2023 NFL Mock Draft as picked by beat reporters
How the draft could shake out according to beat reporters originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
It's the eve of the 2023 NFL Draft and for our final mock draft, a collection of beat reporters from the teams picking ahead of the Chicago Bears came together for a real-time draft.
Here is the panel we had making the picks:
Pick No. 1 Carolina Panthers - Fox Sports 1340’s Sheena Quick
Pick No. 2 Houston Texans - Houston Chronicles’ Jonathan Alexander
Pick No. 3 Arizona Cardinals - Darren Urban from Cardinals.com
Pick No. 4 Indianapolis Colts - JJ Stankevitz from Colts.com
Pick No. 5 Seattle Seahawks - The Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta
Pick No. 6 Detroit Lions - Pride Of Detroit’s Jeremy Reisman
Pick No. 7 Las Vegas Raiders - Vinny Bonsignore from the Las Vegas Review-Journal
Pick No. 8 Atlanta Falcons - Atlanta Journal Constitution’s D. Orlando Ledbetter
Pick No. 9 Chicago Bears - Josh Schrock from you know where
And here is how it played out.
1. Carolina Panthers: Bryce Young, QB, Alabama
"Honestly, it was up in the air because, of course, some people still like Anthony Richardson and what he could possibly bring to a franchise," Quick said. "But I think that Bryce Young is your safest pick and a lot of people equate safe with with not being positive.
"I wouldn't necessarily say that, but Bryce is definitely shown that he's a winner. He has pocket presence. And if you look at the top of the statistics amongst those four quarterbacks, he's routinely at the top of those. So he's a performer. He's a prime time player. And I think that he will do very well in this offense with the mentors that he does have and the veterans on the offensive side of the ball."
2. Houston Texans: Will Anderson, Jr., EDGE, Alabama
"The number two pick is going to be Will Anderson," Alexander said. "I think they should pick C.J. Stroud but I'm not making that pick. You talk to a lot of people around the league they think that the Texans are going to pass on the quarterback with the number two pick. I don't think they're in love with him."
3. Arizona Cardinals: Tyree Wilson, EDGE, Texas Tech
"Well, in this scenario, obviously, we're not going to be trading at all. But I would think that if this came down, this would put the Cardinals in a prime position to trade with somebody who might want to trade up for a quarterback, maybe get ahead of the Colts," Urban said.
"So if this is how it would play out, I would fully expect the Cardinals to try and trade. But assuming they stay at this position and with these guys on the board, I'm saying they would take Texas Tech edge rusher Tyree Wilson."
4. Indianapolis Colts: Anthony Richardson, QB, Florida
J.J. Stankevitz gave host Ken Davis the option of choosing a number between one and three, Ken chose two.
"Anthony Richardson, quarterback Florida," Stankevitz revealed was behind door No. 2.
"Any of the three guys you're talking about, C.J. Stroud, Will Levis, Anthony Richardson, any of those guys would be a great fit for the Colts. And that's because Shane Steichen does not have a certain type of quarterback that he needs to run an offense. He's going to build an offense around the talent or whatever that his quarterback has.
"So in Anthony Richardson's case, you're building an offense that's probably going to be run first, use his arm strength and then try to develop him as a passer."
But what about Ohio State's C.J. Stroud and Kentucky's Will Levis?
"But if you said a number three, I'm going in alphabetical order here, that would have been C.J. Stroud," Stankevitz said. "You can develop an offense to accentuate his pinpoint accuracy and his decision making.
"If you went with number one, Will Levis in that in that scenario, you develop an offense that utilizes his arm strength, his mobility on some of the zone read stuff.
"Look, this is a dream scenario for us here in Indianapolis where we get to have our pick of those three quarterbacks. So I don't care who it is, frankly. I'd like to get one of those guys."
5. Seattle Seahawks: C.J. Stroud, QB, Ohio State
"Given the way this board has has broken, I'm going to go with C.J. Stroud," Condotta said. "And I was prepared to go with Jalen Carter if C.J. started already gone. But I'm going to go with C.J. Stroud here.
The Seahawks do have Geno Smith and they do have him under contract for a couple more years here. But I think they could look at the long-term here and the rare opportunity to pick, what they hope anyway is a rare time, that they're picking in the top ten of the draft and go with a quarterback and try to just kind of take a chance on a guy.
