2023 Predictive Mock Draft

This mock draft is predictive. This is trying to pick players based on a combination of fit, need, reports, and overall perspective on how the consensus perceives each prospect. I do not agree with all of these selections and would go in a different direction with a lot of them. Most of these will be wrong, and I'm okay with that. If you want my opinion on the players drafted, you can click on their names to view their individual profiles.

 

Pick #	Team	Player	POS	School	Grade
1	CAR	Bryce Young	QB	Alabama	84.33
2	HOU	Will Anderson	EDGE	Alabama	89.33
3	ARI	Paris Johnson Jr.	OT	Ohio St	81.40
4	IND	Will Levis	QB	Kentucky	74.75
5	SEA	Jalen Carter	iDL	Georgia	84.00
6	DET	Devon Witherspoon	CB	Illinois	79.89
7	LV	C.J. Stroud	QB	Ohio St	82.03
8	ATL	Tyree Wilson	EDGE	Texas Tech	80.33
9	CHI	Peter Skoronski	OT	Northwestern	80.67
10	PHI	Christian Gonzalez	CB	Oregon	80.61
11	TEN	Jaxon Smith-Njigba	WR	Ohio St	77.67
12	HOU	Anthony Richardson	QB	Florida	76.28
13	GB	Lukas Van Ness	EDGE	Iowa	74.67
14	NE	Broderick Jones	OT	Georgia	78.47
15	NYJ	Darnell Wright	OT	Tennessee	76.27
16	WAS	Joey Porter Jr.	CB	Penn St	76.33
17	PIT	Deonte Banks	CB	Maryland	75.61
18	DET	Bijan Robinson	RB	Texas	83.36
19	TB	Nolan Smith	EDGE	Georgia	75.33
20	SEA	Myles Murphy	EDGE	Clemson	80.00
21	MIA	Forfeited	N/A	N/A	N/A
22	LAC	Dalton Kincaid	TE	Utah	76.22
23	BAL	Zay Flowers	WR	Boston College	77.28
24	MIN	Cam Smith	CB	South Carolina	79.18
25	JAX	Brian Branch	S	Alabama	75.42
26	NYG	Jordan Addison	WR	USC	78.86
27	DAL	Michael Mayer	TE	Notre Dame	77.87
28	BUF	Quentin Johnston	WR	TCU	74.90
29	CIN	Jahmyr Gibbs	RB	Alabama	77.13
30	NO	Calijah Kancey	iDL	Pittsburgh	74.16
31	PHI	Bryan Bresee	iDL	Clemson	78.09
32	KC	Anton Harrison	OT	Oklahoma	74.80

For the 5 teams not picking in round 1, here are my thoughts on who I think each team might target with their first pick. Obviously, the board has to fall a certain way for some of these players to become available, but I think these would all be reasonable possibilities at their current draft positions.

Team	My Predictions
LAR	The Rams have pick 2.37 to start off their draft. I do think they could be a team to trade down and accumulate more picks, but if they hold firm, I could see them taking Forbes or Ringo to add corner depth with the loss of Ramsey.
MIA	After losing their first round pick by getting caught tampering, the Dolphins get their first pick of the draft at 2.52. I expect them to prioritize adding weapons around Tua, and with a combination of athleticism and blocking, a TE like Darnell Washington could be just what they need.
DEN	The Broncos need to look to build up their interior offensive line and add corner depth. At 3.68 and 3.69, they could look to do both or move up for someone like Wypler or Tippmann if they fall, and add a day 2 corner like DJ Turner or Tyrique Stevenson.
CLE	Linebacker and run stopping defensive lineman are keys for the Browns defense to step up from where they were at last year. Guys like Dorian Williams and Siaki Ika could be targets for them on day 2 and 3 as they look to bolster their front 7.
SF	The 49ers have a lot of decisions to make with 3 picks at the end of the 3rd round (3.99, 3.101, 3.102). They also have a decision to make on their QB of the future. Regardless of who that is, they could look to add a weapon for them by taking a Tight End like Zack Kuntz or Tucker Kraft.