long speed, and lacking elite ball skills all make me think he’ll be a #3 or #4 corner in the NFL. I think he will stick on a roster due to his good film in man coverage as he’s a fluid athlete, is physical, and is comfortable with the ball in the air but he just lacks the tool set you want for a starter. Late 4th round as my # CB who I see more as a backup than starter due to questionable tools 4/23/23.

2023 S Rankings

Sep 17, 2022; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide defensive back Brian Branch (14) returns a punt for a touchdown against the UL Monroe Warhawks at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Alabama won 63-7. Mandatory Credit: Gary Cosby Jr.-USA TODAY Sports

1. Brian Branch Alabama 5’11 ⅝ 190 Jr. He ran a 4.58 40 (bad), ‘34 ½ vertical (average), 10’5 broad (above average), and measured ‘30 ¾ arms (short) with ‘9 ½ hands (average). He was an impact true freshman in 2020 (27 tackles, 0.5 TFL, 7 PBUs, 2 INTs), had a solid year but no splash plays in 2021 (55 tackles, 5 TFL, 1 sack, 9 PBUs), and then his best year in 2022 (90 tackles, 14 TFL, 3 sacks, 7 PBUs, 2 INT). Brian has been on my radar for years as everytime I watch Alabama I’m interested in this slot corner/safety who is very small but is always in the right spot. He’s been PFF’s #1 rated safety the past two years. He feels like a mix of Minkah Fitzpatrick, as a guy that can cover anyone, and Tyrann Mathieu who is versatile and can make an impact all over the field. I completely understand the analytics of not drafting an undersized safety with mediocre athleticism in the first round but he’s one of the safest prospects in this draft and his versatility that he can play slot corner, outside corner (especially in a zone scheme), FS, SS, or nickel linebacker makes me think he might be worth the overpay. I’d have no issues at all with playing him as an outside corner in a zone heavy scheme like Asante Samuel Jr. has done with the Chargers. His route recognition and playmaking skills would make him a ballhawk at CB in zone. Slot corner/FS is where most teams will play him though as he has elite fluidity and change of direction and will be a great fit against quick slot receivers. Despite his smaller frame, he’s actually a very good blitzer and a smart team using him in the slot will zone blitz him regularly as he’s extremely effective. Alabama sort of figured that out in 2022 and it shows as he basically tripled his TFL and sack totals from the previous year. I love undersized dynamic DBs like him (Buddha, Mathieu, Pitre, Moulden) so it’s no surprise I love Branch but his pure coverage is what sets him apart from those guys. All were physical and versatile playmakers but Branch can also completely lock down guys in coverage, something some of them struggled with at times. He’s the only I’d be completely comfortable with on an island in man coverage, zone would still be his best scheme fit as an outside corner, due to his elite change of direction. Overall Branch is a stud safety as he has the versatility to play anywhere in a secondary, is extremely physical against the run and as a rusher, and he also offers rare lockdown coverage. In a very poor safety class, he’s clearly the #1 safety and I give him a mid 1st grade despite his smaller size as I think he’s going to be a big time playmaker for someone and offers better cover skills than other undersized DBs of recent vintage, almost all of whom became Pro Bowlers I might add 4/13/23.
2. Sydney Brown Illinois 5’9 ¾ 211 Sr. He ran a 4.47 40 (elite), ‘40 ½ vertical (elite), 10’10 broad (elite), and measured ‘31 ½ arms (average) with ‘10 ¼ hands (huge). His 10 inch hands at sub 5’10 is absolutely ridiculous as many 6’5 300 lb OTs don’t have 10 inch hands. He’s an older prospect (23 years old) as he’s 5 years out of HS. He was an impact player as a true freshman in 2018 (55 tackles, 2 TFL, 5 PBUs, 1 INT), improved in 2019 (88 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 1 PBU, 3 INTs), had a down year in 2020 but only played in 6 games in the Covid season (36 tackles, 0.5 TFL, 1 FF), was back to normal in 2021 (81 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 1 sack, 2 FF, 3 PBUs), and had his best season as a ballhawk in 2022 (59 tackles, 3.5 TFL, 1 sack, 1 FF, 6 INT-1 TD, 7 PBUs). Sydney is a very short, very stocky guy with elite explosiveness. He’s a very thick DB so initially you think SS but he’s so fast and explosive that I think FS is probably his better fit. He’s the leader of that defense and has been a good player for Illinois for 4 years but stepped it up to a new level in 2022 as a playmaker with 6 INTs and 1 FF after only 4 INTs and 4 INTs in the prior 4 seasons combined. It’s surprising he didn’t have more INTs earlier in his career as he’s a natural playmaker and I really like his instincts. I also love his agility for such a thick guy, usually they are too muscular and are tight, as his change of direction is impressive. It allows him to be a very good man coverage guy and you can see his best film in the 2022 Iowa game as he locked down Sam LaPorta numerous times. At sub 5’10 he’ll be exploited by taller TEs who excel with the box out but smaller TEs who win with speed or routes like LaPorta (Ertz, Pitts, Engram, etc.) will be a great matchup for him. I see high end FS with Brown and think he’ll be in that Jalen Pitre/Antoine Winfield mold as the smaller FS almost CB type with elite athleticism and playmaking skills. Brown is one of my favorite players in this draft as he checks all the boxes (stats, film, Combine numbers) and appears to be one of the safest players in this draft. Someone is going to get a high end starting safety with elite athleticism and very good playmaking skills. Early 2nd round as my #2 S 4/12/23.
