The 2022 NFL draft is so last week. Optimist that I am, I look toward the future, and now seems like a good time to post my way-too-early top 50 big board for 2023.
I’m obsessed with the draft.
Over the past four years, I’m the No. 2 mocker in the FantasyPros Accuracy Contest — but I’d never created a big board until last year, when I quickly pulled one together right before the draft and submitted it to Huddle Report.
With back-to-back top-20 finishes, I feel decent about my process, so I figure it’s worth posting a big board for 2023.
If the scoring holds, here's how the 2022 NFL draft went for me.
– Mock Draft: No. 4, @FantasyPros contest
– Top 100 Big Board: No. 4, @TheHuddleReport contest
– Prop Bets: 70-50, +29.3 unitsLet's do it again next year.
— Matthew Freedman (@MattFtheOracle) April 30, 2022
I admittedly am not a film grinder. That’s not my edge. And right now I know little about the 2023 class except by reputation. So I have a numbers-driven big board based mainly on mock draft data, historical draft trends, recruitment grades, and college production.
Framed differently: If I were an NFL general manager who had just fired all my scouts and needed to put together a big board quickly, this would probably be the board — or at least a first version of it.
With the current information we have now on the 2023 prospects, these are my top 50 players in the class heading into the college football season. I’m sure in the coming months, this list will look increasingly ridiculous. That’s life.
2023 NFL Draft Top 50 Big Board
| Rank | Name | School | Position |
| 1 | C.J. Stroud | Ohio State | QB |
| 2 | Bryce Young | Alabama | QB |
| 3 | Jaxon Smith-Njigba | Ohio State | WR |
| 4 | Will Anderson | Alabama | EDGE |
| 5 | Jalen Carter | Georgia | DT |
| 6 | Paris Johnson | Ohio State | G |
| 7 | Bijan Robinson | Texas | RB |
| 8 | Jordan Addison | Pittsburgh | WR |
| 9 | Bryan Bresee | Clemson | DT |
| 10 | Kelee Ringo | Georgia | CB |
| 11 | Michael Mayer | Notre Dame | TE |
| 12 | Nolan Smith | Georgia | EDGE |
| 13 | Myles Murphy | Clemson | EDGE |
| 14 | Kayshon Boutte | LSU | WR |
| 15 | B.J. Ojulari | LSU | EDGE |
| 16 | Eli Ricks | Alabama | CB |
| 17 | Noah Sewell | Oregon | LB |
| 18 | Trenton Simpson | Clemson | LB |
| 19 | Joey Porter Jr. | Penn State | CB |
| 20 | Peter Skoronski | Northwestern | OT |
| 21 | Tyler Van Dyke | Miami (FL) | QB |
| 22 | Quentin Johnston | Texas Christian | WR |
| 23 | Will Levis | Kentucky | QB |
| 24 | Josh Downs | North Carolina | WR |
| 25 | Malachi Moore | Alabama | CB |
| 26 | Isaiah Foskey | Notre Dame | EDGE |
| 27 | Jahmyr Gibbs | Alabama | RB |
| 28 | Brandon Joseph | Northwestern | CB |
| 29 | Marvin Mims | Oklahoma | WR |
| 30 | Dontay Demus | Maryland | WR |
| 31 | Spencer Rattler | South Carolina | QB |
| 32 | Ryan Hayes | Michigan | OT |
| 33 | Phil Jurkovec | Boston College | QB |
| 34 | Zion Nelson | Miami (FL) | OT |
| 35 | Clark Phillips | Utah | CB |
| 36 | Jalen Catalon | Arkansas | S |
| 37 | Tony Grimes | North Carolina | CB |
| 38 | Emil Ekiyor | Alabama | G |
| 39 | Henry To’o To’o | Alabama | LB |
| 40 | Zach Evans | Mississippi | RB |
| 41 | Anthony Richardson | Florida | QB |
| 42 | Habakkuk Baldonado | Pittsburgh | EDGE |
| 43 | Derick Hall | Auburn | EDGE |
| 44 | Cam Smith | South Carolina | CB |
| 45 | Jordan Battle | Alabama | S |
| 46 | Kedon Slovis | Pittsburgh | QB |
| 47 | Jermaine Burton | Alabama | WR |
| 48 | Akeem Dent | Florida State | S |
| 49 | Devin Leary | NC State | QB |
| 50 | Brennan Armstrong | Virginia | QB |
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