2023 Post-Draft Thoughts: Rounds 4-7
This is a continuation of my draft notes. These notes provide context for the 2023 NFL draft picks: who was a reach, who was a value, and the scenarios that various teams had when they were making these picks. Hopefully it will provide a handy reference point in future years. Here are the notes for some of the Day 3 picks. For these rounds, I focused on players who may have an opportunity to become fantasy contributors, but occasionally I have sprinkled in players at non-fantasy positions that I felt strongly about.
ROUND 4
105. Philadelphia Eagles - Kelee Ringo, CB, Georgia (4.03). Ringo is a little stiff, but he’s a former 5 star athlete that held up well in the SEC. Plus, he’s still super young. This is a good gamble by the Eagles on Day 3.
106. Indianapolis Colts - Blake Freeland, OT, BYU (4.04). Mentioning it only because I had Freeland graded as a second rounder in a class that seemed light on quality starting tackles.
110. Indianapolis Colts - Tommy Adebawore, DT, Northwestern (4.08). Northwestern had Adebawore primarily as an edge player, but he’s better suited for the interior. His athletic testing was elite, showing premier burst. He’s in the mold of Geno Atkins.
111. Cleveland Browns - Dawand Jones, RT, Ohio State (4.09). Jones fell to this round solely because of concerns over his conditioning. Pre-draft rumors had him ballooning up over 400 pounds since the end of last season. But he couldn’t be beaten during (the one day he showed up for) Senior Bowl week. The Browns may have gotten a steal here. I had Jones with a late first round grade.
113. Atlanta Falcons - Clark Phillips III, CB, Utah (4.11). Yeah, I get it that Phillips is undersized. But he was an All-American who tested well. He’ll be fine. This was a nice selection for a team that is desperate for help on defense. He’ll pair well with a secondary anchored by A.J. Terrell and high-dollar free agent signee Jessie Bates.
114. Chicago Bears - Roschon Johnson, RB, Texas (4.13). Johnson has bellcow size and ideal testing measurables. The only knock on him is that he didn’t start in college. But that’s because he was behind Bijan Robinson, the best RB prospect since Saquon Barkley. That doesn’t mean Johnson is bad. It just means he’s not the #1 running back in this class. But so what? He’s got great opportunity on a wide open depth chart in Chicago, needing to beat out only the likes of Khalil Herbert and D’Onta Foreman for playing time. He’s a talented player in a good situation.
126. Cleveland Browns - Isaiah McGuire, DE, Mizzou (4.24). I had McGuire rated as a late second rounder, so this represents good value for the Browns.
128. LA Rams - Stetson Bennett, QB, Georgia (4.26). Bennett is old (25) for a rookie, and he shows terrible judgment. He skipped Senior Bowl week to “train on his own,” but during that week he got cited for Alcohol Intoxication (or something like that). He should have been training, like he said, and taking the next phase of his life seriously. Instead, he had a tremendous lapse in judgment. This isn’t an 18 year old doing something dumb. This is is a guy who is 4 years older than most college seniors. One of my adages with prospect evaluation is “Once a knucklehead, always a knucklehead.” I don’t draft knuckleheads.
131. Cincinnati Bengals - Charlie Jones, WR, Purdue (4.29). He’s an All-American, but he spent six years in college and didn’t break out until he was on his third team. He’s going to be 25 this year, and NFL history hasn’t been kind to 25-year-old rookie wideouts. I’m probably avoiding him in dynasty drafts.
133. Chicago Bears - Tyler Scott, WR, CIncinnati (4.31). I saw Scott as more of a late 2nd/early 3rd round type, so it was surprising to see him available outside the Top 100 picks. His most frequent comp is Tyler Lockett. He could get opportunity in 2024, as both Chase Claypool and Darnell Mooney are free agents after this season.
ROUND 5
136. Jacksonville Jaguars - Yasir Abdullah, LB, Louisville (5.01). Abdullah is probably the most underrated pass rusher in this draft class. His testing was quite good, which suggests that this was a steal for Jacksonville.
138. Indianapolis Colts - Darius Rush, CB, South Carolina (5.04). Mentioning him only because he’s one of my favorite players in this draft class. He has speed to burn and is battle-tested from his SEC days. It would not be surprising if he wound up starting for the Colts.
143. New York Jets - Israel Abanikanda, RB, Pitt (5.09). Love the player, hate the landing spot. Izzy has the size and speed to be a bell cow back. Plus, he’s super young, which is always a good sign. But it’s hard to see him getting much opportunity if he’s playing on the same team as Breece Hall.
145. Carolina Panthers - Jammie Robinson, S, Florida State (5.11). He’s a bit undersized, and the testing isn’t elite. But this dude is just a football player. It wouldn’t be surprising if he outplayed his draft position.
