Worst Value Picks of the 2023 NFL Draft

Kansas City, Missouri (PSF) - The NFL Draft is a game of matching value with need. The best teams are able to do it seamlessly, while the worst drafting teams run into trouble when it comes to marrying the two variables. You could say that the NFL Draft is one big science experiment with the best scientists knowing how to draft well when it comes to value and need, while the worst scientists are still trying to figure out how to mix one element with another.

Science jokes aside, here are some of the worst value picks from this year’s draft.

Round 1, Pick 12: Lions draft Jahmyr Gibbs, RB, Alabama

This pick from the Lions was confusing, to say the least. Certainly not the direction I thought they were going to go with their first-round pick. After trading away cornerback Jeff Okudah to the Atlanta Falcons before the draft and with Christian Gonzalez, Deonte Banks, and Joey Porter Jr. all still on the board, I thought they were at least going to end up drafting one of them. Instead, they went with Gibbs who reminds me a lot of Alvin Kamara. The Lions passed on one of, if not their biggest need for a running back in the first round which is a narrative that has turned out to not age so well for the other running backs taken in the first round in previous drafts. While the Lions did trade away Deandre Swift to the Philadelphia Eagles during the draft which opens up the RB1 position for Gibbs, they also signed running back David Montgomery to a three year deal this offseason. If Gibbs hits, great, but if not, the Lions need to rethink how they value the running back position.

Round 1, Pick 16: Commanders draft Emmanuel Forbes, CB, Mississippi State

Like the Gibbs pick, this one was also a little bit of a head scratcher for me. Although the Commanders do need a CB1, with the other cornerbacks who were also on the board at the time in Christian Gonzalez who only went one pick later to the New England Patriots and Deonte Banks who ended up going to the New York Giants at pick 24, this pick feels like a swing and miss at the moment. Yes, Washington did fill a need, but Forbes is not exactly the ideal size you look for in a shutdown CB1 prospect. Forbes is 6’0”, but he is only a slim 181 pounds. Maybe not the weight you want your CB1 to be while he is out on an island against receivers like A.J. Brown, CeeDee Lamb, and DeVonta Smith who he will be going up against two times a year in division play for the foreseeable future.

Round 3, Pick 99: 49ers draft Jake Moody, K, Michigan

The NFC conference is a two-team race between the Philadelphia Eagles and San Fransisco 49ers. While the Eagles had yet another great draft and offseason as a whole, the 49ers did not close the gap between the two teams through the draft. The 49ers first pick was not until the third round when they selected safety Ji’Ayir Brown out of Penn State. Only 12 picks later though with their second overall pick in the draft, San Fransisco decided to go with kicker Jake Moody from Michigan. Although San Fransisco’s kicker last season Robbie Gould is 40 and is still a free agent, San Fransisco could have used this pick in many other ways than a kicker in an attempt to close the talent gap between them and the Philadelphia Eagles. If Moody was the best available player on their board, I can’t blame them for making this pick, but it also seems that San Fransisco did not get close to where they want to be in the NFC conference hierarchy heading into next season with this selection of Moody in my opinion.

Round 4, Pick 128: Rams draft Stetson Bennett, QB, Georgia

This pick felt like a flat out reach, and I do not think a lot of people are going to disagree with me when it comes to that take. Stetson Bennett is a two-time college football national champion, yes, that cannot be taken away from him or looked down upon when evaluating him when it comes to big game experiences. However, in the same breath, Bennett was also centered around the best two rosters in the sport and country when he won those two national championships while he was the quarterback at Georgia. Not only this, but it is not like Bennett is one of these freak of nature or unicorn like prospects when it comes to what traits he brings to the table which is where the league and general managers decisions are heading when it comes to drafting quarterbacks. He has an average arm, average mobility, and is an overall average player at the end of the day. Do not get me wrong, I am not trying to rip on him or this pick, but the Rams could have certainly gotten Bennett later in the draft or even have signed him as an undrafted free agent.

Round 5, Pick 149: Packers draft Sean Clifford, QB, Penn State

I hate to bash on two quarterback prospects who were drafted in the later rounds of the draft and will most likely never see the field as long-term starters for their or any franchises for that matter, but this was another pick that made me question what the Packers management is doing and the plan they have in place when it comes to the quarterback position post Aaron Rodgers era. Jordan Love will be the team’s starting quarterback come week one of next season, that is a fact and is settled in stone barring injury. If this is the case then, why did the Packers spend a fifth-round pick on Sean Clifford when not only is Love going into year three of his career with already limited starts when you need to know if he is your guy long term or not, and when like Bennett, could have also gotten Clifford later in the draft and maybe even as a undrafted free agent too? The Packers just ended a quarterback controversy between Aaron Rodgers and Jordan Love a few weeks ago, I would not think they want to do the same when it now comes to Clifford and Love if it ever gets to reaching that point in the future.

Worst Value Picks of the 2023 NFL Draft

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