The 2023 NFL Draft is now upon us. And with it’s arrival also comes my 2023 NFL Draft Big Board. This year I was able to watch, scout and evaluate 200 players, which represents an increase of 10 over last year.

I was also able to better spread out those evaluations among all position groups and have at least a “Top 8” in all offensive and defensive position groups whereas last year I ran out of time before I could even get a Top 5 five in OT and ILB. And for those special teams fans this year I even have six kickers on my board!

My 2023 NFL Draft Grading Process

As with any evaluation it is important to provide context and process. It wouldn’t be much fun to just publish a list of names without the reasoning of how I came to that order. So, before we get to the board itself, here is a rundown of my grading process.

BLUE — Blue Chip Prospects — I am very confident these players can step into an NFL starting lineup and be an immediate contributor.

PINK — First-Round Grades — These players should be able to be immediate contributors to an NFL roster, if not as a starter, as someone who can log significant snaps in year one.

GREEN — Second-Round Grades — Players with several NFL-caliber traits that should translate, but they will need some development to be successful at the next level.

OLIVE — Third-Round Grades — Prospects that have a few of NFL-caliber traits, but they lack consistency in leveraging those traits or techniques.

ORANGE — Fourth-Round Grades — Prospects that have one to two really good traits that you hope continue to develop at the next level. You will also find a few players with publicly reported medical concerns.

RED — Late-Round Grades — Players that can be productive special teamers who may contribute a few snaps per game at the NFL level.

As with most big boards these ratings are done in a vacuum based on the players abilities at their position. It does not account for positional value, which can significantly change where players are drafted.

For instance, a quarterback with a second-round grade could very well be drafted before a “blue chip” center. Additionally, my board will not include 32 players with each round grade.

Lastly, you will see I don’t have sixth-round, seventh-round or undrafted grades. This is because when you get to that portion of the draft teams may only be looking for one or two traits that allow the player to do one specific thing. And it really depends on what that team is looking for as to how highly that player will be valued. Case in point: Ko Kieft with the Bucs last year.

With ALL of that said, let’s dive into my big board so you can let me know where I went right, and more likely all the places I went wrong!

2022 NFL Draft First-Round Grades

1. RB Bijan Robinson
2. EDGE Will Anderson Jr.
3. DT Jalen Carter
4. CB Devon Witherspoon
5. QB Anthony Richardson
6. OT Paris Johnson Jr.
7. QB CJ Stroud
8. QB Bryce Young
9. CB Deonte Banks
10. OL Peter Skoronski
11. TE Dalton Kincaid
12. EDGE Nolan Smith
13. WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba

Florida QB Anthony Richardson – Photo by: USA Today

Last year I had 21 combined first-round grades for the 2023 NFL Draft. This year that number drops by 33%. And that’s really how I see this class overall. Less high-end talent and more “bargains” as you get to Day 2 and Day 3.

Some may scoff at a running back being No. 1 overall for me, but I encourage you to remember that this board is positionally agnostic, and I would not advocate for Robinson to go No. 1, No. 10 or even No. 15 overall. However, there are very few flaws in his game, and I fully expect him to enter the NFL as a Top 10 back or better.

The other portion of the top of my board I will address with some comments is the quarterback rankings. I know many will get bogged down in the relative rankings of who I put before whom, but looking at it from a macro level I hope you can see that I have the top three very closely graded.

With that said, I do have Florida’s Anthony Richardson with my top grade among the signal callers. This is for two reasons. I believe due to his tools Richardson has the highest ceiling of any of the quarterbacks in this draft. But I also think those tools give him the highest floor, as well. And I am betting on that floor as a running quarterback to help him have a positive contribution early while he develops his accuracy and read progressions a la Jalen Hurts.

I have Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud ranked just ahead of Alabama’s Bryce Young due to Young’s physical profile. It’s not that I think Young will be bad at the NFL level due to his diminished height, but rather I have concerned his body will be able to take an NFL beating and I worry he will have trouble staying on the field.

