Goldfish's Way Too Early Draft Rankings 2023 (All up)

[squire12]

2 hours ago, Jakuvious said:

It's almost impractically large, isn't it? I guess maybe there's merit to just kind of seeing who sticks, but there's no chance they all make roster, so it feels like they'd have been better served using some to move back up or something.

There are some teams that are looking at the 53 man roster + the practice squad when considering there draft class.

A late day 3 pick can get to the practice squad easier as they don't know another teams playback and aren't a high chance game day contributor.

[Hunter2_1]

Pats had a huge haul too. Not sure how many without looking it up. Not far off Jags probably.

 

Sounds like LAC should maybe be in the 30’s?

[goldfishwars]

27. Baltimore Ravens

This Class In One Sentence:

A very un-Baltimore-like class

Pre-Draft Needs (According to https://www.nflmockdraftdatabase.com/team-needs-2023)

WR, CB, EDGE, RB, QB, DL, IOL

Selections

22. Zay Flowers | WR | Boston College

86. Trenton Simpson | ILB | Clemson

124. Tavius Robinson  | Edge | Ole Miss

157. Kyu Blu Kelly  | CB | Stanford

199. Malaesala Aumavae–Laulu  | OT | Oregon

229. Andrew Vorhees  | OG | USC

What I liked:

We are getting into a range of drafts with plenty to enjoy. A bit of dynamism was needed on a thin receiver corps before the off-season, and Flowers gives that group an added peppy zest. Like many prospects in the draft, he had wild admirers and detractors. I definitely like him more than I don’t – but I am certainly in neither camp.

I think Trenton Simpson has plenty of talent, he’s uber-athletic, even if he’s not the most instinctive linebacker. Still, a player of his quality feels like good value at 86. For a team with no second-round pick to land a faller like Trenton, that must have felt pretty good.  

What I didn’t like:

There’s not a lot to dislike. Firstly, seeing the Ravens come into the draft with so little draft capital is weird. So, it’s just a smaller class which is a little underwhelming.

Whilst I like the Flowers pick, and it makes sense, he’s a tiny target on a team with a QB who has been an erratic passer. This was a problem when Marquise Brown was in town. I think Monken probably fixes that, but it’s just worth noting.

I guess the downside to the Simpson pick is the high investment of linebackers already on the roster with Roquan, Patrick Queen and Malik Harrison.

I think the other selections are fine, decent low-ceiling role players. I wasn’t huge on Vorhees pre-injury, but some will feel they got a bargain there.

[goldfishwars]

26. Minnesota Vikings

This Class In One Sentence:

A small haul which probably needed to be not small

Pre-Draft Needs (According to https://www.nflmockdraftdatabase.com/team-needs-2023)

CB, WR, QB, EDGE, DL, S, LB

Selections

23. Jordan Addison | WR | USC

102. Mekhi Blackmon | CB | USC

134. Jay Ward  | S | LSU

141. Jaquelin Roy  | DT | LSU

164. Jaren Hall  | QB | BYU

222. DeWayne McBride  | RB | UAB

What I liked:

After staying pat and choosing players at their spots, Kwesi made a decent stab at things overall. I loved Addison as a polished route-runner who showed he could win at all three levels. The Vikings urgently needed a companion receiver for Justin Jefferson, who was on the verge of being overburdened last year.

The front office clearly loved Mekhi Blackmon, based on the emotional reaction to getting him at 102. Like Addison, he’s a little on the small side, but he’s a corner with crazy PFF coverage grades in both man and zone – I get why an analytically driven team would like him.

Of the remaining picks, I like the late shot on DeWayne McBride. He doesn’t offer much on third down as a receiver, but he’s an insanely slippery runner who's also not lacking in the power department. I think that was one of the better day three selections.

What I didn’t like:

I guess it’s a problem when teams overachieve related to the talent on the roster when you can’t give it the infusion it needs due to a lack of draft capital. I think the Vikings almost had to trade down at 23, and either felt like they couldn’t miss out on a premium receiver – or just there wasn’t a serious offer on the table. Either way, the value of this draft was on day two, and they made only one selection there.

I guess, whilst I like the Addison pick, he still measured and tested below expectations. He wouldn’t have hit certain size thresholds for a first-round selection for some teams. I suppose that matters less and less these days - so whilst this is a nitpick, play strength does matter in the NFL. 

Other than that, you’re still looking at that quarterback position. I don’t think Jaren Hall is good enough to push Kirk Cousins. And then you’re also still looking at a roster which runs thin at a few spots. An untimely injury or two can do real damage. 

[ET80]

And our yearly institution begins!

[Daniel]

I liked the Vikings.  Blackmon and Ward were two of my guys I thought were super underrated (although both got drafted much higher than their projections, so maybe they weren't actually that underrated), and I had Addison as WR2.

Hall should be a great backup QB too.

