2023 NFL Draft

Anderson is the best pure edge rusher Alabama has produced in the 21st century. And yes, that's a slightly loaded compliment.

Alabama produces lots of excellent off-ball linebacker prospects such as C.J. Mosley and Rashaan Evans, as well as lots of all-purpose defensive line prospects such as Jonathan Allen. But their speedy, undersized, stand-up, wide-9 type rushers tend to be second-tier prospects such as Terrell Lewis or Ryan Anderson: toolsy former five-star recruits better suited to the middle rounds of the draft. Anderson is the first Crimson Tide defender of his type to combine tools, tape, and production in a long, long time.

Anderson is the complete package as an edge rusher. He's so explosive in his first three steps that he can almost intercept the snap if left unblocked. His lateral quickness is outstanding. His pass-rushing moves are economical and effective: he can disengage from pass-protectors with a quick swipe of his arm and a step to his left.

Anderson's awareness and play-recognition skills supplement his pass-rushing ability well. He'll step back and leap for a deflection when he anticipates a short pass (three batted/deflected passes in 2021). He reads screens and disrupts misdirection plays. Anderson weaves through traffic fluidly on stunts and knows his role when eating up blockers for a teammate.

As for run defense, well, Anderson played at around 245 pounds, and bigger/better blockers can latch on and move Anderson when the play is coming right at him.

If Anderson were about 10 pounds of meaningful playing weight stouter, he might be the best edge-rush prospect from ANY program of this century. At the risk of dooming a prospect with a Hall of Fame comparison: Anderson has Von Miller-like measurables and film. He's that athletic, explosive, and unique. He'll likely enter the NFL as a prohibitive Defensive Rookie of the Year favorite, and he should have double-digit sack impact right away.

Stat Note: Anderson's 81 pass pressures in 2021 was the second-highest figure in the entire Sports Info Solution database, dating back to 2016; Sutton Smith of Northern Illinois recorded 86 pressures in 2017.

Anderson's 53 pressures ranked third in the nation behind Laiatu Latu (UCLA, 61) and Jonah Tavai (San Diego State, 56) in 2022.

Carter is such an outstanding prospect that he impacted last year's draft class.

Why didn't Jordan Davis get more snaps? Kirby Smart and his staff were rotating Carter into the game.

Why were Travon Walker's sack and pressure rates so low? Carter siphoned off snaps and opportunities.

Anyone who watched 2021 Georgia film/tape over and over again to prepare for last year's draft found themselves saying, "Oh, there's No. 88 again. Why am I not writing a profile on him again? Holy crap, he's a sophomore!"

Carter is a "Planet Theory" athlete with tremendous agility at 300-plus pounds, outstanding upper body strength, excellent hand-fighting technique, and a careening style that makes him effective everywhere from nose tackle to the edge. Carter's only on-field weaknesses are an inconsistent get-off at the snap and a habit of losing his balance when trying to transform himself into a guided missile.

Carter's involvement in the Georgia football drag-racing incident which resulted in the deaths of a teammate and a program staff member bears careful monitoring, of course. Carter's decision to not come clean to authorities about his involvement until an arrest warrant was issued speaks poorly of his character. As serious and tragic as the incident was, however, NFL teams may see it as an isolated incident of reckless immaturity. If the information changes, so will this scouting report.

Stat Notes: Carter led the Bulldogs and the SEC with 33 pass pressures in 2022 despite missing three games. He finished second to Walker with 29 pressures in 2021.

It is impossible, and inappropriate, to NOT "program scout" or "helmet scout" an Ohio State quarterback.

Those who bristle at the mere notion of Ohio State's history of producing disappointing quarterbacks, or who claim to be cyborgs of objectivity capable of filtering out the distortions caused by playing behind an offensive line full of future NFL starters while throwing to future Offensive Rookies of the Year, are simply not learning from the mistakes of the past. There's wisdom in watching someone like Stroud throw a deep over from a spotless pocket to a wide-open Marvin Harrison Jr. and realizing, yup, the program was a major factor on that play, and Cardale Jones completed a similar pass to Michael Thomas in 2015.