"And it's sort of the same philosophy that obviously with a much lower pick, but kind of the same philosophy that led them to Russell Wilson in 2012 when nobody really thought they needed a quarterback either.
"But I think this time, though, when they have you know, they have two of the top 20 picks, they have four of the top 52 and five in the in the top three round. So they can get some other they address some of their needs with some of the other picks they have. And so here they can kind of try to get a quarterback who maybe could be a foundational guy for a long time."
6. Detroit Lions: Devon Witherspoon, CB, Illinois
"If I were making this pick, it's Jalen Carter," Reisman said. "There's no question the Lions need that interior pass rush. It's their biggest need and Jalen Carter is arguably the biggest talent in this draft. But I do think that the character concerns are too much that Dan Campbell wouldn't take a risk on this guy. I really do.
"And so while my heart hates for me to say it, but I think my brain thinks this is what would happen if Jalen Carter is there at No. 6, I think the Lions are going to take Devon Witherspoon the corner out of Illinois. He is all that Dan Campbell likes. He sees this gritty guy. He doesn't mind getting his nose dirty in the run game. He's a great press corner, which is what the Lions like in their cornerbacks.
"...As I would like to see Jalen Carter in Honolulu blue I think Devon Witherspoon is the better culture fit it and still feels a pretty big long term need here."
7. Las Vegas Raiders: Christian Gonzalez, CB, Oregon
Vinny Bonsignore from the Las Vegas Review-Journal said the Raiders would also pass on Jalen Carter because of the character issues and noted the Henry Ruggs III accident which led to felony DUI charges.
He also noted the Raiders would've liked Witherspoon, and potentially interested in trading down
"If they stay put, I think maybe they get a little bit lucky here and are able to bring in Christian Gonzalez," Bonsignore said. "I think when you look at their scheme and what they're trying to do, Witherspoon probably fits a little bit more.
"But at the same time, when you look at Christian Gonzalez, the athleticism, the speed, the size, the length, he is a good run defender. He tackles, he's not afraid to do that. He was asked to do a certain thing in Oregon. I think with all of his physical traits and athletic traits, he'll be able to do what the Raiders ask him to do as well.
"So maybe five years down the road, while they may prefer Devon Witherspoon right now, I think this might turn out to be a great stroke of luck that Gonzalez was there, that the Lions passed on him for Witherspoon and the Raiders arguably got the better player."
8. Atlanta Falcons: Bijan Robinson, RB, Texas
"They're trying to stay they're a best player available team," Ledbetter said. "And two of their guys are already gone Tyree Wilson and Gonzalez. So that left three people for them, Lukas Van Ness, Nolan Smith and Bijan Robinson.
They're not going to do Jalen Carter. It's the character issues. They're more put off by the fact that he didn't practice at Georgia, practiced when he wanted to took over when he wanted to. And it just got too many sounds of Jadeveon Clowney in him. They've been trying to get everybody to go hard play hard and they got everybody bought in, so you really couldn't drop him into this team right now.
"So the best player at No. 8 for them you got to take the running back. Top-five talent, you know nobody expected him to go this high. But if they're going to do what they say, he's the best player and you just pair him with Tyler Allgeier. You got some more weapons on that offense. You protect that quarterback you're trying to develop and keep it moving."
He noted the Falcons do need a pass rusher, but none of the guys on the board are "bona fide, for sure pass rushers."
9. Chicago Bears: Darnell Wright, OT, Tennessee
"I'm going to be honest, if it shakes out like this on Thursday, it's going to be an incredibly tough decision because Jalen Carter is not off the Bears board, but they need a tackle desperately," Schrock said. "And the way the draft shakes out, there's four top tackles and there's a giant gap between four and five. I'm going to take Darnell Wright.
"I think the Bears want a right tackle. I think it's between (Peter) Skoronski and Darnell Wright. I think they want to give Braxton Jones another full year to see if he can be a left tackle. Paris Johnson is maybe the most talented tackle, but he's already switched from guard to tackle, this would be three different positions in three years playing him at right. I don't think they go that way.
"I'm going to go with Darnell Wright. And let someone else take the chance on Jalen Carter and make me look silly because I think Darnell Wright has All-Pro potential at right tackle and could eventually play left if Braxton Jones doesn't work out in the future."