[vikingsrule]

I’m in agreement, if the Vikes had a day 2 pick on the table to trade down in round one, that would have been the better play. I liked the Addison pick and it makes sense to give Jefferson some support, but that defense was terrible last year and there were some good CBs available at 23 that would have made a ton of sense like Banks or Porter. I felt CB or WR was the way to go with the first pick so they did okay in round one. I’m not enamored with Addison but i wasn’t with Jefferson coming out either so what do I know. 
 

The rest of the draft was disappointing but there wasn’t much draft capital to work with due to the Hockenson trade. Maybe Blackmon will be something at CB but expecting a very very late third round pick to be an immediate contributor at CB seems like a tall order.

I do like the 7th round RB. I think he can be a good compliment to Mattison if Cook is traded. We’ve not really had a reliable short yardage, no nonsense runner in some time and he seems to fit that profile. 

The rest of the draft was somewhat underwhelming. Nailed some positions of need and took a QB in the fifth round which almost always is a throw away pick so I wouldn’t have gone that route.

Edited May 1, 2023 by vikingsrule

[General Tso]

Ok, you can fight me on this, and I understand why on paper Philly will be high on this list, but none of the defensive players Kirby Smart has recruited at Georgia have made a Pro Bowl.

So the whole Philly Bulldogs thing is cute, but it remains to be seen if they picked the right players.

[Daniel]

22 minutes ago, General Tso said:

Ok, you can fight me on this, and I understand why on paper Philly will be high on this list, but none of the defensive players Kirby Smart has recruited at Georgia have made a Pro Bowl.

So the whole Philly Bulldogs thing is cute, but it remains to be seen if they picked the right players.

I think they're just trying to get the Atlanta TV market.

[Spartacus]

Outside of Addison I HATED the Vikings draft and even Addison I agree with you there were better value options especially on defense. I was looking at mid round CBs for the Packers depth and Blackmon screamed terrible pro player. He is way too grabby and stiff. He will be a penalty machine and route runners are going to leave him in the dust. Ward is also a penalty machine although I like him more as a pro then Blackmon. Roy is probably my favorite pick they made and even I don't see a really decent pro prospect there. 

Kwesi so far has not impressed me at all over the last 2 drafts. His MO seems to be take great college players that don't have skills to translate to the NFL. He is the anti-Gutenkunst. 

[jrry32]

43 minutes ago, General Tso said:

Ok, you can fight me on this, and I understand why on paper Philly will be high on this list, but none of the defensive players Kirby Smart has recruited at Georgia have made a Pro Bowl.

So the whole Philly Bulldogs thing is cute, but it remains to be seen if they picked the right players.

They haven't had much time to make a Pro Bowl. The 2019 Draft would have been the first for an UGA player recruited by Kirby. That means the oldest guys have only been in the NFL for four years. Roquan Smith, who was technically recruited by Richt but played most of his career for Kirby, made a Pro Bowl.

[TankWilliams]

1 hour ago, General Tso said:

Ok, you can fight me on this, and I understand why on paper Philly will be high on this list, but none of the defensive players Kirby Smart has recruited at Georgia have made a Pro Bowl.

So the whole Philly Bulldogs thing is cute, but it remains to be seen if they picked the right players.

I'm not particularly high on Nolan Smith, and I felt that Jalen Carter was going to be a bust if drafted by the Bears.  Carter might be in the right situation to succeed, but either way, I'm with you that I don't think its as great of a first round as people say.  

[jrry32]

52 minutes ago, TankWilliams said:

I'm not particularly high on Nolan Smith, and I felt that Jalen Carter was going to be a bust if drafted by the Bears.  Carter might be in the right situation to succeed, but either way, I'm with you that I don't think its as great of a first round as people say.  

Nolan Smith is an interesting one. He's a freak athlete who has great character and does the dirty work with enthusiasm. Man plays a physical brand of football. The questions with him are how good of a pass rusher he'll be and whether he can stay healthy (small guy who got injured in college and plays with a lot of physicality). I think if he stays healthy, he should at least be a solid player. But it's not clear if he'll develop into an impactful pass rusher.

[minutemancl]

2 hours ago, General Tso said:

Ok, you can fight me on this, and I understand why on paper Philly will be high on this list, but none of the defensive players Kirby Smart has recruited at Georgia have made a Pro Bowl.

So the whole Philly Bulldogs thing is cute, but it remains to be seen if they picked the right players.

Here's an even hotter take: the Eagles realized this as well, that it is a 'sum of the parts' situation in Georgia, so they decided to just draft the sum.

[General Tso]

3 minutes ago, minutemancl said:

Here's an even hotter take: the Eagles realized this as well, that it is a 'sum of the parts' situation in Georgia, so they decided to just draft the sum.

Didn't draft Christopher Smith so it'll never be the same 🤔