So it's instructive to embrace helmet scouting—to a degree—and report that:

• Stroud has the best timing and accuracy on short-to-intermediate routes of any Ohio State quarterback of the last 20 years.
• Stroud slides around the pocket and resets his feet before throwing better than any Ohio State quarterback of the last 20 years.
• Stroud finds secondary targets and moves defenders with his eyes better than any Ohio State quarterback of the last 20 years.

In other words, Stroud is a much better pocket and game manager than Justin Fields or the others who came before him. He's also a judicious runner who is dangerous when he gets a head of steam and can barrel for yardage on designed carries. He can deliver downfield strikes from a collapsing pocket, and he can find sideline targets when extending pays. Yes, the fact that those targets are named after their Hall of Fame dads helps turn those difficult sideline passes into receptions, but Stroud still gets the ball there.

Stroud's most notable flaw is that passes outside the numbers consistently sail high and outside on his receivers. His eyes are inconsistent, and he will lock onto his primary for too long at times. Stroud isn't quite nifty enough as a scrambler to spin out of the back of the pocket in the NFL like he did at times in college, so that move will probably have to be jettisoned. He attempts heroics off his back foot a little too often. Most of these flaws, however, are just standard "developing quarterback" issues.

Stroud has a Ben Roethlisberger ceiling: there are shades of early-career Big Ben in his poise, touch/timing, and rushing style. It's not unusual for Ohio State quarterbacks to earn gaudy, ambitious comparisons like that. Where Stroud differs from his predecessors is his high floor as a more mobile Jacoby Brissett type who can operate efficiently within structure.

At his worst, Stroud can be an NFL game manager. That's an asset that few of his Buckeyes predecessors possessed.

An interesting median comparison for Stroud, with his pocket touch/timing and habit of getting antsy in a collapsing pocket: Highly Mobile Jared Goff. If you think about it, a dual-threat version of Goff would be one heck of a quarterback.

Is Young tiny-but-awesome or awesome-but-tiny? The answer depends on how much skin you have in the game.

Those of us whose careers don't depend upon Young's NFL success can safely join the tiny-but-awesome camp. Young is experienced, reads defenses well, has a variety of advanced-placement quarterback skills, handles the pass rush and make-or-break situations effectively, makes some plays with his legs, and has a live arm: who cares if he weighed less than the waterboy?

NFL types are more likely to fall into the awesome-but-tiny category. Young packed on 204 pounds for the combine, but he may have been as light as 170 pounds on autumn Saturdays. He suffered a 2022 injury on a rather routine hit. And while Young saw the middle of the field very well for a quarterback of his stature, it's easier to block up throwing lanes at Alabama than it will be in Houston or Indianapolis.

Young has the tools—particularly when it comes to "soft skills" such as pocket presence, eye discipline, and checkdown timing—to be a Day 1 starter in the NFL. The trick will be survival to see Days 2 and 3. Young is a safe top-five pick from a talent and character standpoint but a considerable risk due to his wispiness, especially if that 204 pounds was all pre-weigh-in breakfast buffet. (Or worse: he keeps it on, but his ankles and knees aren't built for it.)

The bottom line is that Young has Drew Brees upside, and that like Brees he will probably need some offensive customization—and perhaps patience with early-career injuries—to achieve that upside.

The Texans not-so-secretly adore Young, so he will probably be the No. 2 pick in this year's draft at the latest. The Texans must then protect their investment by bulwarking their interior offensive line in later rounds. If they don't, they risk breaking one of the most exciting college football players of this century the moment they take him out of the box.

Stat Note: Young completed 35-of-57 passes of 5-plus air yards over the middle of the field for 590 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception. The rate stats are fine, but what's noteworthy is that only Will Rogers (Mississippi State) and Stetson Bennett (Georgia) threw downfield over the middle more often than Young. Despite his shortitude, he can locate his targets.

Gonzalez, who started at Colorado for two years before teleporting to Oregon, is an almost balletic defender who was targeted just 41 times (with four interceptions) in over 400 coverage snaps in 2022.

Gonzalez shifts into third gear effortlessly in his first few strides (making him a dangerous blitzer/kick blocker), loses little speed when turning to run, bodies up his receiver on 50-50 balls, and has outstanding body control when tracking deep passes. He delivers a little jam in press coverage without getting flat-footed. He gets the job done as a tackler on plays in front of him.

