Ranking the top 10 picks in the 2023 NFL Draft class Texans C.J. Stroud Eagles Jalen Carter lead the way
Ranking the top 10 picks in the 2023 NFL Draft class Texans C.J. Stroud Eagles Jalen Carter lead the way
Blog Article
We're four games into the 2023 season, and while looking ahead is typically what I do this time of year, it's instructive to also look at how the rookies, just a month into their Trevor Cahill Jersey profe sional careers, are doing.(Regarding looking ahead: On Thursday's "With the First Pick" podcast, -- we looked at those that they've positioned themselves in the 2024 . So if that's your jam, check that out.)Specifically, I'll rank the top 10 picks from the 2023 cla s, a group that includes three quarterbacks, six offensive players and a player who went ninth overall but is playing like one of the best players in the league. I watched every snap for all 10 players, and their ranking below reflects both how they've performed (obviously), but also takes positional value into account. Put another way: quarterbacks are important, so even if, say, , he might be ranked lower than perhaps you might expect.But here's the thing: nine of the 10 players on this list are off to good-to-great starts; only one has struggled (though he has improved each week), and that's likely due to a foot injury he's still recovering from. Basically: there's a lot of reason for optimism if your team had a top-10 pick because those guys have been impre sive thus far. We'll start at No. 10 and work our way to No. 1. LV DE #9 Wilson suffered a foot injury last fall at Texas Tech, so he wasn't able to take part in the Senior Bowl, the combine or even a pro day. He's played in every regular-season game, and each week he's gotten a little better. He's still a far cry from where he was in college, but there's no denying the length, the get off, and the power -- again, once he's back to full strength. Wilson had two hurries against the in Week 4, but he's still looking for his first sack. And the Raiders desperately need pa s-rush help opposite , who leads the team with four sacks. After that, linebackers and are next on the list with one each. Tyree Wilson flashes power with his hands stacking the TE, shedding and locating the RB. Marcus Epps comes downhill to fill the B gap. Ryan Holmes (@Rholm22) CHI OT #58 Given the current state of the Bears, there will be questions about if the team would've been better off staying at No. 9 and taking (more on him later) and beefing up a defense that has been hard to watch at times this season. Maybe, but whatever off-field concerns some teams had about Carter haven't been an i sue in Philadelphia, which took him at No. 10, in part because there's institutional stability there, something that appears to be lacking in Chicago (see the drama, for example). Darnell Wright chucking a blitzer out of the club >>> Robert Schmitz (@robertkschmitz) Instead, the Bears moved down one spot and landed right tackle Darnell Wright, who was a Day 1 starter and has been a bright spot in an otherwise dismal start to the season. Yes, he's given up three sacks in four games, but he's also held his own against a slew of good pa s rushers in Week 1, Shaq Barrett in Week 2, in Week 3 and last Sunday. He'll continue to get better, and once they get LT back from injury (the hope is Week 7), perhaps the unit will find the consistency they've lacked so far. HOU DE #51 Anderson has just one sack in four games, but he's been incredibly active, both on defense and on special teams, against the in Week 3. In four games, he has eight hurries, has seen his fair share of double teams, and is both active as a pa s rusher and against the run. He also has the top rookie pa s-rush grade, according to PFF, and owns the after only and . Will Anderson has looked DOMINANT on tape in the first 3 weeks of the season.He currently has the 4th most pre sures (11) among all rookie defensive linemen.. The most run stops (4) and the 2nd highest overall PFF grade.But where he really shines is his 1 on 1 win rate. He The Football Scout (@NFLTrenchBattle) So while the traditional stats may not tell the entire story, if you've watched Anderson closely, he's been better than advertised on one of the 's most surprising teams. CAR QB #9 CMP%65.0YDs503TD2INT2YD/Att4.88 Let's start here: Young has been better than social media might lead you to believe. He's improved each week, and last Sunday's game against the was the best of his young career. He showed all the things that made him QB1 in the spring: the ability to throw accurately and with anticipation, knowing