The NFL Draft is scheduled to begin on April 27, and there will be plenty of discussion leading up to draft night. Which quarterback will be the first off the board? When will the first skill-position player get drafted? How far will Jalen Carter fall? With free agency now open and a bunch of signings already confirmed, we have a better idea of what holes teams will try to fill in the draft.
We’ve already had one huge trade as the Carolina Panthers have moved up from No. 9 to the top pick in the draft. All expectations are the Panthers made the move to get their franchise quarterback. I expect more movement at the top, as many expect the Arizona Cardinals to trade back and there is sure to be a lot more action in the heat of the moment. But for the sake of this exercise, we will assume no trades are made and each team makes their selections in the first three rounds.
The Miami Dolphins forfeited their first-round pick following the investigation into tampering with Tom Brady and Sean Payton. They would have been the No. 21 pick.
The Dolphins’ infraction moves the Baltimore Ravens up to the 22nd overall pick, the first of five picks in the 2023 NFL Draft. The Ravens will be without their second- and fifth-round selections because of the Roquan Smith trade.
This is my final mock draft which includes the first three rounds. Here are the top 102 selections in this year’s draft class.
No. 1: Carolina Panthers via Chicago Bears (3-14)
Team Needs: QB, RB, TE, EDGE
Selection: Bryce Young, QB, Alabama
No. 2: Houston Texans (3-13-1)
Team Needs: Everything
Selection: Will Levis, QB, Kentucky
No. 3: Arizona Cardinals (4-13)
Team Needs: EDGE, CB, OL, LB
Selection: Will Anderson Jr., EDGE, Alabama
No. 4: Indianapolis Colts (4-12-1)
Team Needs: QB, OL, CB, EDGE
Selection: Anthony Richardson, QB, Florida
No. 5: Seattle Seahawks — via Denver Broncos (5-12)
Team Needs: IOL, DL, S, QB
Selection: Jalen Carter, DL, Georgia
No. 6: Detroit Lions — via Los Angeles Rams (5-12)
Team Needs: CB, LB, TE, QB
Selection: Devon Witherspoon, CB, Illinois
No. 7: Las Vegas Raiders (6-11)
Team Needs: OL, DB, LB
Selection: Paris Johnson Jr., OT, Ohio State
No. 8: Atlanta Falcons (7-10)
Team Needs: EDGE, DB, WR, QB
Selection: Bijan Robinson, RB, Texas
No. 9: Chicago Bears via Carolina Panthers (7-10)
Team Needs: OT, EDGE, IOL, CB
Selection: Broderick Jones, OT, Georgia
No. 10: Philadelphia Eagles — via New Orleans Saints (7-10)
Team Needs: LB, RB, S
Selection: Tyree Wilson, EDGE, Texas Tech
No. 11: Tennessee Titans (7-10)
Team Needs: OT, EDGE, WR, LB
Selection: C.J. Stroud, QB, Ohio State
No. 12: Houston Texans — via Cleveland Browns (7-10)
Team Needs: Everything
Selection: Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Ohio State
No. 13: Green Bay Packers — via New York Jets (7-10)
Team Needs: WR, EDGE, TE, LB
Selection: Lukas Van Ness, EDGE, Iowa
No. 14: New England Patriots (8-9)
Team Needs: WR, OT, EDGE, DB
Selection: Peter Skoronski, OL, Northwestern
No. 15: New York Jets — via Green Bay Packers (8-9)
Team Needs: OT, LB, TE
Selection: Darnell Wright, OT, Tennessee
No. 16: Washington Commanders (8-8-1)
Team Needs: QB, OL, CB, LB
Selection: Christian Gonzalez, CB, Oregon
No. 17: Pittsburgh Steelers (9-8)
Team Needs: OT, CB, LB, EDGE
Selection: Anton Harrison, OT, Oklahoma
No. 18: Detroit Lions (9-8)
Team Needs: CB, LB, TE, QB
Selection: Calijah Kancey, DL, Pittsburgh
No. 19: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-9)
Team Needs: QB, OL, DB, TE
Selection: Deonte Banks, CB, Maryland
No. 20: Seattle Seahawks (9-8)
Team Needs: IOL, DL, S, QB
Selection: Brian Branch, S, Alabama
No. 21: Los Angeles Chargers (10-7)
Team Needs: IOL, LB, DL, WR
Selection: Zay Flowers, WR, Boston College
No. 22: Baltimore Ravens (10-7)
Team Needs: EDGE, CB, WR, OL
Selection: Quentin Johnston, WR, TCU
No. 23: Minnesota Vikings (13-4)
Team Needs: EDGE, WR, CB, LB
Selection: Nolan Smith, EDGE, Georgia
No. 24: Jacksonville Jaguars (9-8)
Team Needs: OL, CB, EDGE, DT
Selection: Bryan Bresee, DL, Clemson
No. 25: New York Giants (9-7-1)
Team Needs: WR, CB, IOL, LB
Selection: O’Cyrus Torrence, OL, Florida
No. 26: Dallas Cowboys (12-5)
Team Needs: DL, LB, TE
Selection: Dalton Kincaid, TE, Utah
No. 27: Buffalo Bills (13-3)
Team Needs: IOL, S, TE, DL
Selection: Will McDonald, EDGE, Iowa State
No. 28: Cincinnati Bengals (12-4)
Team Needs: CB, IOL, S, TE