151. Seattle Seahawks - Mike Morris, DE, Michigan (5.17). Morris is a power rusher with ideal size to be a strong-side defensive end in the NFL: 6’6 and nearly 300 pounds. This is a solid rotational piece who has the potential to develop into a starter for the Seahawks.
156. Los Angeles Chargers - Jordan McFadden, OL, Clemson (5.22). McFadden was one of the hidden gems in this draft class. He graded out well in college and tested well. I think it’s a mistake for the Chargers to move him to guard, as he’s got the length to hold up at tackle despite being a bit shorter for a tackle. He’s very similar to Isaiah Wynn.
163. Cincinnati Bengals - Chase Brown, CB, Illinois (5.29). Many fantasy analysts are excited about Chase Brown and his landing spot in Cincinnati. I’m not among them. Brown is “just a guy.” He was noticeably bad during Senior Bowl week. If you can’t stand out among the college All-Stars, how are you going to stand out in the NFL? I suspect I won’t have any shares of Brown, regardless of the format, this season.
165. Chicago Bears - Terell Smith, CB, Minnesota (5.31). Second round talent, fifth round price.
170. Las Vegas Raiders - Christopher Smith, S, Georgia (5.36). Smith’s athletic testing was underwhelming, but if there’s any position on defense where testing doesn’t matter all that much, it’s safety. Smith was an All-American and a leader on Georgia’s championship defense. It’s a nice gamble for a Vegas team starved for defensive talent in the secondary.
174. LA Rams - Warren McClendon, RT, Georgia (5.40). McClendon graded well in success rate (a metric I have developed to measure consistency by an offensive tackle). The only tackles in the class who were better were Broderick Jones and Jordan McFadden.
176. Indianapolis Colts - Evan Hull, RB, Northwestern (5.42). Hull was just shy of having ideal size for the position. But he’s a great pass catcher who was reasonably productive in college. He lands on a fairly open depth chart behind Jonathan Taylor. He’s a worthwhile pick in the last round of your dynasty drafts. Consider the talent, not the star ahead of him on the depth chart.
ROUND 6
185. Jacksonville Jaguars - Parker Washington, WR, Penn State (6.08). Washington is a poor man’s Deebo Samuel (or maybe a rich man’s Laviska Shenault?) - a guy who can be a rushing threat out of the backfield as well as a receiving threat.
187. New England Patriots - Kayshon Boutte, WR, LSU (6.10). Boutte had an elite breakout age. That’s about all you can say for him, as his sophomore and junior seasons were nondescript. And early reports out of training camp are that he’s being outplayed by Demario Douglas.
195. New Orleans Saints - A.T. Perry, WR, Wake Forest (6.18). He’s a deep threat in the mold of Marquez Valdes-Scantling.
201. Houston Texans - Jarrett Patterson, C, Notre Dame (6.24). Patterson was much better at center than he was as a guard for the Irish. Perhaps a return to his original position will lead to his longevity in the NFL.
206. Cincinnati Bengals - Andrei Iosivas, WR, Princeton (6.29). Crowded depth chart, but this dude has size and speed. He could potentially be a long-term Tee Higgins replacement. Not likely, but certainly possible.
215. LA Rams - Zach Evans, RB, Ole Miss (6.38). My, how the mighty have fallen. The former five-star recruit was considered a potential top 3 back in this class when he transferred from TCU to Ole Miss, but it never all really came together for him in 2022. Plus, he measured in smaller than expected. Don’t buy into the depth chart opportunity. It’s probably safe to pass on him.
ROUND 7
220. New York Jets - Zack Kuntz, TE, Old Dominion (7.03). Athletic freak. One of the best athletes ever at tight end. I love betting on those types of guys with my last round dynasty pick.
222. Minnesota Vikings - DeWayne McBride, RB, UAB (7.05). He’s a great runner and reasonably effective in pass protection, but he can’t catch a cold. He’s the sort of guy that could be a productive runner for a team if their starter suffers an injury.
229. Baltimore Ravens - Andrew Vorhees, G, USC (7.12). Vorhees was an All-American, but he tore his ACL while working out at the combine. And then still stayed to do the bench press. This is a tough dude and a good player, and he’ll redshirt this year for the Ravens. But he likely would have been a backup anyway, so he’s not missing out on much. Smart gamble by a smart organization.
237. Seattle Seahawks - Kenny McIntosh, RB, Georgia (7.20). He’s not an elite athlete, but he’s an outstanding receiver and he’s quick enough. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him carve out a role with the Seahawks. No team cares less about draft capital. If he out-practices Kenny Walker or Zach Charbonnet, he’ll play. Simple as that.
241. Pittsburgh Steelers - Cory Trice, CB, Purdue (7.24). If you’re going to gamble in the NFL draft, you do it on Day 3. And you do it with guys who are athletic freaks. That’s Trice. He’s injured and will miss his rookie season, but this was a nice CB prospect for the Steelers to try to develop.