2023 NFL Draft Biggest Winners
ARIZONA CARDINALS
The Arizona Cardinals entered the 2023 NFL Draft with the #3 overall pick and needs all over the place but rumored to be shopping the pick. The Cardinals did just that on Thursday night by trading the pick to the Houston Texans and acquired a boatload of future draft capital including a 2024 1st round pick while still addressing several needs. QB Kyler Murray got much needed protection with Ohio State OT Paris Johnson Jr. who was rumored to be a favorite of the athletic passer. HC Jonathan Gannon was also able to get himself a versatile edge defender with LSU’s BJ Ojulari and good secondary prospect in Syracuse CB Garrett Williams who should both be able to see the field early and often in 2023. Rounding out their draft was Stanford WR Michael Wilson who had a good Senior Bowl week and Auburn LB Owen Pappoe who is experienced and should be able to bring some depth to their LB room. Arizona is a young team who is in a rebuilding phase and for GM Monti Ossenfort did a good job of adding both young talent and draft capital in hopes to build a good team for the future.
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS
Indianapolis decided it was time to finally hit the reset button on the QB position after going the veteran route and draft Florida standout Anthony Richardson #4 overall who is widely regarded as the high upside passer of the draft. On day 2 of the draft the Colts added a big CB prospect in Kansas State’s Julius Brents who should compete for early starter reps followed up by North Carolina WR Josh Downs who is a day 1 starter in the slot and could be a good target for Richardson. Three other notable names from their class is BYU OT Blake Freeland and Northwestern powerhouse DL Adetomiwa Adebawore who was rumored to be a possible early day 2 prospect and South Carolina CB Darius Rush who like Brents is a big body defender who can provide good depth. GM Chris Ballard had a fantastic draft for the Colts and put together a large rookie class for HC Jonathan Gannon.
PITTSBURGH STEELERS
One of the more impressive drafts this weekend goes to the Pittsburgh Steelers who I personally think hit a homerun during the first two days of the draft headlined by Georgia OT Broderick Jones who will fill their biggest need from day 1. Day 2 was headlined by the son of popular Steeler defender, Joey Porter, in Penn State’s Joey Porter Jr. who will surely be a fan favorite along with Wisconsin DL Keeanu Benton and Georgia TE Darnell Washington who are both viewed as starter quality prospects. Pittsburgh added another brother in Wisconsin EDGE Nick Herbig who will join his brother Nate and rounding out the group is tall CB prospect Cory Trice who may not start early but has developmental traits and should be the field in the future. Pittsburgh did a fantastic job this weekend not only filling needs but getting quality prospects who have upside while also being able to start this season.
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
No team made a bigger statement in day 1 of the draft than the Philadelphia Eagles headlined by the trade up for star Georgia DL Jalen Carter, who was widely regarded as one of the top prospects in the draft. That same night the Eagles followed up by snagging another Georgia Bulldog in EDGE Nolan Smith who somehow fell into the Eagles lap at #30 overall. On day 2 they got a developmental OL prospect in Alabama’s Tyler Steen and a starting quality secondary defender in Illinois S Sydney Brown who is capable to starting at some point in 2023. Philly added a third Bulldog prospect in CB Kelee Ringo who was once a first round prospect and outside of the draft the team traded for Lions RB D’Andre Swift who will join Rashaad Penny in a talented RB room. GM Howie Roseman couldn’t have had a better draft for the Eagles and on paper should be seen as the favorite in the NFC.
HOUSTON TEXANS
The one team who was not messing around in the early part of day 1 was the Houston Texans who secured their QB of the future in Ohio State’s CJ Stroud and traded for back to back picks to get HC DeMeco Ryans his pass rusher in Alabama’s Will Anderson Jr. Some may not think it’s the biggest win due to the draft capital used to trade up for Anderson but in the end if both picks turn out as good as projected, those future picks wont matter in Houston. Day 2 was about adding offensive prospects with Penn State OL Juice Scruggs who could be a future starter and Houston speedster Tank Dell who is undersized but uber athletic and shined during Senior Bowl week. The Texans added another pass rusher in TCU’s Dylan Horton who could become a rotational piece in 2023 capping off a great first draft class for Ryans and GM Nick Caserio for a young Texans team who might be able to win ore games than expected in 2023.