2023 NFL mock draft, picks 1-10

As the cold weather begins to fade and the sun starts to shine greater, allowing flowers to bloom indicates the rebirth of a new spring. This time of year also means the rebirth of a new season of football as the 2023 NFL draft waits around the corner. On the night of April 27^th, franchises around the NFL will hope to make the right decision as the first round will take place. Potentially making or breaking the fans’ eager hopes of who their favorite team will pick out of the pool of tremendously talented collegiate football players listening to hear their name picked and put on their future franchise’s cap and jersey. Today we will try and predict the future by examining the needs for the top ten picks of this upcoming draft. 

1. QB Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers 

Although the Bears originally secured the first pick in the 2023 draft, the Panthers traded up with Chicago for elite Carolina wide receiver, D.J. Moore and future picks. This move gave an obvious answer to Panther fans as to who their team is trading up for. That man is former Alabama quarterback, Bryce Young. Although small in stature, Young’s ability to escape the pocket while finding receivers on the run or simply taking matters into his own hands and using his open field rushing ability makes up for the lack of size. With the amount of pressure many NFL edge-rushers give today’s quarterbacks makes Young’s speed and elusiveness extremely valuable compared to stationary passers. Young also showcased his pinpoint accuracy under pressure while at Alabama giving him another trait general managers are looking for in young quarterbacks. After having an up and down season, Carolina needs to take advantage of the time frame Infront of them. The NFC South was up for grabs until the very end last season with very little talent coming from all four franchises. Bringing in Young would give Carolina the chance to make the playoffs without needing to win that many games due to the landscape of the rest of their division.  Signing running back Miles Sanders and wide receiver D.J. Chark can also take the load off a young and learning QB and replaces the star running back Christian McCaffery who was traded to San Francisco mid-season last year, very seamlessly.  

2. QB C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans 

Houston seems to be in a very similar situation to Carolina except Houston has a lot more issues to worry about defensively. After coming off a miserable 2023 season platooning quarterbacks Kyle Allen and Davis Mills, Houston will be looking for a clean start in drafting former Ohio State quarterback, C.J. Stroud. Many NFL analysts believe Stroud and Young are comparable in some ways, yet Stroud seems to have the edge. Not only did stroud bring his team to the National Championship, but also had a pro-day work out for the ages. Stroud’s pro-day performance impressed many NFL scouts and may raise his draft stock over Young, yet we believe he will be taken second. The dual threat ability of Stroud along with a sensational arm talent and accuracy will be valuable to a team like the Texans who also feel with a gunslinger like Stroud can take over the lack luster AFC South.  

3. WR Quentin Johnson, Arizona Cardinals 

We all know now that Deandre Hopkins will most likely be traded before the next upcoming season leaving big shoes to fill in the Arizona receiving core. Former Texas Christian University WR, Quentin Johnson, would be the perfect body type to replace a large and psychical receiver like Hopkins. Johnson’s ability to ‘moss’ catches over smaller defenders and eluding tacklers after the catch is a common trait, we see in successful NFL wide receivers. Coming off a stellar season and running a 4.0 at the NFL combine with a large 6’3, 208-pound frame is exactly what Arizona is looking for. The Cardinals want to give their quarterback, Kyler Murray, as many weapons as possible and Johnson can fulfill Murray’s needs.   

4. QB Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis Colts 

The 2022 NFL season came to another disappointing end for the Colts as their newly acquired veteran quarterback, Matt Ryan, did not fulfill expectations leading Indianapolis to a lack luster record of 4-12-1. With a missing piece at quarterback, the Colts need to bring in someone to feed talented receivers like Michael Pittman Jr, and newly acquired receiver from Buffalo, Isaiah McKenzie. Former Florida Gators quarterback, Anthony Richardson, may have some work to do to polish his game to become NFL ready yet his 2022 highlight reel speaks for itself. The man can do everything on a football field at a staggering size that we’ve never seen an NFL quarterback possess before. At a height of 6’3 weighing in at 232 pounds, ‘AR-15’ can run the ball efficiently with his eye-opening speed, deliver beautiful deep balls with his cannon of an arm, and creates opportunities out of broken pockets by improvising with his legs and eyes down field, much like another great quarterback who plays for the Kansas City Chiefs (Patrick Mahomes). The NFL has never seen a quarterback with the size of a defensive lineman do the things Richardson can do and would fit perfectly as a playmaker in the dull Indianapolis offense. 

5.  DT Jalen Carter, Seattle Seahawks 

Seattle’s offense took a surprising leap this past season as veteran bench quarterback, Geno Smith, shined in his new role as starter and shocked the NFL with his consistency bringing Seattle to the playoffs. This development of Smith elevated the play of the entire offense, yet the defense needs some fixing. According to Pro Football Focus, Seattle’s defensive line ranked amongst the worst in the NFL at twenty-ninth. Drafting a large defensive tackle to be the anchor of this depleted d-line such as former Georgia Bulldog, Jalen Carter, can help fix this issue. Carter’s ability to clog the running lanes and pressuring the quarterback will be evident right away in Seattle’s 4-3 scheme. Carter’s shown to be effective despite being double protected many times and showcased his brute strength to break through offensive lineman during his victory of the National Championship game this past season, forcing QB, C.J. Stroud to make quick decisions. Seattle has been missing a reliable defensive presence up-front for a long time and landing a mammoth athlete such as Carter would change that narrative.    

