The 2023 NFL Draft is officially behind us and we can now slowly start to shift our excitement toward the rest of the offseason schedule.
However, before we move on completely, it’s time for a little accountability check on where I was most right and wrong when it came to my personal evaluations of draft prospects.
I certainly have my fair share of players where I nailed either their grade and/or projection, but there are also players I clearly overrated/underrated when compared to what the league thought of them.
This article is going to go through each position group as I pick the one projection I’m most proud of, as well as the one that left me most baffled when it was all said and done.
Also, I kept the obvious wins out of this article such as having Bryce Young as the No. 1 quarterback, Will Anderson as the No. 1 EDGE, etc. Those were rather obvious to everyone and aren’t worth bragging about.
Now that all that has been covered, let’s see which evaluations I nailed and which ones stood out for all the wrong reasons.
Offensive line
Biggest hit:
- Peter Skoronski (Northwestern) being the perfect interior prospect for the Titans.
- Always had a hard time believing the Titans would walk away from Skoronski if he was still on the board after what they went through last year.
Biggest miss:
- Luke Wypler (Ohio State) going in Round 6 despite my Day 2 grade on him.
Quarterback
Biggest hit:
- Having a high second-round grade on Will Levis (Kentucky).
Biggest miss:
- Not having Aiden O’Connell (Purdue) in my top 10 quarterbacks.
Wide receivers
Biggest hit:
- Giving Jonathan Mingo (Ole Miss) a high second-round grade when he was the 12th-best wide receiver, according to the consensus.
Biggest miss:
- A.T. Perry (Wake Forest) having a Day 2 grade when he didn’t go until Round 6 (I still don’t get that one).
Tight ends
Biggest hit:
- Sam LaPorta (Iowa) having a high second-round grade.
Biggest miss:
- Agreeing with the consensus that Zack Kuntz (Old Dominion) would be a top eight tight end prospect based off his rare athleticism.
Running backs
Biggest hit:
- High third-round grade on Kendre Miller (TCU).
Biggest miss:
- Keeping Chase Brown off my top 10 to make room for DeWayne McBride (UAB) and Zach Evans (Ole Miss).
EDGE
Biggest hit:
- Nick Herbig (Wisconsin) rightfully having a fourth-round grade despite the late hype he was receiving.
Biggest miss:
- Giving a high third-round grade to Felix Anudike-Uzomah (Kansas State), who went at the end of Round 1.
Defensive line
Biggest hit:
- Not overthinking Zacch Pickens (South Carolina) by giving him a high third-round grade.
Biggest miss:
- Gervon Dexter (Florida) going in Round 2 when I had fourth-round grade on him.
Defensive backs
Biggest hit:
- My nine highest-graded cornerbacks in a ridiculously stacked class were the first nine selected, albeit in a different order.
- All nine had second-round grades or better and went no later than the second round, as well.
Biggest miss:
- Giving a low third-round grade to Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson (TCU), who went late on Day 3.
Linebackers
Biggest hit:
- Trenton Simpson (Clemson) having a borderline third-round grade despite the first-round hype he was receiving.
Biggest miss:
- Ivan Pace Jr. (Cincinnati) having a third-round grade when he went undrafted, even though I still feel like I’ll be on the right side of history on that one.
