The first round of the 2023 NFL Draft is over, and it revealed further evidence that 247Sports’ premier recruiting service has dialed in how to rank some of the game’s biggest stars before they even make it to the college game. The paradigm of this claim: Alabama quarterback Bryce Young, 247Sports’ No. 1 overall prospect in the class of 2020, was selected Thursday night by the Carolina Panthers with the No. 1 overall pick in the draft.
Young, the 2021 Heisman Trophy winner, wasn’t the only former blue-chip prospect to push through on his hiring hype. A total of 13 players with five stars to their name were selected in the first round, including eight of the first 11 picks. The Houston Texas clinched back-to-back 5-star prospects as they defeated Ohio State’s QB CJ Stroud and EDGE Will Anderson Jr. from Alabama selected with the second and third overall picks, respectively.
Thursday night featured some Cinderella stories in Kansas City. Cornerback Devon Witherspoon of Illinois, an unranked high school contender with no stars to his name, but worked his way up to the number 5 seed of the Seattle Seahawks.
Overall, two-thirds of the 31 first-round picks were rated as 5- or 4-star high school candidates, with only two of those 31 selections left unrated before entering college.
Here’s a look at the star rankings for every player selected in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
2023 NFL Draft by recruiting ranking
- 5 stars: 13
- 4 stars: 8
- 3 stars: 8
- 2 stars: 0
- 1 star: 0
- Not ranked: 2
*Indicates 247Sports curated rankings