Executing a mock draft almost 12 months before the actual event is a stupid and futile project. A full season of college football will give the world unexpected superstars, disappointing regressions and bitter injuries that turn teams’ prospect boards upside down long before the first team is on the clock at the 2023 NFL Draft.
One year ago, we were bracing for a showdown between Sam Howell and Spencer Rattler for the first overall pick. Instead, Howell was drafted in the fifth round, and Rattler lost his starting job at Oklahoma before transferring to South Carolina. Travon Walker, who the Jaguars selected at No. 1, was hardly in the first round mix this time last year. He might not have been a top-10 selection if not for a stellar NFL Combine performance.
Fortunately, we did know some of the players who’d go on to earn Day 1 draft slots a year early. Players like Evan Neal, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Derek Stingley had all flashed Sunday talent long before getting their chance to shake hands with Roger Goodell. We have some similar broad strokes that can be applied to our vague painting of 2023’s draft class.
In that spirit, let’s take a shot at next year’s first round, fully understanding that its predictive power is rough equivalent of describing a Salvador Dali painting as “sky, tree, clock.” We’ll borrow the draft order from my also-too-early 2022 NFL power rankings. Who’ll be high priority picks next spring? Let’s figure about 20 of these guys live up to the hype.