Gonzalez is not as much of a Marvel action figure as Devon Witherspoon, Joey Porter Jr., or Kelee Ringo: he's 6-foot-1 but a little spindly. He also blossomed at Oregon after two less-impressive seasons at Colorado, which is probably more of a sign of developing potential than inconsistency.

It's rare for a cornerback as long as Gonzalez to be so agile and laterally quick. He should be able to match up against just about any time of NFL receiver, making him the best all-around cover corner in the 2023 draft class.

Stat Note: Gonzalez allowed just 0.5 receiving yards per coverage snap, the fourth-best figure in the Pac-12. Oregon State's Rejzohn Wright, whom we will meet elsewhere in the FO 100, led the conference with just 0.5 yards per coverage snap.

Five years ago, Robinson would have been a top-five pick. Forty years ago, when running backs had a greater relative impact in the NFL than they do now, Robinson might have deserved a top-five pick. We're finally past the event horizon of running backs getting drafted in the top 20 or so—even traditionalists of the Dave Gettleman generation learned too many lessons the hard way—but we shouldn't lose sight of how special Robinson is, or the fact that he could have a Todd Gurley/Saquon Barkley/Ezekiel Elliott-level immediate impact.

Robinson is a walking highlight reel coming off a 1,580-yard season. He possesses every move on the PS5 controller, including the combos that he strings together in traffic. His vision at the line of scrimmage is outstanding, allowing him to shuffle left or right in search of a crease, and he's tough to bring down, even in first gear. Once in the open field, he can breeze away from defenders.

Robinson can get a little too lateral, especially in short-yardage situations, and mixes drag-the-defense finishes with runs where he goes down more suddenly than expected; Robinson runs a little upright at times, giving defenders too clean a shot at him.

Robinson wasn't used much as a receiver (19 catches in 2022), but many of his targets and receptions came downfield. He mixes outstanding reps in pass-protection with bloopers, but he's more refined and rugged as a blocker than most collegiate featured backs.

Robinson is instinctive enough to turn 1-yard losses into 5-yard gains and 5-yard gains into 50-yarders. Like Saquon and others before him, his productive peak will likely be brief, so he fits best with a contender seeking a "win-more" playmaker.

Robinson enters the NFL at the wrong time for an old-fashioned big-program workhorse rusher, but at least he was in college at the right time: thanks to NIL, he has already earned over $1 million for his talents. That makes it easier to state that while Robinson is one of the 10 best prospects in the 2023 class, he still should not be drafted until the second round.

Stat Note: Robinson led all Power 5 conference rushers in both broken (46) and missed (40) tackles, per Sports Info Solutions. His Broken Plus Missed Tackle Rate of 33.3% tied USC's Caleb Williams for second in the nation among major-conference rushers, behind Oregon's Mar'keise Irving. Both Williams and Irving had over 100 fewer carries than Robinson.

Wilson is built like a member of the Justice League. When he's standing up on the edge, the 6-foot-6 Wilson looks like a varsity power forward who wandered onto the freshman football field. When he outstretched his arms for the media to see during his combine interview, a flight attendant appeared and tried to begin boarding procedures.

Wilson's sheer size and length cause problems for pass protectors. He can defeat blockers with a battery of rip and swim moves, and he can reach out to club ball carriers—or dive to trip them up—when he appears to be blocked. Wilson has "unblockable" periods where it looks like he has crushed the offensive line's self-esteem and can simply maul anyone he chooses.

Wilson is a little high-cut, and he's far less impressive with his hand in the dirt head-up on an offensive tackle than when standing up as a wide-9 edge. He's not a twitchy first-step winner off the line of scrimmage, though he does pick up sacks with his second move and makes some tackles in pursuit. Wilson is coming off a November foot injury that erased the end of his 2022 season.

Wilson looked like Joey Bosa against N.C. State and Kansas State in 2022 and was still a disruptive all-day headache in the games in which he did not record a sack. He needs to develop more inside moves and some sand when he's head-up on a lineman to earn Honorary Bosa Brother status. Bradley Chubb is a slightly less ambitious comp, and like Chubb, Wilson could be a double-digit-sack rookie if he lands on a defense that allows him to focus on what he does best.