3. Ji’Ayir Brown Penn State 5’11 ⅜ 203 Sr. He ran a 4.65 40 (bad), ‘32 ½ vertical (bad), 9’11 broad (below average), and measured ‘31 ¼ arms (average) with ‘10 ⅛ hands (big). He didn’t play in 2019, barely played in 2020 (6 tackles), had a huge first season in 2021 as a playmaker (74 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 FF, 5 PBUs, 6 INTs-1 TD), and then another big year in 2022 (75 tackles, 7 TFL, 4.5 sacks, 2 FF, 3 PBUs, 4 INTs). His 10 INTs the past two seasons is elite production. His Combine was very bad so he’ll drop on draft day and that sets him up to be a possible steal as he has great film as a do everything SS type. In fact some of his best film is as a pass rusher as he is fast and physical against OTs and his 4.5 sacks were not flukey at all. On one rush he juked the RT so bad he fell down (broke his ankles on the crossover) for a very quick sack. On another sack he was a late blitzer and juked the RB so bad he didn’t even lay a hand on him. In coverage he’s a pure zone guy as all of his INTs that I saw came with him being in a zone reacting to the QB in front of him. He has very good instincts and will be good in this role but he doesn’t show the speed or hips to play man so he’s scheme dependent. Zone teams should look his way though as his 10 INTs largely weren’t flukey either (two were thrown terribly right to him but most were him being the over the top help for a CB and making a nice play on the ball). He’s also good against the run and shows very good speed going downhill. He closes on the ball carrier about as well as any safety in this class and is a sure handed tackler. Give me a slower SS type with great instincts in coverage, great film as a sure tackler in space, and with a knack for being a high end pass rusher. That well rounded game should be easy to scheme around as you basically can let him do everything but play man coverage. Overall I think Brown is a highly underrated prospect who should be an early starter. He’ll drop on draft day due to his poor Combine, his lack of scheme versatility, and the fact that he’s only a SS but he’s a well rounded SS that can rush, be a playmaker in zone schemes, and will be a high end run stopper so he is setting up to be a steal for someone in the mid rounds. Late 2nd round as my #3 S 4/12/23 who will probably go later than this and be a steal 4/12/23.