where to go with the ball, and getting better at getting the ball out on time. Bryce Young has world-cla s anticipation. It doesn't get better. Throw him open.Full video: The QB School (@theqbschool) Now, it's fair to wonder if Will Anderson Jr. should be ranked ahead of Young, and if Young didn't play quarterback this would've been an easy decision; but Young's struggles, in addition to being a rookie and, well, looking like one, can be chalked up to suspect offensive line play and receivers who have struggled to get open consistently. That said, you just can not, under any circumstance, , which is what happened last weekend against a reeling Vikings team. Thing is, that was Young's cleanest game up to that point, and I expect he'll continue to play with more consistency as the season progre ses. SEA CB #21 The Seahawks had two first-rounders, and the thinking was that they would definitely addre s their defense -- but along the defensive line, not in the secondary. Instead, Seattle pa sed on Jalen Carter, selected Witherspoon, and the Illini standout has made an immediate impact. He mi sed Week 1 with an injury, but he's making up for lost time. Witherspoon played primarily outside the first two games -- and against the Panthers in Week 3, he was targeted 13 times and just allowed five catches for 31 yards -- but on Monday night, Witherspoon spent a lot of time in the slot, where he locked it down in coverage (including, of course, that 97-yard pick-six) and also blitzed five times. And five times, he was disruptive, twice Albert Pujols Jersey sacking quarterback . 7 tackles | 2 sacks | 1 pa s deflection | 1 interception | 1 touchdown | NFC Defensive Player of the WeekIt's now time to talk about for Defensive Rookie of the Year. Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) ARI OT #70 You might try to make the case that Devon Witherspoon should be ahead of Johnson here but, 1) Witherspoon didn't play in Week 1, and 2) Johnson has been rock-solid over four games -- and he's never played right tackle! He was a left tackle and right guard at Ohio State, and the transition to the right-tackle position has been as close to seamle s as imaginable. Outstanding job by Paris Johnson timing the snap and using his backside hand to create lateral displacement to open up the cutback lane. Brandon Thorn (@BrandonThornNFL) In four games, Johnson has allowed a single sack and just three pre sures, and his athleticism consistently pops. Whether it's his footwork in pa s protection, or the smoothne s with which he gets to the second level and locks onto a linebacker when run blocking. He's quietly having a great season, in part because of the position he plays and in part because of the team he plays for. But the Cards are playing hard and certainly exceeding expectations, and Johnson has a lot to do with that. IND QB #5 CMP%56.9YDs479TD3INT1YD/Att6.65 There is so much to like about Richardson's game. And while some of the credit goes to first-year coach Shane Steichen, who teamed up with in Philly the last few seasons, Richardson is the one making the plays with his arm and his legs. Unlike Hurts, Richardson hasn't yet learned the art of avoiding the big hit -- and he was concu sed in Week 2 (and mi sed Week 3 as a result) -- though when he returned last Sunday, he did seem more inclined to get down instead of trying to steamroll NFL linebackers. But more than that, Richardson's athleticism -- both with his cannon arm and 4.4 speed -- is what makes him so fun to watch. There isn't a window in which he can't squeeze the ball, and for someone who started just 13 career games at Florida, he's shown the ability to get through reads and throw with anticipation at the NFL level. The biggest i sue is the occasional inaccurate throw, but that is outweighed by all the otherworldly talents he po se ses. Anthony Richardson is fun Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) The Colts appear to have gotten it right at head coach and at quarterback, and they've had early-season succe s without one of their best players, running back . ATL RB #7 Att53Yds318TD0FL0 There have been a lot of discu sions about paying running backs, and perhaps we'll have those talks around Robinson when his rookie deal is up. But for now, he was absolutely worth the No. 8 overall pick, and it's not even controversial to say he's the best playmaker on this team ahead of and (both underutilized in this offense), and (who has struggled in Year 2). Robinson can do it all, both as a runner and a receiver, and he's already one of the most dynamic players