2023 NFL Draft Winners

As we all know, especially when it comes to draft prospects, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. We have heard the terms positional value, upside, development, traits, medicals, measurables, and countless others, more times than we care to admit. Now that the process is over and the picks have been made, let’s take a look at some of the biggest winners of the draft.

Winners

Philadelphia Eagles: 

Key Additions – Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith, Tyler Steen, Sydney Brown, Moro Ojomo, Eli Ricks.

I mean come on. This team was a play or two away from winning a Super Bowl. The roster was near perfect in ’22, and now they’ve sured up the loose ends. The Eagles addressed their interior run defense and added tremendous depth at each defensive back position. Alabama OL Tyler Steen joins Stoutland University as well. For a team that didn’t have any true weaknesses with the exception of (maybe) interior depth, they did an incredible job bolstering their team at every level. Howie Roseman, you’re a mad man.

Pittsburgh Steelers:

Key Additions – Broderick Jones, Joey Porter Jr, Keeanu Benton, Darnell Washington, Nick Herbig, Coby Trice.

Culture. A word often overused in sports, but truly, there is no better term to describe these draft picks. Joey Porter Jr, son of former 5x All-Pro & Super Bowl Champion with the Steelers, was literally birthed into Steelers culture. These guys all have two things in common, physicality and supreme effort. Can’t think of a better way to describe a future Pittsburgh Steeler. The 2023 NFL draft was the first for Omar Khan as GM and he surpassed all expectations. 

Seattle Seahawks: 

Key Additions – Devon Witherspoon, Jaxson Smith-Njigba, Derick Hall, Zach Charbonnet, Anthony Bradford, Olu Oluwatimi, Kenny McIntosh.

Depth, depth, and more depth. The Seahawks were playoff team in ‘22 and had very clear needs to fill.  Boy did they ever. It remains to be seen just how great this class will be (as is every other rookie class), but there’s no doubting their rookie class will see the field immediately. These aren’t a bunch of projects that need a year or more to develop. These are plug and play starters at the top, and day one rotational pieces thereafter. Well done. 

Detroit Lions:

Key Additions – Jahmyr Gibbs, Jack Campbell, Brian Branch, Sam Laporta, Hendon Hooker, Colby Sorsdal.

This is easily the most polarizing class due to the dreaded “positional value” conversation. That argument aside, the Lions did a hell of a job identifying needs and taking the best players they felt available. Gibbs, Branch, Laporta, and Hooker were all consensus top 50 guys and they somehow acquired them all. If their last two drafts are any indication, we’ll be looking back on this group in a year or two saying they knocked it out of the park and we’re ahead of the curve. This is honestly the class i’m rooting for most. Brad Holmes and company, i stand with you. 

Houston Texans: 

Key Additions – CJ Stroud, Will Anderson, Juice Scruggs, Tank Dell, Henry To’o To’o, Jarrett Patterson, Xavier Hutchinson. 

The Texans needed a quarterback, and they got one in CJ Stroud. They also needed dominant EDGE presence and they got that as well in Will Anderson. Concerns about the center position were also addressed with Juice Scruggs and Jarrett Patterson. Tank Dell projects to be a much desired help to the receiver room as well. When you talk about a draft where you add what a sizable faction of the football community consider to be the best offensive and defensive player in the 2023 NFL draft, you can definitely consider that a good day at the office.