4. Jartavius Martin Illinois 5’11 194 Sr. He ran a 4.46 40 (elite), ‘44 vertical (elite-historic), 11’1 broad (elite-historic), and measured ‘31 ⅛ arms (below average) with ‘9 ¼ hands (average). He’s only 22 years old still but is 5 years out of HS. He was a quality player as a true freshman in 2018 (42 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 3 INT, 3 PBU), had a down year in 2019 (23 tackles, 2 TFL), improved in 2020-only 8 games (38 tackles, 1 FF, 2 PBU), had a good year in 2021 (55 tackles, 3.5 TFL, 1 FF, 1 INT, 7 PBUs), and a similar year in 2022 (64 tackles, 3 TFL, 1 sack, 2 FF, 3 INT, 11 PBUs). The kid had a Top 10 pick type Combine performance and his stats are good and well rounded but aren’t quite up to those elite measurables. He has good hands and makes the pick when he can but he isn’t a true ballhawk. He lacks the instincts and most of his picks were just catching a ball thrown in his area. What he does extremely well though is play multiple positions as Illinois had him at CF, slot CB, outside CB, and even nickel LB at times. He’s very fast for a safety and very physical for a corner. They had him as a slot corner regularly and I’d be okay with that in a scheme where your FS is also your slot corner but I strongly prefer him as a safety over a corner. He has speed and explosiveness but his best film is around the box or reacting to a ball in front of him. In his backpedal he’s late to turn his head to the ball and isn’t a natural playmaker when the ball is in the air so I don’t think CB is great for him despite Illinois giving him a lot of tape in that role. I really like his film as a run stopper as his speed and physicality really show up. He has terrible technique as a tackler though and just pops guys, no wrapping up at all at times, so he’ll need to be coached up but I like his film enough that I’d be okay with him as a SS if a team preferred. FS is probably his best fit and I’d be intrigued with him getting some 1×1 action covering TEs as it could unlock a lot of value for him. He gives off poor man’s Dax Hill vibes, a 1st round pick of the Bengals last year, but isn’t nearly the smooth athlete Dax was. Martin is more choppy but has similar explosiveness and I could see a team grab him in the late 1st due to his Combine numbers. I think that’d be a mistake though as none of his film makes me think ballhawk with Martin. He’ll be a very good starter with great versatility but I don’t see the smooth bend/agility to be a star cover guy or the instincts to be a ballhawk so good starter not playmaker will likely be his role. In fact Illinois considered him their #2 safety so I’d be worried if he was drafted too high. Overall I love the speed, explosiveness, and physicality of Jartavius. He doesn’t quite play up to his elite Combine numbers but he still shows off outstanding athleticism and it gives him a well rounded game which will allow him to play SS or FS in almost any scheme. Unfortunately I don’t see the playmaking skills I want in a high round safety prospect so I think he’ll be a good starter and not a playmaker. Early 3rd round as my #4 S 4/10/23.
5. Jordan Battle Alabama 6’1 209 Jr. He ran a 4.55 40 (above average) and measured ‘32 arms (long) with ‘8 ½ hands (small). He was an okay player in 2019 (30 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 sack, 1 PBU, 1 INT), improved in 2020 (66 tackles, 3 TFL, 4 PBUs, 1 INT-1 TD), improved in 2021 (87 tackles, 1 TFL, 3 PBUs, 3 INTs-2 TDs), and then a slightly down year in 2022 (71 tackles, 0.5 TFL, 2 PBUs, 1 INT). He has 3 career pick sixes. Jordan is a tall, physical safety who excels stopping the run but has been a playmaker on the back end as well. He’s similar to most Alabama DBs in that he’s physical but also tightly built with poor fluidity in his movements. He makes up for it though with very good instincts and diagnoses plays very well. He also is in a system that has him almost always moving forward, which is a huge benefit to him. He doesn’t bend well and he’s long legged so I was expecting to not like his film but he’s a very consistent player who has a good combination of skills. I’d prefer him as a SS but he played basically SS for Alabama in 2021 and then moved to FS, a lot of CF work, in 2022 and was comfortable in both roles. He’s not an ideal CF but if a team plays halves or two high he’d be good and if single high he’d be a good SS. His 5 INTs the past two seasons is good but he often went a decent amount of time without action in Alabama’s defense so he made the most of his opportunities. There aren’t many more experienced safeties than him with 4 years in the SEC in a top program. He’s seen it all and has been a consistent player for them for a long time. He reminds me of a poor man’s Grant Delpit with a tighter body, good physicality, and a penchant for making big plays. He’s really a combo safety as he’ll either be a SS with above average cover skills or a FS with above average physicality. It depends on the scheme but I see solid starter with him. He’s a high floor/low ceiling guy who lacks the ballhawk skills to be a high INT total or the huge hits but he’ll be a consistent starter for someone. Mid 3rd round as my #5 S 4/13/23. 