in the game. His first NFL touchdown came on a reception, and while it only went for 11 yards, a lot happened from the time he caught it three yards behind the line of scrimmage and when he bulldozed his way into the end zone. TOUCHDOWN, ATLANTA Bijan Robinson scores the first TD of the season for the Falcons! FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) It's like that every time he touches the ball, and if Atlanta can figure out how to get Pitts and London more involved, and find some consistency with Ridder, this team could win the division in a wide-open NFC South. PHI DT #98 Back in April, no one would've given you a double-take if you proclaimed Jalen Carter the best player in the 2023 , mostly because it was true based on what he put on tape at Georgia. The concerns came off the field, and it's the only reason he was still on the board when the Eagles traded up to No. 9 to take him. I talked above about whether the Bears would've been better off with Carter (they traded out of the ninth spot), and on paper, yeah, they would've been. But the reality is that the Eagles organization has its act together while Chicago is, well, a me s. Either way, Carter has been absolutely dominant for a Philly defensive front that is . They have him lining up all over the line, though he does most of his damage against interior offensive linemen, and I could spend the rest of the day showing tweets of him manhandling 300-plus-pound grown men like they were little kids. Instead, I'll just include two: Jalen Carter's rank among DT/DIs for first 4 games of their NFL career over the last 18 years:PFF grade: #1 (92.2)Total pre sures: #1 (20)Pa s-rush win rate: #1 (23.2%)Previous best grade after 4 games...some guy called Aaron DonaldCarter is ELITE Sam Monson (@PFF_Sam) DT Jalen Carter () found A LOT of ways to win in Week 1.Lot of succe s as a 3rd down disruptor vs a pair of fellow rookie guards.Great first week - excited to see him continue to build off of it as he sees more vets! Fran Duffy (@EaglesXOs) HOU QB #7 CMP%62.3YDs1212TD6INT0YD/Att8.03 This is the least surprising development as we sit here in early October, but it would've been pretty hard to wrap our collective brains around in, say, July. Not because Stroud didn't come into the league with legit credentials -- he was dominant at Ohio State -- but because there were questions about how he would navigate the rigors of the position behind a Texans offensive line that wouldn't provide him with anything close to the protection he enjoyed in Columbus. But even with Houston playing backups at multiple positions Mike Trout Jersey along the O-line, . And I don't mean in a 'Hey, he'll be good one day, you can tell!' sort of way. I mean, sort of way. Active QBs who have produced 1,200+ pa sing yards & 0 INTs in a 4-game stretch in the same season:Aaron Rodgers (6)Patrick Mahomes (4)Tua Tagovailoa (2)Ru sell Wilson (2)Joe Burrow C.J. Stroud IN HIS FIRST 4 GAMESJared GoffDerek CarrCarson WentzBrian Hoyer Heath Cummings (@heathcumming sr) Stroud throws with anticipation and accuracy -- things with both saw at Ohio State -- and the ball is coming out on time, whether it's the first read in the progre sion or the third. It's been so much fun to watch, which is a credit to Stroud and first-year offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik, who consistently has put Stroud in position to succeed. I know this throw already circulated through the internet. But this throw by CJ Stroud is straight up WICKED. To hit Nico Collins in stride on a corner route but not lead him out of bounce to where he could run while throwing with enough arc over the DB. Special. Teach tape. DJ Bien-Aime (@Djbienaime) There are plenty of le sons to learn here, but maybe the biggest is this: remember when former coach Lovie Smith beat the Colts in Week 18 last season, and that win gifted the No. 1 overall pick to the Bears and the Texans dropped down to No. 2 in the draft order? The thinking was that Houston loved Bryce Young, and there were even rumors that the team might not take a quarterback at all with the second selection and instead might target Will Anderson Jr.In the end, the Texans took Stroud and Anderson, and they're currently 2-2 and tied with the three other teams in the division. The takeaway: NFL teams (and all of us in the draft media, too) can too often overthink it. Turns out, Stroud was the guy all the time.
https://andresmaoa98642.mdkblog.com/31462286/cardinals-vs-rams-odds-spread-line-monday-night-football-picks-prediction-from-nfl-model-on-132-94-run
Click here Click here