Witherspoon was a three-sport star (football, basketball, track) in high school who did not start playing football until his junior year. He's a lean beanpole of a defender who excels at impacting plays in front of him, whether by arriving at the same time as the ball on shallow routes or sifting through blocks to make tackles in the flats. He's fast and technically sound as a man defender, and he appears to relish mixing things up in run support.

Witherspoon lacks prototypical size and mashes the sprint and dive sticks a little too often in the open field. He'll also peek into the backfield too much, particularly as a slot corner, and gets caught out of position at times in underneath zones.

Witherspoon's ornery disposition in run support could make him an excellent designated slot corner in the NFL. He could also handle an outside role, especially in a Cover-2 scheme. Think Kendall Fuller, but with far more upside.

Stat Notes: Witherspoon finished second in the Big Ten with 14 passes defensed in 2022.

Opposing quarterbacks posted an efficiency rating of 3.9 when targeting Witherspoon. That's not a misprint: three-point-nine. No other cornerback who was targeted 25-plus times posted an opponent's efficiency rating lower than 19.1.

Sanders is a coach's son and former high school quarterback, and it shows.

Sanders has outstanding football instincts and play recognition skills. He reads running plays quickly and flows to the ball carrier. In zone pass coverage, he's on the move before the ball is released, allowing him to make tackles underneath to neutralize YAC.

Sanders also recorded 9.5 sacks for the Razorbacks in 2022, but he's no Micah Parsons, destined for a future on the edge. Instead, he's a long, leggy off-ball linebacker who is at his best as a pass-rusher when shooting gaps, or chasing the quarterback when the running back he's assigned to cover stays in for pass protection. But when Sanders does line up on the edge, he can win with speed or on stunts, and he's an effective hand-fighter who can keep blockers from latching on.

Sanders also has some impressive "soft" skills: he can rip away from second-level blockers to wrap the ballcarrier, he sifts through open-field trash smoothly, he gets his hands up when the ball is thrown when blitzing the A-gap, and he does lots of other little things that coaches love.

The only real weakness in Sanders' game, besides being lean and high-cut and playing a low-priority position, is tackling. Sanders was charged with an SEC-high 15 broken tackles on running plays, as well as 10 missed tackles. Sanders' form isn't bad, but he is no thumper, and he will overrun some plays. There's also some Liberty and Missouri State in his sack and TFL numbers and on his sizzle reel: again, he's not a double-digit-sack producer at the NFL level.

Sanders looked so good against Alabama, Ole Miss, and other SEC stalwarts that it's tempting to get carried away and compare him to Luke Kuechly. Like Kuechly both at Boston College and in the NFL, Sanders always seems to be in the frame at the end of the play, even if he started out in a different gap or covering a different player. Of course, Kuechly is an eventual Hall of Famer, so it's irresponsible to use him as a comp. So let's go with either a buffed version of Nick Bolton or a lighter, leaner Roquan Smith.

Sanders is too good at too many things to be downgraded because off-ball linebackers are no longer in premium demand. He's an impact defender in space, and he'll start his NFL career on the Defensive Player of the Year shortlist.

Ringo is 6-foot-2, rocked up, and has track-star speed: he was a much-decorated sprinter at the prep level. He can turn and run with any receiver this side of Tyreek Hill, he bodies up bigger receivers well on contested catches, and he appears to have great instincts in zone coverage.

Ringo's initial and lateral quickness are minor concerns. Better SEC receivers were able to work inside him on slants and in-breaking routes, and Ringo appears to lose a little bit of speed when changing direction. The Georgia defense also creates an evaluation headache: Ringo spent snap after snap watching his teammates take care of business in 48-7 romps, and there aren't many examples of Ringo getting challenged deep more than 2.5 seconds after the snap.

Minor concerns about lateral stiffness and how much Ringo was truly tested, coupled with a surplus of cornerback talent in the 2023 draft class, drop Ringo from a top-five prospect into the middle-to-bottom of the top 20. He's a likely longtime NFL starter.

Biographical note: Ringo's mother battled cancer throughout his collegiate career. You can read the story of the family's struggle in this feature by The Athletic's Seth Emerson.