6. LB Will Anderson, Detroit Lions 

Detroit’s offense clicked all season in 2022 as newcomer Jared Goff came very close to bringing the Lions to their first playoff appearance since 2016 yet came up just short. Detroit’s Head Coach, Dan Campbell, has proven to be an efficient leader of men and raised the level of play on both sides of the football. Although Detroit’s roster seems sound at most positions, they could use depth in their linebacking core. Alabama’s former linebacker, Will Anderson, would fit in with Detroit’s defense perfectly. Detroit’s pass rushing ability was improved immensely after drafting young stud edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson, this year they can do the same with their linebacking core by drafting a psychical and crafty linebacker such as Anderson. 

7. QB Will Levis, Las Vegas Raiders 

Despite the Raiders finding their new quarterback of the future with veteran Jimmy Garoppolo, many believe he is not the long-time answer as Vegas’ franchise quarterback. A smart move Vegas can approach would be drafting a quarterback to train and give time to develop under a veteran such as Garoppolo. Will Levis from Kentucky would be a great choice for Vegas considering his incredible arm talent and ability to throw on the run, which many NFL scouts love to see from upcoming quarterbacks due to the dual threat attributes many great quarterbacks possess in today’s game. The Raiders’ past shows they haven’t had much success in drafting quarterbacks, yet this year’s draft is filled with great arm talent and interesting prospects who have the potential to be a Josh Allen, a Joe Burrow, yet you must roll the dice to find out. 

8. DE Myles Murphy, Atlanta Falcons 

In 2022 the Atlanta Falcon’s struggled to find their identity in a division that not much was going on in considering the NFC south champion was up for grabs for most of the season, yet Atlanta never seemed up for the challenge. Although the offense peaked at certain moments with bright spots from rookie wide receiver, Drake London and versatile tight end, Kyle Pitts, the defensive side of the ball could not stay consistent. Part of this being the lack of talent on the defensive line. Pro Football Focus gave the Atlanta Falcon’s defense the 32^nd best ranked defensive line in all of the NFL at dead last. Expect the Falcon’s to take action and draft the freak athlete, defensive end and premier edge rusher, former Clemson Tiger, Myles Murphy. Murphy’s highlight reel and pro day displayed his athleticism and ruthlessness when rushing the quarterback. Murphy’s grittiness and creativeness to maneuver through double teams and blockers matches the type of mold Atlanta is looking for in this year’s draft. Bringing in a pass rushing threat such as Murphy will also take pressure off his interior lineman to have to make more plays than they’re normally expected to. Atlanta desperately needs talent up front and will be hunting for it this upcoming draft.  

9.   DE, Nolan Smith, Chicago Bears 

After securing the first pick of the draft during the closure of the 2022 season, the Bears traded their first overall pick to the Carolina Panthers for wide receiver D.J. Moore and other future draft picks. This swap of picks brings the Bears down to number nine, still leaving them with plenty of solid defensive options to choose from. The Bears’ defense was their achilleas-heel this past season giving them no other reason to go out and get a tremendous pass rusher such as Nolan Smith from Georgia. Smith has played in numerous big-time games throughout his college career as a bulldog and continued to constantly make his presence felt to all the SEC quarterbacks proving his dominance year after year. Although Smith may not be the highest graded pass rusher in the draft, he most certainly comes close and will produce big numbers wherever he lands. 

10.  CB, Devon Witherspoon, Philadelphia Eagles 

       The 2022 campaign for the Eagles was one to remember as Jalen Hurts and their defense dominated the NFC bringing Philadelphia back to their first Super Bowl appearance since their win over Tom Brady and the New England Patriots back in 2017. Though there is little to ‘nit-pick’ about the roster of this already high-octane offense and ruthless defense, there are always ways to improve. For the Eagles that area is in the secondary. After letting go of secondary pieces such as Marcus Epps and C.J. Gardner-Johnson, there are some holes to fill. The Eagles need depth at the cornerback position and Illinois former corner, Devon Witherspoon, can help replace one of these two key pieces to plug the holes in the secondary. Witherspoon’s best attribute comes when he plays man to man coverage. At Illinois Witherspoon put on a clinic locking up receivers every Saturday, making him the number one cornerback prospect in the draft. Expect Philadelphia to attack their problems in their secondary with the drafting of Witherspoon because he’s just all out baller. The 6’2, 200-pound defensive back isn’t afraid to get physical as well showing off his tremendous tackling skills as well. Philly’s defense will look much like the same if they’re able to get their hands on Witherspoon.  

The draft will be beyond exciting to watch this year given the number of teams who are in desperation mode to find guys who will fit not only the type of play on the field their franchise wants but also the mold of the person they want in the organization. The draft will take place on April 27^th in Kansas City. For all your future NFL updates and more, stop by, spotlifeasia.com, to update yourself on the landscape of the league.