Our friends over at Touchdown Wire have put in the work and put out a new three-round mock draft with just under a month to the 2023 NFL draft. We’ve had a chance to dig into it and unpack all the picks and here are four interesting observations from the three-rounder.
No tumble for Jalen Carter
TD Wire has Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter going No. 6 overall to the Detroit Lions. They don’t seem to have the concerns some others do about potential character red flags that have tainted what was an impressive 2022 season.
6 offensive tackles in the first round
If you want to understand what the offensive tackle market has done to the draft, look no further than six offensive tackles taken in the first round. This is in addition to six more taken in the next two rounds. Free-agent offensive tackles are getting such huge contracts, it is going to push teams to draft more tackles sooner.
Only 4 cornerbacks in the first round
Most pundits want to tout this cornerback class as the best positional unit in the draft. But honestly, seeing only four in the first round makes a lot of sense. All the top corners in the draft have some significant shortcomings or fix very specific scenarios so finding fits isn’t as easy as it is with other positional units.
A surprise 1st LB off the board
If you want to talk about the most talented positional unit in the draft, linebacker can make a strong case. TD Wire goes a bit off script with their first off-ball linebacker off the board with Washington State’s Daiyan Henley at No. 28. While I appreciate Henley’s skill set, I’m not sure he’s better than the fourth-best all-around linebacker in this draft behind Drew Sanders, Trenton Simpson and Jack Campbell.