6. Ronnie Hickman Ohio State 6’0 ½ 203 Sr. He didn’t work out at the Combine but measured ‘33 arms (very long) with ‘9 ⅜ hands. He didn’t play in 2019, barely played in 2020 (5 tackles), had a very nice season in 2021 but with few splash plays (98 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 sack, 1 FF, 0 PBU?, 2 INT-1TD), and then a down year in 2022 (53 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 1 FF, 7 PBU, 1 INT). Ronnie is definitely an NFL athlete as he races around the field and his best film is when he’s going sideline to sideline to make a tackle. He plays like a 4.4 guy and that’s extremely impressive for a 6’0 200 lb safety as he has the size to play SS if you like. Unfortunately he basically didn’t play his first two years at Ohio State and was never a dominant playmaker. His 0 PBUs in 2021 is flat out stunning as every starter should be able to fall ass backwards into at least 3-4 PBUs a year and on film he looks like an athlete who is slow to recognize plays and doesn’t know how to make plays on the ball in the air. I prefer him as a SS than FS due to that but his speed is impressive so if a team gave him more of a run oriented role he might surprise people and be a steal. Also he has great fluidity in his movements and bends very well so there is potential for him to be a playmaker in coverage but his instincts let him down. Instincts matter less in man coverage than zone so he might do well in man coverage schemes and I’d like to see him 1×1 vs. TEs. 2 if his 3 INTs were in the 2nd half of blowout wins vs. Toledo and Akron so hardly impressive stuff. Overall I see the tools and am intrigued but I can’t get too excited on a player that was mediocre in college. His pure athleticism is very intriguing but it’s rare that a player who wasn’t a playmaker in college suddenly becomes one in the NFL. He’s similar to Jartavius Martin in this regard but I like Martin a little more as his Combine numbers were better and his playmaking stats/instincts were a little better. Both have the tools to be a quality SS/FS starter but are roll of the dices due to mediocre production. Mid 3rd as my #6 S 4/12/23.
7. Brandon Joseph Notre Dame 6’0 ⅜ 202 Sr. He ran a 4.62 40 (bad), ‘30 ½ vertical (bad), 9’10 broad (average), and measured ‘30 ⅞ arms (short) with ‘9 hands (below average). He barely played in 2019 for Northwestern (4 tackles), had a great year in 2020 (52 tackles, 1 TFL, 2 PBUs, 6 INTs), another great year in 2021 (80 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 1 sack, 4 PBUs, 3 INTs), and then transferred his final year to Notre Dame and had a down year in 2022 (30 tackles, 1 FF, 1 PBU, 1 INT). Brandon might drop on draft day as he’s coming off a down year, had a bad Combine, and his overall athletic makeup is pretty poor. Add in the fact that he’s not a big hitter at all, most won’t want him at SS with his wrap up style, and he very easily could be a late round draft pick. I think that’d be a mistake though as he’s a natural playmaker, shows good film as a ballhawk, and his 10 INTs in 3 years is one of the best in this down safety class. You won’t be getting a big hitting intimidator type and you won’t be getting a 4.3 CF with elite range but if you put Brandon in a two high safety system and let him read a QB he’s going to get you some interceptions. He has good instincts and good hands so his 10 INTs aren’t flukey at all and he has multiple INTs coming from help as a deep safety so he knows how to track a ball on a deep route, something many more athletic players never seem comfortable doing. I also love his fluidity and agility. He isn’t very fast but he has great change of direction and fluidity in all of his movements so I think man coverage would be fine for him if only slower guys (TEs/RBs). He also very clearly was route diagnosing and was good at identifying where the ball was going ahead of the play. I wish he was faster but guys like him are what you are looking for as he is instinctive, reads plays accurately, has a history as a ballhawk, and is a very fluid athlete. In this down year for safeties, give me Brandon Joseph as a mid round sleeper who will surprise as a long time starter despite below average tools to work with. Late 3rd round as my #7 S 4/13/23.
8. Garrett Williams Syracuse 5’11 192 Soph He didn’t work out at the Combine but measured ‘31 arms (below average). He was a really good true freshman in 2020 (64 tackles, 3 TFL, 1 sack, 10 PBUs, 2 INT-1 TD), had a big year tackle wise but no INTs in 2021 (52 tackles, 5 TFL, 10 PBUs), and then a good year in only 7 games in 2022 (36 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 1 sack, 1 FF, 3 PBUs, 2 TD). Garrett has been an impact player for Syracuse for all three years and is a CB/FS tweener type that I could see in either spot depending on scheme. He has the size to be an outside corner but doesn’t have elite speed and would need to be in an off coverage or zone scheme. His instincts and ball skills are both very good and he’s extremely quick to diagnose a play in front of him so in a zone scheme he’d be a good corner. In a man scheme I’d probably prefer FS for him as he’s a very physical player, had two seasons with +50 tackles, and has some good film as a ballhawk on the back end. It’s a unique job as it’s a different perspective and some CBs can’t play CF but he’s shown the ability to do it and has some outstanding INTs as a safety. That versatility to play FS or CB is impressive and is due to his instincts and intelligence as he’s a very heady player. My only issue with Garrett is his athletic profile as he’s a smaller player and doesn’t show elite speed or quickness. He’s not a bad athlete but is only an average one and I worry he lacks the length and/or athleticism to stay at CB. Due to this I moved him to FS but consider CB a viable option. I just see more of a safety with him as I love his instincts and physicality far more than his athleticism and fluidity in a backpedal. Wherever he’s played, Garrett will be a cerebral, instictive player who lacks elite athleticism but should be a good playmaker and enough of an athlete to not be exploited. Late 3rd round as my #8 S 4/22/23.
