It’s officially NFL Draft week and I couldn’t be more excited! There are millions of scenarios that float around my head. When I feel like there’s a certain team or player that fit, I send off some texts and see what sticks. Sometimes I’ll get a response of, “You’re crazy and I love it.” Other times, a scout will say, “It’s very possible with that player.” Whatever the case may be, we’re reaching the final 72 hours before the draft kicks off and we start figuring out which players go where.
Most mock drafts have a variety of scenarios play out but most of them have the same repeated names over and over again. I’ll be the first to say that I’m guilty of doing the same when going through the exercise of a mock draft. However, we all know that there will be surprises. On Thursday night, oh, there will be a few. So with that, let’s take a look at three players that should get drafted much higher than expected in the 2023 NFL Draft.
It’s officially NFL Draft week and I couldn’t be more excited! There are millions of scenarios that float around my head. When I feel like there’s a certain team or player that fit, I send off some texts and see what sticks. Sometimes I’ll get a response of, “You’re crazy and I love it.” Other times, a scout will say, “It’s very possible with that player.” Whatever the case may be, we’re reaching the final 72 hours before the draft kicks off and we start figuring out which players go where.
Most mock drafts have a variety of scenarios play out but most of them have the same repeated names over and over again. I’ll be the first to say that I’m guilty of doing the same when going through the exercise of a mock draft. However, we all know that there will be surprises. On Thursday night, oh, there will be a few. So with that, let’s take a look at three players that should get drafted much higher than expected in the 2023 NFL Draft.
I’ll start with the one name that could shake up the top-10 of the first round. Better yet, the top-5 of the 2023 NFL Draft. It hasn’t been surprising to discuss Illinois cornerback Devon Witherspoon as the first defensive back off the board. That said, it would be a surprise if Witherspoon was the 3rd overall pick to the Arizona Cardinals.
Yes, you’re reading that right.
If Will Anderson is the 2nd overall pick to the Houston Texans, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Cardinals settle on Witherspoon. His Pro Day went very well and he had been recorded to run the 40-yard dash in 4.42 seconds. That was the big test for him as he had been dealing with a hamstring injury at the Scouting Combine. In addition to the testing numbers, he looked fluid through drills and has interviewed incredibly well.
Some might say I’m crazy for suggesting this but if you look at the Cardinals depth chart at the cornerback position, it’s less than ideal. They moved Byron Murphy to the Minnesota Vikings and their listed starters (per Ourlads) are Antonio Hamilton and Marco Wilson. Hamilton has played more football with the Cardinals in two seasons than he has in his previous stints across the league with teams such as the Raiders, Giants, and Chiefs. However, Hamilton earned a PFF defensive grade of 68.5 and allowed a 72.5 receiving percentage in coverage last season.
As for Marco Wilson, he’s played two seasons with the Cardinals and his production hasn’t been great. He’s allowed a total of 96 receptions for 1,040 yards and 11 touchdowns. Meanwhile, he’s averaged a 54.1 defensive grade (per PFF) during his career. There’s a reason to believe that the Cardinals could be very interested in upgrading at the cornerback position.
Now I know many of you will say that the Cardinals will trade out of this pick. It’s possible but since 2019, we’ve only seen two trades happen in the top-10 of the draft, so I’ll believe that they pull off the trade when it happens. When I think about this fit, it reminds me of how Derek Stingley was selected by the Houston Texans with the 3rd overall pick last year. For the betting crowd: it’s +2000 (via DraftKings) for Devon Witherspoon to be the 3rd overall pick. I’d strongly consider throwing a few bucks on it.
Before everyone panics — no I don’t believe Gibbs is better than Bijan nor do I think he gets drafted before him. That said, I do believe that Jahmyr Gibbs could sneak into the first round or go way sooner than predicted. The team that I think makes the most sense is the Cincinnati Bengals with the 28th overall pick. By selecting the Alabama running back, the Bengals would be prepared to hit the reset button at the position.
Current running back Joe Mixon is set to be a free agent after the 2024 season and his rushing production went down in 2022 by almost 400 yards. By adding Gibbs, the Bengals would add another pass-catcher into the mix for quarterback Joe Burrow. Meanwhile, they’d get an effective playmaker with great burst and acceleration in the open field. Last season, Gibbs had 926 rushing yards and added 444 receiving yards while posting 44 receptions.
Another team that I could see showing interest in Gibbs is the Philadelphia Eagles with the 30th overall pick. During free agency, they lost Miles Sanders to the Panthers but they did bring in Rashaad Penny. To me, that doesn’t justify passing on a talented running back such as Gibbs. Obviously, the Eagles could have the chance to select Bijan Robinson with the 10th overall pick but if they do pass on him, this would be a fine alternative.
Lastly, one other team to monitor on Gibbs, although it would be somewhat surprising, is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They’ve recently visited with him and there’s been some speculation that Gibbs goes much sooner in the first round than expected. If there’s a run on most, if not all, of the cornerbacks and offensive linemen, I could see where the Buccaneers swing for the fences in Round 1 to surround their quarterbacks with another weapon. We know there’s a golden rule to not draft a running back in the first round but there’s plenty of belief that we’ll see more running backs drafted on Thursday than wide receivers.
As always in the NFL Draft, the back half of the first round gets interesting. We’ll see teams value certain players that we all think are second round players. Most of that is due to the fact that there are only 10 to 15 first-round grades labeled on a player. Some drafts might have a few more but specifically in this draft, the back end of the first round is going to be WILD.
When searching on DraftKings for players to be selected in the first round, one name really stood out to me. That player is Joe Tippmann from Wisconsin. Currently, he’s -140 to be selected. Somewhat of a head-scratcher when you look at my Big Board for the 2023 NFL Draft. Tippmann is ranked as my 56th-ranked player and earned a second round grade. However, we tend to turn a blind eye to the center position in the NFL Draft, myself included. Going back to the 2009 NFL Draft, we’ve seen 11 total centers selected in the first round. Between Joe Tippmann and John Michael Schmitz, there seems to be a chance we see another get selected this year.
That being said, I could see why some teams could have him ranked as their top center in the draft. He’s got terrific size at 6-foot-6 and 313 pounds and is expected to be able to play either guard or center in the NFL. On tape, Tippmann plays loose with a flexible lower half and has good overall strength to open up rushing lanes and move defenders. Also, during the Wisconsin Pro Day, he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.94 seconds.
Some teams that he’s visited with are the Pittsburgh Steelers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Buffalo Bills. One team that he’s been commonly mocked to is the New York Giants with the 25th overall pick. Another team that I’d keep tabs on since they tend to surprise us on Draft Day is the Seattle Seahawks. Maybe they take him with the 20th overall pick or there’s a potential trade down for them and they’re still able to land him. Either way, the second round doesn’t seem as ideal for Joe Tippmann as it once did especially with so many teams in the first round needing help along their interior offensive line.
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