RPO Football’s 2023 NFL Mock Draft – Day 1 – Round 1
The NFL draft is an opportunity where dreams come true. College players get the call that they made it to the National Football League.
I worked with my friends Joshua (@SportsWithBuds) and Spencer to compile a seven round mock draft, which we will break into three separate articles, one for each day of the draft.
Here is our breakdown of Day 1 of the NFL Draft with Round 1 selections for each team.
For simplicity’s sake, no trades were included in this mock draft. In certain cases we selected based on team fit, while other times we picked the best player available. I will give some insight to a few of the picks we chose.
NFL Mock Draft Round 1
1- Carolina – QB CJ Stroud – Ohio State – The Panthers go with the obvious choice and select Stroud. He will be QB1 and a franchise quarterback.
2- Houston – QB Bryce Young – Alabama
3- Arizona – OLB Will Anderson – Alabama
4- Indianapolis – QB Anthony Richardson – Florida – This was interesting. First, we had Will Levis going here. After such an impressive combine though Richardson slid into the Top 5 for us. The athletic qualities cannot go unnoticed. With proper coaching he could rise to be the best quarterback of this draft.
5- Seattle – DT Jalen Carter – Georgia
6- Detroit – Edge Tyree Wilson – Texas Tech
7- Las Vegas – QB Will Levis – Kentucky – The Raiders just signed Jimmy Garoppolo. Facts. He is just a bridge Quarterback. One to hold it down and teach the next up. Draft Levis. Let him learn from a Super Bowl appearing Quarterback.
8- Atlanta – Edge Myles Murphy – Clemson
9- Chicago – OT Paris Johnson Jr – Ohio State – Talks have began that Chicago goes Bijan Robinson. By trading back Chicago believes Justin Fields is their franchise. Protect your most valuable asset.
10- Philadelphia – Edge Nolan Smith – Georgia – This is a steal. A freak athlete. He showed his abilities at the combine. That pays off big moving Smith into a top 10 draft selection. Reuniting him with Nakobe Dean and Jordan Davis.
11- Tennessee – OT Broderick Jones – Georgia
12- Houston – WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba -Ohio State – The dream scenario would be Houston gets Stroud and Smith-Njigba. They miss Stroud by one pick, but still get the best Wide Receiver of this draft.
13- New York Jets – CB Devon Witherspoon – Illinois – Imagine a world where Sauce Gardner and Devon Witherspoon play opposite each other. This would be a nightmare for any Quarterback.
14- New England – CB Christian Gonzalez – Oregon
15- Green Bay – OT Peter Skoronski – Northwestern
16- Washington – S Brian Branch – Alabama
17- Pittsburgh – CB –Joey Porter Jr – Penn State – The legacy follows. Former Pittsburgh Steelers Joey Porter gets to see his son follow his footsteps at a different position.
18- Detroit – TE Michael Mayer – Notre Dame – Another Bijan Robinson scenario. However, they lost Tight End T.J. Hockenson last year to Minnesota. Now they get his replacement that can be a day one starter.
19- Tampa Bay – DT Bryan Breese – Clemson
20- Seattle – OG O’Cyrus Torrence – Florida
21- Miami – Forfeited
22- Los Angeles Chargers – RB Bijan Robinson Texas – What seems to be the golden ticket of this draft. Austin Ekeler has requested a trade. If they are able to secure Robinson here, then Ekeler is gone.
23- Baltimore – WR Quentin Johnston – TCU
24- Minnesota – DL Calijah Kancey – Pittsburgh
25- Jacksonville – CB Cam Smith – South Carolina
26- New York Giants – WR Jalin Hyatt – Tennessee – This pick could honestly be Hyatt, Zay Flowers, or Jordan Addison. The 3 of us that did this mock had Hyatt at the top between those 3 Wide Receivers. The New York Giants get their WR1.
27- Dallas – WR Zay Flowers – Boston College
28- Buffalo – WR – Jordan Addison – USC
29- Cincinnati – CB/S Kelee Ringo – Georgia – After losing Jessie Bates the Bengals look to get the best Defensive Back on the board.
30- New Orleans – Edge B.J. Ojulari – LSU
31- Philadelphia – TE Dalton Kincaid – Utah – A Tight End that is getting comparisons to Zack Ertz, a former Philadelphia Eagle. Arguably the TE1 of the class.
32- Kansas City – WR Josh Downs – North Carolina – Travis Kelce will forever be Patrick Mahomes‘ favorite target. The Kansas City Chiefs need help at the Wide Receiver position. Downs is the best available and will thrive with a quarterback like Mahomes.
That wraps up day one of the NFL mock draft. Stay tuned, later this week, as we mock Day 2 of the NFL Draft.
Thank you for reading! Follow us on Twitter at @ThePPRShow and @SportsWithBuds
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