9. Antonio Johnson Texas A&M 6’2 198 Jr. He ran a 4.52 40 (very good), ‘31 vertical (bad), 9’10 broad (average), and measured ‘32 ⅛ arms (above average for S, average for 6’2) with ‘9 ¾ hands (big). He was a bit player in 2020 (14 tackles, 0.5 TFL, 1 PBU), had a good year in 2021 (79 tackles, 8.5 TFL, 1 sack, 1 FF, 5 PBUs, 1 INT), and a similar year in 2022 (71 tackles, 4 TFL, 1 sack, 3 FF, 1 PBU). Antonio is a long SS type who is a big hitter and excels against the run. He’s one of the bigger hitters in this safety class but he’s also the worst of any prospect in wrapping up and is far too interested in making the highlight reel hit than the sure tackle. His mentality will need to change in the pros but he’s fast, physical, and has a lot of good film as a run stopper so he should excel in that role. Against the pass I’m a little worried as he’s long legged and a little tight. Moving forward he gets away with his long legged movements as he’s very fast and closes quickly on guys but in his backpedal it’s more noticeable and a little worrisome. I don’t think he can play man so he’ll need to be in a zone scheme. In that scheme he should be good but he’ll be a hitter not a playmaker, as evidenced by only 1 INT and 7 PBUs for his entire career. Those are very poor numbers and I don’t see him being anything more than average vs. the pass, even in zone. Due to those deficiencies, #3 safety seems like the most logical fit as he’d be a great nickel linebacker and has film excelling as a rusher and battling OL to make tackles. He’s so athletic and physical I suspect he’ll get drafted higher my ranking and be a starter early in his career but he has a lot of bad tape vs. the pass and probably settles in as a #3 safety later in his career. If used correctly, he could be an above average starter but in today’s pass happy NFL it’s hard to hide DBs who lack man coverage skills and/or instincts and I see neither in him. Early 4th round as my #9 S 4/13/23.
10. Kelee Ringo Georgia 6’1 ¾ 207 Jr. He ran a 4.36 40 (elite), ‘33 ½ vertical (bad), 10’2 broad (bad), and measured ‘31 ¼ arms (average, short for a guy almost 6’2). He redshirted in 2020, had a good year in 2021 (34 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 sack, 8 PBUs, 2 INTs-1 TD), and then his best year in 2022 (42 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 FF, 7 PBUs, 2 INTs). Ringo is another Georgia defender with elite Combine measurables which do not translate to the field. He’s a CB/FS tweener as he plays more in the high 4.4/low 4.5 range and I do not see anything close to a 4.36 40 with him. Press teams will like his big frame but will wish he had longer arms and a little more speed and quickness. Other teams will see him more as a FS type who can come down and play the slot or cover a TE in man coverage. I prefer him as a FS in that role as he’s a little tight in the hips, lacks great speed, and doesn’t have great length so despite being nearly 6’2 210 he’s not ideal for press. In run support he’s good but not great, something that is more worrisome at safety than corner, but he shows good effort and is okay in this area. He’s a little weak overall for a “big corner” and I was expecting more physicality. 3 TFL and 1 FF in two seasons (30 games too as Georgia had the longest schedule of any team the past few years) shows this as he just isn’t a big corner mentality wise. In coverage he’s a little slow both on reaction times and burst/speed wise. He sometimes jumps routes and shows ball skills but more often than not he’s reacting and not diagnosing plays. I do love his hands though and if he has an INT potentially in his area he has shown a good ability to come down with the ball. If playing FS he won’t have the speed to play CF so he’ll need to be in a scheme that plays a lot of man. He had a much heralded matchup vs. Ohio State and got Marvin Harrison regularly. He did have a very good FF coming back into a play as a trail defender but overall he looked mediocre. He showed the size to play vs. Harrison but couldn’t keep up with him quickness/routes wise and I think he’d be exploited as a pure corner. He gave up 1 TD and 1 PI to Harrison and almost allowed 3 TDs (Harrison dropped a diving catch in the end zone, another TD broken up by the safety). Ringo also has a penchant for being grabby and I’d expect him to be a highly penalized CB if put in that role, another reason why he’s a safety to me. Overall I am not a fan of Ringo’s tape, think his Combine measurables do not translate to the field, and consider him another highly overrated Georgia defender. I think a press team taking Ringo in the first 50 picks as a CB will be very disappointed to find he’s slow, has shorter arms, is grabby, and isn’t the most fluid of athletes. I think if he was in a different jersey he’d be a mid round guy but as a bulldog he’s getting 1st round buzz. Early 4th round as my #10 S who I consider one of the most overrated prospects in this draft 4/23/23.
