Riley Tripp’s First Round Mock Draft
Kansas City, MI (PSF) - As the 2023 NFL Draft officially opens in two days from now, here is my latest mock draft with the most recent rumors.
1. Carolina Panthers - Bryce Young, QB, Alabama
This first overall pick could go so many directions for Carolina. The recent rumors is that Bryce Young is a lock to go number one to them, but just this morning Will Levis’s draft odds have skyrocketed to go number one. The Panthers have also seemed to be locked in on C.J. Stroud as well. We probably will not know the pick until it is announced Thursday night, but personally I think the pick will be Young as Carolina gets their new franchise quarterback.
2. Houston Texans - Will Anderson Jr, DE/OLB, Alabama
Houston could still take a quarterback here but if Bryce Young is no longer available I think the Texans will go to the defensive side of the ball taking possibly the best defensive player in this draft in Will Anderson Jr. out of Alabama. Their new head coach Demeco Ryans is a defensive minded guy, so this would most likely be his pick.
3. Arizona Cardinals - Jalen Carter, DT, Georgia
Arizona will potentially be the worst team in the league next year and with Kyler Murray most likely missing half of the season recovering from a torn ACL, so this rebuild has to start somewhere and with how terrible their defense was last season, grabbing Jalen Carter out of Georgia to beef up their defensive line would be tremendous for them.
4. Indianapolis Colts - Will Levis, QB, Kentucky
The Colts have spent the last five seasons trying to find their franchise quarterback after Andrew Luck retiring. Since they were smart this off-season and didn’t trade for a washed up vet at quarterback, I don’t think they will mess around in this draft and try to get their guy in Will Levis out of Kentucky. Now, there are mixed opinions on Will Levis with a lot of people already labeling him a bust. Personally, I think Levis is the perfect fit for this squad as they try to get headed in the right direction.
5. Seattle Seahawks - Anthony Richardson, QB, Florida
This is a perfect situation for Seattle. They made the playoffs last year with Geno Smith resurrecting his career. This pick is also the Broncos with the failed Russell Wilson trade. Seattle did pay Geno this off-season but they won’t be picking this high in the draft anytime in the near future, so why not get a project quarterback like Anthony Richardson to sit behind Geno for a year or two and be fully developed when Geno’s time in Seattle is done.
6. Detroit Lions - Devon Witherspoon, CB, Illinois
This pick just feels like a Dan Campbell pick. The Lions have made it clear this offseason that they are trying to beef up their defense after an abysmal outing last season. With the additions of Cam Sutton and C.J. Gardner-Johnson to their secondary they have a chance to add the most physical corner in this draft to potentially give them the scariest secondary next season.
7. Las Vegas Raiders - Peter Skoronski, OT, Northwestern
I don’t think anyone around the league can guess what this pick will be for the Raiders as they are infamous for their odd first round selections. After paying Jimmy G this offseason to be their next quarterback, I will figure they will try to get the first offensive lineman off the board to help protect Jimmy G in his first year in Las Vegas.
8. Atlanta Falcons - C.J. Stroud, QB, Ohio State
Every year in the draft there is always one pick projected to go high that ends up falling and unfortunately I think this will be C.J. Stroud out of Ohio State. Stroud had an amazing combine and seemed to be the pick after the Panthers traded up for number one overall. As far as it goes for Atlanta this would be an absolute steal for them, snagging possibly the best quarterback in this draft eighth overall would help their rebuild tremendously.
9. Chicago Bears - Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Ohio State
After Chicago traded down from number one overall they were still able to keep a top ten pick and this pick should clearly be Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Chicago needs desperate help in their receiver room, even though they did trade for D.J. Moore grabbing another receiver to give Justin Fields more weapons wouldn’t be bad.
10. Philadelphia Eagles - Christian Gonzalez, CB, Oregon
Other than safety there isn’t a lot of holes from the reigning NFC champions. The Eagles almost released All-Pro corner Darius Slay in the off-season but ultimately wanted to keep him. They also resigned their other All-Pro corner James Bradberry. I think Christian Gonzalez will be perfect fit for Philadelphia to help beef up their corner room even more.
11. Tennessee Titans - Nolan Smith, OLB, Georgia
There isn’t really a direction that the Titans are headed and could potentially be in the race for Caleb Williams next season. Drafting Nolan Smith out of Georgia would help a really bad defense from a season ago. Pairing him with Jeffrey Simmons would also be scary for O-lines across the league.
12. Houston Texans - Jordan Addison, WR, USC
After drafting number two overall the Texans should be sitting pretty at number 12 overall. Trading Brandin Cooks this offseason was also a smart move for this team but they still need help in their receiving core. Taking the speedy wide receiver Jordan Addison out of USC would boost their receiving core and get this offense a new face.
13. Green Bay Packers - Dalton Kincaid, TE, Utah
After trading their longtime quarterback Aaron Rodgers, the new quarterback in town is now Jordan Love. Why not start the new era by getting him the best tight end prospect in this draft in Dalton Kincaid out of Utah.
14. New England Patriots - Quentin Johnson, WR, TCU
The Patriots need a ton of help on the offensive side of the ball, specifically at wide receiver. Replacing Jakobi Myers with JuJu Smith-Schuster was questionable but Quentin Johnson is a very good receiver in the right system and I believe that is the Patriots system. Quentin Johnson has fallen on a lot of draft boards with a bad showing at the combine and TCU’s pro day. He’s still a 6’4 receiver who has the potential to be a true WR1 on any team.
15. New York Jets - Broderick Jones, OT, Georgia
After trading for Aaron Rodgers this team is now ready to take the next step and try to make the playoffs next season. They have a ton of special young talent on the roster so their best bet would try to get some protection for their new quarterback.
