How will 2023 NFL Draft be remembered? Major storylines that could come out of this year’s class

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By Webdesk



Like any draft, the 2023 NFL Draft will send the league down a new and unknown path. In a few weeks, a wide variety of prospects will find a new home in the NFL and their professional careers will begin to blossom. By now, you know most of the heavy-hitter names coming out this year – Bryce Young, Will Anderson, CJ Stroud, Anthony Richardson, Jalen Carter, etc. But how will they fare after their names are called and they end up on the field? And who will emerge from obscurity and take the competition by storm? After all, getting enlisted is just the beginning of the journey.

Here we dive into some of the more notable storylines that could come out of this year’s draft and how it can be remembered in the future.

Will concerns about Bryce Young’s size be realized?

Let’s start with the player that is rapidly developing into the clear consensus No. 1 choice: Bryce Young. His sheer talent has never been questioned. It’s its size, however, that has got reviewers thinking about how that might translate on the next level. He stood 5-foot-10 at the NFL Scouting Combine and weighed 204 pounds. That weight was about 10 pounds heavier than what he had listed in Alabama, which could be considered a more realistic playing weight.

For context, former No. 1 overall chooses Kyler Murray is the same height as Young but weighs 207, heavier than Young’s weight and much heavier than in Alabama. Saints legend Drew Brees—another quarterback considered to be on the short side—was 6-0 and weighed in at 209 pounds. So as long as there is some precedent, there is no huge sample size to suggest that a player of Young’s stature can thrive in the league.

Once hired, Young will show the NFL that his shorter height is irrelevant and is just an overanalysis during the pre-draft process, or it justifiably becomes a factor hindering his skills at the next level.

Anthony Richardson’s gamble

Outside of Young, Anthony Richardson is perhaps the most enticing prospect. He possesses tremendous talent, but also has a low caliber considering how raw a prospect he is. At his peak, Richardson has the dual threat ability that has drawn comparisons to Cam Newton. However, there is also the other side of the coin with Florida’s career completion rate of 54.7%. So it will be fascinating to see which team ultimately decides to roll the dice and bring Richardson on board.

Will it be a team that hopes to have him ready to roll on Day 1 or will it be a team like Detroit or Seattle – both of whom pick in the top 10 – that immediately have an established quarterback and can reckon with Richardson at least a years to develop? When Richardson strikes, he has the raw ability to become one of the best quarterbacks in the league. However, if he falters, it could lead to a wasted top-10 pick for one franchise, while also missing out on other QB prospects.

What are the Texans up to?

There have been some rumors leading up to the draft that the Houston Texans – who own the No. 2 and No. 12 picks – decide not to take a quarterback with the second overall selection. Now you could argue that this is just a smokescreen to control the rest of the board below them, but what if they’re not bluffing? What if they decide to let Alabama pass rusher Will Anderson Jr. This kind of decision by GM Nick Caserio would come under scrutiny for the rest of his career in the NFL, especially if the QBs they pass have strong careers elsewhere.

Will anyone trade to No. 3?

The Arizona Cardinals are in an interesting position. They currently own the No. 3 overall pick and are not in the quarterback market with Kyler Murray already in the house. In theory, they could choose to trade the pick to the highest bidder at draft if the dominoes fall correctly.

Assuming Young and CJ Stroud get off the board in some combination on the first two picks, Arizona can choose to take the best non-QB on their board or see if a QB needy team beats the Colts at No. 4. and take Will Levis or Anthony Richardson. There’s also another scenario where the Texans don’t take a QB at number 2, which also throws Young or Stroud into the mix, which would push the price to Mars.

As we’ve seen in the recent past when the 49ers moved up for Trey Lance, a transaction of this size could provide a significant return for new GM Monti Ossenfort to kick-start Arizona’s refurbishment in a similar fashion to how Miami completed that transaction with San handled. Francisco. Not only could a possible trade bring the Cardinals closer to contention, but we could also see the quarterback market potentially confused with a team trading to secure who they believe is the franchise savior. It would certainly be a deal worth pursuing on both sides in the near future.

Which quarterback will fall?

There’s bound to be one, right? Sure, there’s a chance that trades will happen and that quarterbacks could get into the first four selections off the board, but when does the NFL Draft ever go as expected? There is almost always someone who falls and it will be fascinating to see who that could be in the quarterback position and more importantly which team will come forward and catch him. For this we look at Will Levis and CJ Stroud.

In his latest mock draft, CBS Sports NFL Draft Analyst Ryan Wilson drops Levis outside the top 10 and ultimately selected at number 19 overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Meanwhile, Stroud — who was once seen as the shoo-in to become the No. 1 pick — isn’t even the betting favorite to be the No. 2 pick and is tied with Anthony Richardson to become the No. 3 pick, according to Caesars Sportsbook. Could he be the breathtaking fall everyone looks at on draft night? The gambling markets seem to be leaning towards that possibility.

Nevertheless, a drop in the draft doesn’t automatically mean a prospect’s NFL career is doomed. Aaron Rodgers dropped all the way to No. 24 in 2005 and is now one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. So we could look back at this draft a decade from now and scratch our heads and wonder why one of these quarterbacks went down.

The possible fall of Jalen Carter

At one point, Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter was competing for the best defensive player pulled off the board this year. However, after his involvement in a January car accident that led to the deaths of two people came to light at the NFL Scouting Combine in March, his stock has taken a hit. Carter entered an uncontested plea with Athens-Clarke Country and received a 12-month probation, so justice has run its course. That said, it’s still a mystery where NFL teams stand on the matter and where he will eventually go.

Even Carter himself acknowledged that his supply will be damaged “a little” the incident, but his camp is still confident that he will be a top pick and they have decided not to visit any teams outside the top 10.

There’s no arguing over Carter’s talent, so whichever team chooses him, it’ll get an impact defensive player right away on Day 1. Could that be Chicago at number 9? Philadelphia at number 10? Or maybe even Detroit at number 6? His ability opens up the possibility of Carter being a face for a franchise’s defense, so if he drops significantly, it could be considered a huge value to a team a few years down the road.

The impact of Bijan Robinson

Taking away positional value, Bijan Robinson is one of the most talented players in this draft. He happens to be playing a position that NFL teams don’t care much about right now, so he probably won’t be hired until the middle of the first round. That said, once he joins a team, he has the ability to completely transform an attack and take it to another level. The product from Texas is not only a threat as a pure runner, but he can also be a lock receiver. That would make him a matchup nightmare beyond the backfield, especially if he slides into one of the NFL’s elite teams. For example, if Robinson falls big in the first round, he can get into the landing range with the Chiefs, Bengals, Cowboys, Eagles, or Chargers. That would make already dangerous violations even more deadly.

Which wide receiver will emerge?

It’s a bit of a weird class for wide receivers because there’s no consensus on the best choice. Some people like Ohio State pass catcher Jaxon Smith-Njigba, some like TCU’s Quentin Johnston, and others like Boston College’s Zay Flowers. Although there is no clear top player in this position, someone is chosen first. Whether that means he will be the most prolific wideout to come out of this class remains to be seen, but there should be a No. 1 receiver somewhere in this class. So it’s worth watching to see if a team makes a faux pass like the Eagles when they passed Justin Jefferson in 2020, or if a team did well like the Bengals did with Ja’Marr Chase in 2021.





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