11. Christopher Smith Georgia 5’10 ⅝ 192 Sr. He ran a 4.62 40 (below average), ‘33 vertical (below average), 9’8 broad (below average), and measured ‘31 ⅛ arms (short) with ‘9 ⅝ hands (average). 5 years out of HS so he’s an older prospect. He barely played in 2018 (4 tackles) or 2019 (7 tackles), was a bit player in 2020 (26 tackles, 1 PBU), made his first splash plays in 2021 (34 tackles, 4 PBUs, 3 INT-1TD), and had his best season in 2022 (61 tackles, 5 TFL, 1 sack, 1 FF, 5 PBUs, 3 INTs). Smith is a shorter, somewhat skinny FS type. He was basically invisible at Georgia his first three years but he had 6 INTs, one being a big pick six vs. Clemson, the final two years and shows some instincts and playmaking ability on the back end. He has some good film as a sure tackler in space but he’s a little weak and I worry he’ll have a number of broken tackles allowed in the NFL against bigger athletes. He’s definitely only a FS as he lacks the strength to play in the box full time or the speed/hips to play CB. Georgia played predominantly a two high defense and he was solid in that role but not spectacular. I actually saw freshman Malaki Starks (#24) as their best safety as he flashed real ballhawk skills Smith never has shown. His best film was vs. Oregon early in the year as he jumped a route and showed good instincts. It was a very nice play but he also missed a tackle or two, was called for a horse collar (struggled to bring down a bigger player), and on his pick the QB threw into triple coverage. I see Smith as a #3 S who maybe can start down the line but his ceiling is that of a replacement level safety and his lack of scheme or position versatility (must play FS, can’t play CF) is worrisome. I expect him to be overdrafted due to him coming from Georgia but I don’t see great speed, he’s pretty weak as a tackler, and he’s a good but not great playmaker so I’d be concerned if a team drafted him before Day 3. Mid 4th round as my #11 S 4/12/23. 
12. Trey Dean III Florida 6’2 ⅛ 200 Sr. He ran a 4.75 40 (terrible), ‘36 ½ vertical (good), 10’4 broad (good), and measured ‘31 ¾ arms (average) with ‘9 ¼ hands (average). He came in and performed like a very slow SS type. He’s 5 years out of HS so he’s an older prospect. He played a bit as a true freshman in 2018 (26 tackles, 0.5 TFL, 6 PBUs, 1 INT), improved in 2019 (26 tackles, 3.5 TFL, 2 sacks, 1 FF, 1 PBU, 1 INT), had fewer splash plays in 2020 (34 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 sack, 1 INT), had a big year in 2021 (91 tackles, 4 TFL, 1.5 sacks, 9 PBUs, 1 INT), and a similar year in 2022 (81 tackles, 4.5 TFL, 0.5 sack, 4 PBUs). Trey is a tall, skinny SS type who looks rangy with his lengthy frame. He’s a big hitter who excels as a run stopper and will need to play near the LOS. His frame is so good and his speed is so mediocre that I’d consider bulking him up 15 lbs and seeing how he’d look as a 4-3 WLB. In coverage he actually has good instincts and short area quickness but he’s slow so he’ll need to be in a zone scheme and even in that scheme he’ll need some help. I could see a team like him as their #3 safety if they do a 3 safety nickel package but some teams will cross him off their board due to highly questionable coverage skills. He can’t play CF and he’s long legged so he’s a bad fit for man coverage. Add in his very bad 4.75 40 and he has a chance to go undrafted despite good film and production. His saving grace in coverage is that he actually shows good instincts and playmaking ability. He’s quicker than fast and breaks on the ball very well so I think he’ll hold up well in a zone scheme. Overall I like Dean as a mid to late round SS type who can be a team’s 3rd safety. If a team plays zone he could eventually develop into a starter but his best fit will be as a nickel safety that almost plays linebacker as he’s physical and has good film as a tackler in the open field. He also shows enough instincts, bend, and playmaking ability that I think he’d be good in a zone scheme but he has poor speed and won’t be a fit for a man heavy scheme or one that wants CF duties for their safeties. 5th round as my #12 S 4/12/23.