16. Washington Commanders - Brian Branch, S, Alabama
There is a lot of directions the Commanders are able to go here but I think next season will be a real disappointment for them as they will most likely end up in the Caleb Williams race. I think Washington will try to make a safe pick here and take the versatile defensive back out of Alabama to give their secondary some desperate upgrades.
17. Pittsburgh Steelers - Joey Porter Jr, CB, Penn State
Joey Porter Jr. is most likely going to fall in this draft and that is due to his film. He’s stiff and not the most athletic corner in this draft but I still think he will be a very good corner in the NFL, so why not go across town from Penn State to Pittsburgh and play in a secondary with Minkah Fitzpatrick and Patrick Peterson.
18. Detroit Lions - Myles Murphy, DE, Clemson
As I said earlier with the Lions first pick, they are all about defense this year and after taking a corner first, getting the chance to bolster this defensive line would be huge. If Detroit is somehow able to grab Witherspoon and Murphy I would confidently say they might have the best defense in the entire league next year. Myles Murphy is also a Clemson guy who has top 10 talent in this draft class.
19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Michael Mayer, TE, Notre Dame
I think this pick is very simple for Tampa Bay. Their super bowl window is closed for the time being and with Baker Mayfield now ready to take over for the legendary Tom Brady. This pick should clearly be the athletic tight end Michael Mayer out of Notre Dame. Mayer has all the tools to be a very good tight end in this league. If he can develop into a good pass blocker, there’s a chance this will be a steal of a pick years from now.
20. Seattle Seahawks - Calijah Kancey, DT, Pittsburgh
As Seattle addressed the future of their franchise with their top 5 pick in this draft, sitting back at 20 and finding the right guy will be perfect. I really like Kancey in this draft, a very good athletic nose tackle who loves to make plays on the ball. This is what Seattle was missing all year last season and would be an A+ pick for them.
21. Los Angeles Chargers - Zay Flowers, WR, Boston College
This just feels like a perfect fit for Flowers. A real speed threat at the receiver position and some have even said he could wind up being the best receiver out of this draft. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind Justin Herbert throwing him the ball too.
22. Baltimore Ravens - Paris Johnson Jr, OT, Ohio State
We are two days from the draft and Lamar Jackson’s contract situation still has not been resolved, so who knows what that deal is. They did sign Odell Beckham Jr in the off-season and Odell told reporters he signed with Baltimore with a 100% guarantee Lamar would be the quarterback in 2023. The Ravens still need a ton of weapons on offense but there’s never a bad time to take an offensive lineman. Protecting you franchise quarterback after signing him to a future huge deal will never be a bad thing. This will be an A+ pick for Baltimore.
23. Minnesota Vikings - Deonte Banks, CB, Maryland
The gameplan in this draft is very simple for Minnesota, DEFENSE, DEFENSE, DEFENSE! They need help just about everywhere after getting torched in the wildcard game against Daniel Jones….. so getting a corner in the first round to pair with Andrew Booth Jr who was the first round selection last season, should lead to some future success.
24. Jacksonville Jaguars - Darnell Wright, OT, Tennessee
Listen, the Jaguars are the team of the future with Trevor Lawrence leading the way. They are getting their All-Pro receiver Calvin Ridley back from suspension. This pick is also simple, they lost a really good offensive tackle in free agency, so replace him with this pick.
25. New York Giants - Emmanuel Forbes, CB, Mississippi State
The Giants are going two directions in the first two rounds. Corner and wide receiver, whichever one is best available is the way they will go. Forbes stock has grown a lot and turned himself into a first round pick, so the Giants would walk away nicely in this draft.
26. Dallas Cowboys - O’Cyrus Torrence, G, Florida
With the acquisitions of Brandin Cooks and Stephon Gilmore, the Cowboys addressed their two biggest needs heading into next year. Dallas is also the best drafting team in the league and haven’t missed an offensive line pick in the first round over the last decade. Drafting Torrence and putting him next to Tyler Smith, who was an amazing rookie tackle for Dallas last season, would probably give the Cowboys the best offensive line in the NFL by a landslide.
27. Buffalo Bills - Bijan Robinson, HB, Texas
The Bills are just nearly there when it comes to winning a super bowl and the run game was a serious problem for them. Drafting a running back in the first round is never a good idea, but when it comes to a talent like Robinson, my oh my. This would take Buffalo over the top and be a scary team in 2023.
28. Cincinnati Bengals - Anton Harrison, T, Oklahoma
The Bengals are a fully complete team, other then offensive line. The La’el Collins experiment was a disaster. This pick should be offensive line and offensive line only, taking the best one on the board.
29. New Orleans Saints - Lukas Van Ness, DE/OLB, Iowa
The Saints did everything they could to get back in the first round and after getting their offense squared out in free agency, this first round pick should easily be an edge rusher. Van Ness has gotten a ton of draft buzz and had an amazing combine, so this pick could have tremendous value.
30. Philadelphia Eagles - Tyree Wilson, DE, Texas Tech
As I said before, there aren’t a lot of holes on this Eagles roster. They did lose some defensive lineman though, but getting another edge rusher into a group who lead the league in sacks would be absolutely ridiculous and I think Howie Roseman will somehow pull it off.
31. Kansas City Chiefs - Josh Downs, WR, UNC
The Super Bowl champions are on cruise control right now and I think a receiver of Downs’ ability is very easily a Chiefs receiver in Andy Reid’s offense. They still don’t have a lot of talent at receiver but they do have a Patrick Mahomes. I am a huge fan of Josh Downs and think he has a chance at OROY in 2023 regardless of the system he is in.