2023 NFL Draft Rounds 2-3 Open Discussion
NFL Draft - This is a thread for open discussion of the 2023 NFL draft, Friday night with rounds 2-3. (If you want to keep posting on Saturday during rounds 4-7, we're not going to stop you.) Who was a steal and who's going to be a bust? Which picks were surprises? When is Will Levis finally going to be picked? Joey Porter and Michael Mayer? Discuss it all here. You can also join Football Outsiders writers and readers on the official Football Outsiders Discord server.
Comments
43 comments, Last at 01 May 2023, 8:06pm
#2 by Lost Ti-Cats Fan // Apr 28, 2023 - 7:14pm
TEN, I suppose, but I expect SEA will take him first.
Maybe DET, but I suspect there's a fullback they have their eye on instead.
EDIT: TEN made sure to get in front of SEA to get Levis. And DET gets that TE our favourite Lions fan predicted yesterday. At least they didn't trade up to get him!
#17 by Joey-Harringto… // Apr 28, 2023 - 9:45pm
His first two drafts were awesome, so this is more than a little disappointing. Maybe he’s getting a big ego already? It’s like he’s having Bobby Beathard’s career arc in super fast motion, without getting the accolades first. Just seems like a squandered opportunity with all the capital they had.
#30 by LondonMonarch // Apr 30, 2023 - 10:44am
Apart from the Branch pick which is solid (and you never want to put weight on a non-solid Branch) this all seems insane. Even the Hooker pick is kind of odd - I could understand why a QB-less team or a team with a very old QB might take him. But what are the chances of his peak being materially higher than Goff? Very low surely.
#33 by ImNewAroundThe… // Apr 30, 2023 - 4:59pm
I could understand why a QB-less team or a team with a very old QB might take him.
Lions are somewhat recognizing Goof (and Sudfeld aren't/) isn't it! Trying to break the purgatory that even Sean McVay got tired of, with a guy they can mold themselves. And if he isn't, so what, most aren't at the range but who knows, maybe he's Russ (oh sorry, I know the next rebuttal).
#34 by LondonMonarch // May 01, 2023 - 8:52am
Goff isn't "it", but he is a 28yo competent NFL starter. So to move on from him they would need to find someone who has the real potential to be a plus starter or better. I could've seen the argument for Richardson as that player, had he fallen to them, but Hooker? Seems vanishingly unlikely.
#35 by ImNewAroundThe… // May 01, 2023 - 9:56am
Just settling for competency is how you end up...missing the playoffs (again) and missing out on Richardson (and Stroud and Young). It's alright to take a longer shot occasionally. Tank Dell (the next pick) likely isn't the make or break piece for them to contend.
#37 by guest from Europe // May 01, 2023 - 1:50pm
If a team is successful or not in many cases is an interpretation. Why is a similar type of season considered to be a success for Seahawks, Lions, Jaguars and a failure for Patriots, Packers, Steelers? They were all on the level of "competent, but not a real contender" in 2022.
As for the Patriots, they were quite good in 2021. Then in 2022 they decided to have a conceptual art piece by Patricia and Judge instead of a functional offense.
Some teams that were actively bad multiple years to get very high draft picks in search of a QB: Browns for Mayfield, Jaguars for Lawrence, Lions for Stafford, Cardinals for Murray, Texans now... not a lot of success after selecting such a QB. A team which is generally competent and bad for 1 year such as Colts to select Luck is different.
The biggest success of this route "be bad, not competent and than draft" are probably the Bengals. They were lucky that Burrow didn't have a career-ending injury in the first 2 years due to bad o-line play.
#43 by ImNewAroundThe… // May 01, 2023 - 8:06pm
Not that Hooker actually has a higher ceiling than Richardson (he is older and less athletic after all) but he wasn't available even if they stayed at 6, so it's a moo point. Just might be underrating his chances. Pretty much every consensus board had Hooker higher than where he was drafted so it's not even a reach in a vacuum.
There's 2 years of Goof and 1 year of Sudfeld (why they felt they had to give a backup guaranteed money, especially pre draft, I will never understand). That can fit a developing timeline for Hooker. If he doesn't work out, well, most don't at that spot anyway. Forward looking pick and worth the gamble.
#6 by NYChem // Apr 28, 2023 - 7:29pm
My guess is the Steelers did not figure they'd have the option to draft porter with the 32, and they set the stage for trades with that expectation, but when porter fell that upped the asked for compensation beyond what teams would give.
#10 by fb29 // Apr 28, 2023 - 7:51pm
In Tanier’s mock draft Bergeron was a 90 something pick and pegged as developmental player
But Falcons could really use a 318lb honker to add some heft to our soyboy o-line.
should I expect him out there week 1 at guard? Does anyone know anything about Bergeron
#18 by Joey-Harringto… // Apr 28, 2023 - 9:47pm
I liked the Branch pick. Hooker turning 26 this season isn’t great, but whatever; maybe he turns into a reliable backup. If I close my eyes and pretend their picks were in reverse order, their draft grade goes from D- to C.
#20 by Lost Ti-Cats Fan // Apr 28, 2023 - 9:55pm
Pretty sure they traded smartly to get Branch, too. Maybe Belichick passes on him and takes Keion White anyway, but I wouldn't have taken that gamble if I liked Branch, who looks to be a good player to get at that point in the draft.
#19 by lowsmoke // Apr 28, 2023 - 9:51pm
The Commanders had a DVOA rank of 9 for their defense and 28 for their offense. So RR drafts 2 cornerbacks with his first two picks! We can all rejoice that Snider is on the way out, but it's clear that more leadership change is necessary.
#31 by whocares4 // Apr 30, 2023 - 3:06pm
It's fun as the fan of a very good team to get to see them draft a bunch of high upside guys for depth and take a flyer on a world-class player with percieved character risk because they already are strong at his position.
When your team has far fewer holes of the "we REALLY need an impact player or viable starter at X, Y & Z positions!" variety, they can take a chance on a bunch of the exciting players with big question marks and let them develop.