14. S Brian Branch

15. CB Joey Porter Jr.

16. OT Broderick Jones

17. CB Christian Gonzalez

18. OT Anton Harrison

19. Edge Tyree Wilson

20. DT Adetomiwa Adeboware

21. OT Darnell Wright

22. Edge BJ Ojulari

23. QB Will Levis

24. RB Roschon Johnson

25. WR Jordan Addison

26. G O’Cyrus Torrence

27. DT Calijah Kancey

28. Edge Will McDonald

29. WR Zay Flowers

30. WR Quentin Johnston

31. G Steve Avila

32. S “Quan” Martin

33. LB Jack Campbell

34. RB Tyjae Spears

35. Edge Lukas Van Ness

36. QB Hendon Hooker

37. TE Sam LaPorta

38. Edge Felix Anudike-Uzomah

39. C John Michael-Schmitz

40. CB Kyu Blu Kelly

41. WR Jonathan Mingo

42. CB Kelee Ringo

43. RB Zach Charbonnet

Texas RB Roschon Johnson – Photo by: USA Today

This is where I have the second level of quarterbacks in the 2023 NFL Draft, with Will Levis and Hendon Hooker both making appearances. You will also notice this is really where I round out the grades for guys that I think show the talent to be worthy of a first-round pick so far as there are 32 (well this year 31) picks and teams have to select someone.

One player you will see in this range who I am much higher on than consensus is Stanford CB Kyu Blu Kelly. I truly believe he is one of the five best corners in a very deep class this year. I also think for where he will be drafted someone is going to get a steal on a guy who could be in the starting lineup on an NFL team by the end of the year. I love Kelly’s physical profile, flexibility and press skills.

I also have Texas’ Roschon Johnson as my RB2, and I will be the highest on him out of any draft resource publicly available. But I see him as having all of the traits you would want out of a running back prospect, with the lone exception of college production due to him being second on the depth chart to Bijan Robinson.

44. RB Jahmyr Gibbs

45. Edge Derrick Hall

46. OT Dawand Jones

47. Edge Myles Murphy

48. DT Mazi Smith

49. WR Cedric Tillman

50. CB Cam Smith

51. TE Michael Mayer

52. S Sydney Brown

53. CB Clark Phillips III

54. C Joe Tippmann

55. WR Michael Wilson

56. OL Tyler Steen

57. WR Charlie Jones

58. DT Bryan Bresee

59. WR Jalin Hyatt

60. DT Gervon Dexter

61. LB Daiyan Henley

62. C Olusegun Oluwatimi

63. S Jordan Battle

64. LB Drew Sanders

65. C Luke Wypler

66. CB DJ Turner

67. G Chandler Zavala

68. DT Byron Young

69. TE Darnell Washington

70. DT Keeanu Benton

71. LB Owen Pappoe

72. LB Trenton Simpson

73. DT Kobie Turner

74. CB Tyrique Stevenson

75. WR Tank Dell

76. CB Jakorian Bennett

77. RB Israel Abinakanda

78. WR Tyler Scott

79. QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson

80. G Andrew Voorhees

81. WR Jayden Reed

82. DT Moro Ojomo

83. Edge Zach Harrison

84. TE Zach Kuntz

85. WR AT Perry

86. TE Tucker Kraft

87. Edge KJ Henry

88. WR Trey Palmer

89. TE Luke Schoonmaker

90. OT Carter Warren

91. CB Emmanuel Forbes

92. Edge Tuli Tuipulotu

93. QB Tanner McKee

94. RB Chase Brown

95. TE Luke Musgrave

96. RB Tank Bigsby

Mississippi State CB Emanuel Forbes – Photo by: USA Today

RB Jahmyr Gibbs being this low may come as a shock to some, but I am a tad bit concerned that Gibbs will be able to hold up as an RB1 at his weight. I am even more concerned about the weight (or lack thereof) of CB Emmanuel Forbes. If he succeeds in the NFL at 166 pounds I will be shocked. Happy for him, but shocked.

I love Moro Ojomo and think he can develop into a quality defensive lineman. This is also the range I think value can be had by not reaching for linebacker. Daiyan Henley, Drew Sanders, Owen Pappoe and Trenton Simpson in this range all would be good picks as long as teams don’t reach for them.