13. Anthony Johnson Iowa State 6’0 205 Sr. He ran a 4.54 40 (good), ‘37 ½ vertical (very good), 10’5 broad (very good), and measured ‘31 ¼ arms (average) with ‘8 ¾ hands (small). He’s 5 years out of HS so he’s an older prospect. He was a bit player in 2018 (28 tackles, 1 TFL), had a great year in 2019 (60 tackles, 7 TFL, 2 sacks, 2 FF, 10 PBUs), a down year in 2020 (40 tackles, 2 TFL, 5 PBUs), a bounce back year in 2021 (55 tackles, 3 TFL, 1 sack, 2 FF, 4 PBUs), and then arguably his best year in 2022 (60 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 FF, 4 PBUs, 2 INTs). He basically had two great seasons (2019 and 2022) sandwiched around two mediocre seasons. His 0 INTs two of the past four seasons is worrisome. Iowa State ran a unique defense that regularly had 3 safeties on the back end and allowed Johnson to have limited coverage responsibilities. That was a good scheme for him as he didn’t look instinctive at all when he was in coverage. He has an NFL frame and athleticism but he was picked on at times in the 2022 Texas game. That’s worrisome as I think he needs to be a FS since his tackling is very mediocre. He has SS type measurements but he doesn’t play like he’s 205 and he really struggled to tackle Bijan Robinson. Not the easiest tackle but I didn’t see any big hits or physicality in his film so I’d say he’s a FS and one with questionable man cover skills. Whether he’s a soft SS or a FS with issues in coverage, I’m not terribly interested so to me he’s a late round dart throw due to the NFL frame and athleticism. I’m expecting him to be a career backup or bust but give him a draftable grade due to the frame/athletic numbers as he is a fluid athlete for 205 lbs. Late 5th round as my #13 S 4/13/23.
14. Jammie Robinson Florida State 5’10 ⅝ 191 Sr. He ran a 4.59 40 (average), ‘33 ½ vertical (below average), 9’8 broad (below average), and measured ‘29 ⅝ arms (extremely short, sub ‘30 is borderline historic) with ‘8 ¾ hands (small). He’s a very tiny guy who is 5’10 but his arms and hands are of a 5’7 guy. Add in his poor 40/vertical/broad jump and he had an undrafted free agent type Combine. He was very solid as a freshman in 2019 (62 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 1 FF, 4 PBU, 1 INT), improved in 2020 (74 tackles, 2 TFL, 4 PBUs, 1 INT), continued his improvement in 2021 (84 tackles, 7 TFL, 2 FF, 3 PBUs, 4 INTs), and then had a similar year but with fewer splash plays in 2022 (99 tackles, 5 TFL, 1 sacks, 5 PBUs, 1 INT). Pronounces Jamie not Jammy, Robinson is a very small kid who is as physical as he can be with that tiny frame. He looks like an undersized slot corner so I question how many teams will feel comfortable putting him out there at safety. His size/speed ratio is undraftable but he’s a natural playmaker, started 4 years at a top program, and had 7 INTs and 3 FFs in his career. The best way for him to be successful would be as a FS that can cover the slot but that’s not his strength as he’s more of a run stopper than pass defender. He has good instincts reading screens and knowing where the ball is going but he’s too small for that nickel LB role in the pros. There’s also a lot of film of him really struggling to bring down a ball carrier and that will only get worse in the pros. I like his film but to me he’s a good college player that won’t make the transition as his style makes his size/speed ratio even more glaring. If he was more of a ballhawk I’d give him a chance but he’s best in the box and you don’t draft a glorified slot corner to be in the box. Free Agent as my #14 S who I see as a bust due to his poor size/speed ratio and inability to play man coverage 4/12/23.