With the 2023 NFL draft just around the corner, it’s time for teams to assemble their final evaluations, and get their ducks in a row. It’s the same in a different way here at Touchdown Wire where, with our lists of prospects at every positions, we’ve written up 78 prospects with multiple tape examples and analysis, as well as advanced metrics from Pro Football Focus, Sports Info Solutions, and Football Outsiders.
So, here are the best players at every position for the 2023 draft, with reports as comprehensive as you’ll see anywhere on the internet.
If you’d like to move to each position list right here, the links are below — and we have each position list featured in the article.
2023 NFL Draft: The top 9 safeties
2023 NFL Draft: The top 11 cornerbacks
2023 NFL Draft: The top 8 linebackers
2023 NFL Draft: The top 8 interior defensive linemen
2023 NFL Draft: The top 8 edge defenders
2023 NFL Draft: The top 5 offensive tackles
2023 NFL Draft: The top 8 interior offensive linemen
2023 NFL Draft: The top 8 tight ends
2023 NFL Draft: The top 8 receivers
2023 NFL Draft: The top 8 running backs
2023 NFL Draft: The top 5 quarterbacks
C.J. Stroud is my top quarterback.
Of the five quarterback prospects I evaluated in depth this time around, I believe that Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud is the top guy, based on his ball placement, mechanics, and sneaky second-reaction agility. After that, it was Alabama’s Bryce Young (who’s really 1A), Florida’s Anthony Richardson, Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker, and Kentucky’s Will Levis.
You can read the detailed scouting reports here:
Bijan Robinson isn't just my RB1 -- he's a truly generational talent.
This class of running backs brings all different types to the NFL, but there is clearly one back who rises above the rest — Texas’ Bijan Robinson, who I believe to be the best running back prospect since Adrian Peterson. After that, there’s Alabama’s Jahmyr Gibbs, UCLA’s Zach Charbonnet, and a highly intriguing five filling out the list. These running backs all matter!
Zay Flowers is my top receiver in the 2023 class.
It was a tight race to the top of my receivers list, but in the end, I chose Boston College’s Zay Flowers — not only for the movement skills, vertical ability, and after-catch explosiveness, but also how he displayed all that with a quarterback situation that would have a lot of guys looking desperately into the transfer portal. Flowers’ NFL environment will hopefully be more hospitable to his talents.
Here’s the full list:
Dalton Kincaid might be the next Travis Kelce, and he's my TE1 right now.
It’s a very deep class of tight ends in this draft, but based on contested-catch ability, vertical potential, and the wherewithal to bust all kinds of coverages, Utah’s Dalton Kincaid comes in at the top for me. He reminds me a lot of Travis Kelce when Kelce came out of Cincinnati. Here’s the full list of tight end prospects.
Darnell Wright erased the SEC, and for that, he's my OT1.
This year’s list of offensive tackle prospects is a bit abbreviated, because I moved three OT prospects to the interior offensive line, based on their attributes. That leaves us with a true tackle class that has Tennessee’s Darnell Wright at the top. All Wright did last season was to erase Alabama’s Will Anderson Jr. and LSU’s BJ Ojulari, and he gave Clemson’s Bryan Bresee fits in fighting him to a draw. Moreover, Wright explained at the scouting combine how be was able to deal with two wildly different players in Anderson and Ojulari. That’s NFL-level stuff.
Broderick Jones hasn't been a guard, but I think he could be an All-Pro there.
As I said, I moved three tackle prospects — Georgia’s Broderick Jones, Northwestern’s Peter Skoronski, and North Dakota State’s Cody Mauch — to the interior offensive line. Skorinski and Mauch are commonly thought of in this way, but I put Jones at the top of my IOL list because while he could be a very good tackle, I think he has the demeanor, movement skills, and short-area power to wreck the league as a guard. Here’s the full list of converts and established prospects.
Jalen Carter is a dominant player. Everything else is in flux.
There’s no question that Georgia’s Jalen Carter is the best interior defensive lineman in this class, and he’s probably the best player overall. It’s the off-field stuff that has teams wondering. Beyond that, it’s a very strong IDL class with Pitt’s Calijah Kancey, Clemson’s Bryan Bresee, Baylor’s Siaki Ika, Michigan’s Mazi Smith, Wisconsin’s Keeanu Benton, LSU’s Jaquelin Roy, and Florida’s Gervon Dexter Sr. worthy of consideration in the early rounds.
Will Anderson Jr. and Tyree Wilson are neck-and-neck in the EDGE class.
The extent to which you value Alabama’s Will Anderson Jr. or Texas Tech’s Tyree Wilson as the top EDGE prospect in this class might depend on how quickly you need a dominant presence there. Anderson is the most NFL-ready “plug-and-play” guy at the position, but Wilson brings a massive upside that might present itself with even more authority in a year or two. Beyond that, here are detailed looks at Clemson’s Myles Murphy, Iowa State’s Will McDonald IV, Georgia’s Nolan Smith, Georgia Tech’s Keion White, USC’s Tuli Tuipulotu, and Iowa’s Lukas Van Ness.
Trenton Simpson leads an underrated class of NFL-ready linebackers.
This linebacker class has a bit of everything for everybody. If you want a huge dude who can play all over the field, Clemson’s Trenton Simpson (my LB1) could be for you. If you’re into old-school thumpers with movement, Iowa’s Jack Campbell could be your speed. There are also new-school speed ‘backers with safety-esque profiles like Washington State’s Daiyan Henley, and two-level disruptors like Arkansas’ Drew Sanders.
Devon Witherspoon is the best in a very deep cornerback class.
In a ridiculously deep class of cornerbacks, Illinois’ Devon Witherspoon combines speed, short-area recovery skills, foot movement, and aggressiveness to look like an ideal match-and-carry cornerback in today’s NFL. There are a lot of cornerbacks behind Witherspoon in this class — and not very far behind — who should be impactful at the next level right away. Start with Oregon’s Christian Gonzalez, Penn State’s Joey Porter Jr., Maryland’s Deonte Banks, and South Carolina’s Cam Smith. This is the longest list of prospects I evaluated this year.
Brian Branch is a great overall defender, and the best safety in this class.
There aren’t a lot of dominant deep-third safeties in this class, but those guys are pretty rare, and the modern NFL demands more than just “box or deep” at the position(s). Alabama’s Brian Branch reminds me of Minkah Fitzpatrick, his Crimson Tide predecessor, in that he can play all over the field, but he might be best in that traditional free safety role. Read on to see evaluations of Branch, Illinois’ Sydney Brown, Texas A&M’s Antonio Johnson Jr., Florida State’s Jammie Robinson, and more!