97. OT Wanya Morris

98. RB Keaton Mitchell

99. OT Jaelyn Duncan

100. OL Matthew Bergeron

101. CB Julius Brents

102. OG Sidy Sow

103. OG Emil Ekiyor

104. CB Riley Moss

105. WR Josh Downs

106. CB Darius Rush

107. G McClendon Curtis

108. G Cody Mauch

109. WR Rashee Rice 

110. WR Bryce Ford-Wheaton

111. TE Josh Whyle

112. WR Parker Washington

113. WR Xavier Hutchinson

114. S Antonio Johnson

115. OT Braeden Daniels

116. WR Ronnie Bell

117. CB Cory Trice

118. Edge Mike Morris

119. OT Blake Freeland

120. CB Eli Ricks

121. Edge YaYa Diabi

122. CB Darrell Luter Jr.

123. DT Karl Brooks

124. S JL Skinner

125. Edge Jose Ramirez

126. CB Garrett Williams

127. OT Luke Haggard

128. S Ji’Ayir Brown

129. LB Aubrey Miller Jr.

130. TE Will Mallory

131. CB Tre Tomlinson

132. RB DeWayne McBride

133. CB Mekhi Garner

134. C Alex Forsyth

135. Edge Keion White

136. DT Zacch Pickens

137. Edge Isaiah Foskey

138. LB Henry To’oto’o 

139. RB Devon Achane

Kansas State CB Julius Brents – Photo by: USA TODAY Sports

Cornerback Julius Brents has turned into a draft darling through the process. And there are things about his profile and tape that are exciting, but I still have some concerns about his consistency and his penchant for drawing flags. I am similarly low on North Carolina wide receiver Josh Downs. For all of his production I worry whether he will be able to separate regularly at the NFL level. 

One player in this area I am particularly high on is OT Jaelyn Duncan. His high-end reps are up there with the best in the 2023 NFL Draft class and his physical profile is projectable. With some development I think he can turn into an NFL starter.

140. RB Kenny McIntosh

141. Edge Nick Herbig

142. OT Asim Richards

143. S Marte Mapu

144. S Daniel Scott

145. OT Warren McClendon

146. CB Jaylon Jones

147. CB Kei’Trel Clark

148. S Kaevon Merriweather

149.WR Andrei Iosivas 

150. QB Clayton Tune

151. TE Brenton Strange

152. K Chad Ryland

153. TE Payne Durham

154. S Jammie Robinson

155. LB Dorian Williams

156. S Brandon Hill

157. RB Evan Hull

158. CB Cameron Brown

159. RB Mohamed Ibrahim

160. DT Dante Stills

161. OG Atonio Mafi

162. TE Cameron Latu

163. WR Rakim Jarrett

164. CB Mekhi Blackmon

165. QB Tyson Bagent

166. WR Dontayvion Wicks

167. DT Jalen Redmond

168. Edge Andre Carter II

169. QB Stetson Bennett

170. S Christopher Smith

171. K Jake Moody

172. S Trey Dean III

173. C Juice Scruggs

174. DT Siaki Ika

175. DT Jaquelin Roy

176. Edge Colby Wooden

177. DT Cameron Young

178. LB Ivan Pace Jr.

179. C Jake Andrews

180. DT Nesta Jade Silvera

181. G Tashawn Manning

182. C Brent Laing

183. OT TJ Bass

184. Edge Viliami Fehoko

185. OT Trevor Reid

186. RB Deuce Vaughn

187. OT Richard Gouraige

188. S Christian Young

189. OT Ryan Hayes

190. DT DJ Dale

191. OT Connor Galvin

192. CB Myles Brooks

193. DT Jerrod Clark

194. OG Henry Bainivalu

195. RB Lew Nichols III

196. K Andre Szmyt

197. G Caleb Chandler

198. K BT Potter

199. K Jack Poledsny

200. K Christopher Dunn

Marte Mapu may have a late-round grade for me, but his relative position on my board would have him as an early fifth-round pick. Mapu played linebacker at Sacramento State but I think he will play safety at the next level. And while Jake Moody is the top kicker on most boards, I see  Chad Ryland as the higher end option due to his consistency from beyond 50 yards.

Well, there you have it. What do you like? What do you hate?