Selection: Michael Mayer, TE, Notre Dame
No. 29: New Orleans Saints – via San Francisco 49ers (13-4)
Team Needs: CB, IOL, DL
Selection: Emmanuel Forbes, CB, Mississippi State
No. 30: Philadelphia Eagles (14-3)
Team Needs: LB, RB, S
Selection: Jahmyr Gibbs, RB, Alabama
No. 31: Kansas City Chiefs (14-3)
Team Needs: OT, WR, EDGE, S
Selection: Jordan Addison, WR, USC
Round 2
32. Pittsburgh Steelers — via Chicago: Mazi Smith, DL, Michigan
33. Houston Texans: Drew Sanders, LB, Arkansas
34. Arizona Cardinals: Cam Smith, CB, South Carolina
35. Indianapolis Colts: Kelee Ringo, CB, Georgia
36. Los Angeles Rams: Dawand Jones, OT, Ohio State
37. Seattle Seahawks — via Denver: Hendon Hooker, QB, Tennessee
38. Las Vegas Raiders: Trenton Simpson, LB, Clemson
39. Carolina Panthers: Darnell Washington, TE, Georgia
40. New Orleans Saints: Myles Murphy, EDGE, Clemson
41. Tennessee Titans: Matthew Bergeron, OT, Syracuse
42. Green Bay Packers — via Cleveland and N.Y. Jets: Jalin Hyatt, WR, Tennessee
43. New York Jets: Jack Campbell, LB, Iowa
44. Atlanta Falcons: Keion White, Georgia Tech
45. Green Bay Packers: Cody Mauch, OT, North Dakota State
46. New England Patriots: DJ Turner, CB, Michigan
47. Washington Commanders: John Michael Schmitz, OL, Minnesota
48. Detroit Lions: Sam LaPorta, TE, Iowa
49. Pittsburgh Steelers: Julius Brents, CB, Kansas State
50. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Steve Avila, OL, TCU
51. Miami Dolphins: Daiyan Henley, LB, Washington State
52. Seattle Seahawks: Josh Downs, WR, North Carolina
53. Chicago Bears — via Baltimore: Isaiah Foskey, EDGE, Notre Dame
54. Los Angeles Chargers: Tucker Kraft, TE, South Dakota State
55. Detroit Lions – via Minnesota: Nick Herbig, LB, Wisconsin
56. Jacksonville Jaguars: Luke Musgrave, TE, Oregon State
57. New York Giants: Antonio Johnson, S, Texas A&M
58. Dallas Cowboys: DeMarvion Overshown, LB, Texas
59. Buffalo Bills: Jordan Battle, S, Alabama
60. Cincinnati Bengals: Gervon Dexter, DL, Florida
61. Chicago Bears — via San Francisco and Carolina: Luke Wypler, Ohio State
62. Philadelphia Eagles: J.L. Skinner, S, Boise State
63. Kansas City Chiefs: Blake Freeland, OT, BYU
Round 3
64. Chicago Bears: Rashee Rice, WR, SMU
65. Houston Texans: Joe Tippmann, OL, Wisconsin
66. Arizona Cardinals: Devon Achane, RB, Texas A&M
67. Denver Broncos — from Indianapolis: Tyrique Stevenson, CB, Miami
68. Denver Broncos: Kyu Blu Kelly, CB, Stanford
69. Los Angeles Rams: B.J. Ojulari, EDGE, LSU
70. Las Vegas Raiders: Zach Charbonnet, RB, UCLA
71. New Orleans Saints: Kayshon Boutte, WR, LSU
72. Tennessee Titans: Derick Hall, EDGE, Auburn
73. Houston Texans — via Cleveland: Felix Anudike-Uzomah, EDGE, Kansas State
74. Cleveland Browns — via N.Y. Jets: Sydney Brown, S, Illinois
75. Atlanta Falcons: Adetomiwa Adebawore, EDGE, Northwestern
76. New England Patriots — via Carolina: Marvin Mims, WR, Oklahoma
77. Los Angeles Rams — via New England and Miami: Noah Sewell, LB, Oregon
78. Green Bay Packers: Trey Palmer, WR, Nebraska
79. Indianapolis Colts — via Washington: Clark Phillips, CB, Utah
80. Pittsburgh Steelers: Henry To’oTo’o, LB, Alabama
81. Detroit Lions: Cedric Tillman, WR, Tennessee
82. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Tuli Tuipulotu, EDGE, USC
83. Seattle Seahawks: Byron Young, EDGE, Tennessee
84. Miami Dolphins: Jahleel Billingsley, TE, Texas
85. Los Angeles Chargers: Ji’Ayir Brown, S, Penn State
86. Baltimore Ravens: Jaylon Jones, CB, Texas A&M
87. Minnesota Vikings: Darius Rush, CB, South Carolina
88. Jacksonville Jaguars: Siaki Ika, DT, Baylor
89. New York Giants: Clayton Tune, QB, Houston
90. Dallas Cowboys: DeWayne McBride, RB, UAB
91. Buffalo Bills: Nathaniel Dell, WR, Houston
92. Cincinnati Bengals: Christopher Smith, S, Georgia
93. Carolina Panthers – via San Francisco: Andre Carter, EDGE, Army
94. Philadelphia Eagles: Chandler Zavala, OL, NC State
95. Kansas City Chiefs: Isaiah McGuire, EDGE, Missouri
96. Arizona Cardinals: Brandon Joseph, S, Notre Dame
97. Washington Commanders: Zacch Pickens, DL, South Carolina
98. Cleveland Browns: Dorian Williams, LB, Tulane
99. San Francisco 49ers: Eli Ricks, CB, Alabama
100. Las Vegas Raiders — via Kansas City Chiefs and New York Giants: Jaelyn Duncan, OT, Maryland
101. San Francisco 49ers: K.J. Henry, EDGE, Clemson
102. San Francisco 49ers: Warren McClendon, OL, Georgia
Photo Credit: Courtesy of TCU Athletics