The 2023 NFL draft had 3 quarterbacks go in the top 4 picks, and also had 2 running backs go in the top 12. This was a pretty talented draft class and now that we are a year and a half into these guys careers – we can really start to see the impact from this class and how teams futures look based on this draft class alone. 2023 marked the second straight season in which a team had both the offensive and defensive rookie of the year as the Texans drafted quarterback CJ Stroud with the 2nd overall pick, and edge rusher Will Anderson with the 3rd overall pick. This was a year after the Jets swept the rookie of the year awards with Sauce Gardner and Garrett Wilson, and needless to say – the Texans future changed on night one of the 2023 NFL draft. But they weren’t the only franchise whose future changed due in large to this draft class. Not even close. And when you hear the phrase teams build through the draft – well we’re going break down a couple of teams both good and bad as to how the 2023 NFL draft shaped their franchise into what they are today. We will breakdown the thought process of each pick, what went right, what went wrong, and everything in between. And there is a lot to dive into in today’s video and without further ado – let’s begin
And we are starting today’s video with the the Los Angeles Rams. The Rams were in a very tricky situation entering the 2023 draft because they were coming off of a year in which they finished 5-12 and had their big 3 in Matt Stafford, Cooper Kupp, and Aaron Donald all miss significant time. Not only did they miss significant time, but even when they played – the Rams weren’t a good team and for reference – Matt Stafford was just 3-6 as a starter in 2022 and was sacked 29 times in 9 games. This was particularly concerning for the future of the Rams because Stafford was 34 going on 35 and he was sacked just 30 times in 2021 – when he played 17 games in the year they won the Super Bowl.
The Rams backs were against the wall because if they didn’t absolutely nail the 2023 draft – then it would have been extreme uphill sledding and there’s a chance Sean McVay and Les Snead would be out of their jobs. Not for sure of course – but there would have been a strong chance. And as you can imagine – they nailed the 2023 draft – and this was all without having their first round pick as that was still a part of the Matt Stafford and Jared Goff trade which happened all the way back in 2021. Their first selection was offensive lineman Steve Avila and Steve has only played in a few games in 2024 – but I liked what we saw from him in 2023 and I think he will be a solid starting player for the Rams for a couple of years – at minimum by the way. They two other top 100 selections that were used on edge rusher Byron Young and defensive tackle Kobie Turner and both players had great rookie seasons and both players are having solid second seasons. Having a rookie – whether it’s the 3rd overall pick in Will Anderson or the 77th overall pick in Byron Young or the 89th overall pick in Kobie Turner register 50 pressures in their first season is huge because of what it means for their future. If they can consistently win as a rookie – especially in the trenches – then chances are – they will continue to win because they already made the initial transition from college to the NFL.
And both players are having solid second seasons and the Rams pass rush right now is very difficult to game plan against and that’s also because they selected Jared Verse and Braden Fiske in the 2024 draft. They nailed their top 3 picks in the 2023 draft and that’s hard enough to do by itself – let alone with one of those picks not being in the first round. And to be able to have a couple of positions in the trenches taken care of is huge for the long term development of the team because it’s one less thing to worry about. And in the 5th round they also happened to draft a wide receiver from Brigham Young who would go onto break the rookie receiving yards record and go for over 1,400 yards in his rookie year by the name of Puka Nacua. For a moment – the Rams had a case to be in one of the worst situations in all of football. But they had one of the best drafts they possibly could have and I don’t think anybody saw this coming especially without what was the number 6 overall pick at the time.
They nearly beat the Lions in the playoffs last year and it was due in large part to a 181 yard playoff debut from Puka Nacua. The end of the 2022 season was dark for the Rams as the lone highlights were a Baker Mayfield come from behind win over the Raiders on Thursday night, and embarrassing the Broncos on Christmas Day. And when their backs were against the wall entering the 2023 draft – they sat back and made it happen and selected 4 starters from this class. And not just average starters either. Puka is a great receiver, and Byron and Kobie are very very good at what they do. And if they missed on these selections – the Rams would not be close to the team we know them as today.
The Jags 2023 draft was one where I looked at even as it was happening in real time and simply asked – what was their plan heading into the draft? This team had 13 selections in the 2023 draft and they had 6 of those 13 picks go in the 6th round or later – so I’m not going to kill the 240th overall pick in Derek Parish and ask why he hasn’t done anything because any player after pick 200 is usually a depth piece at most. But the first 7 selections in this draft were all in the 5th round or earlier and including 3 top 100 picks. They selected Oklahoma’s Anton Harrison with the 27th overall pick and this was after they traded back with the Bills so they could go up and acquire Tight End Dalton Kincaid. I didn’t have a problem with the Harrison selection as I am all for protecting your franchise quarterback and especially in Trevor’s case as they were coming off of a year in which they won a playoff game and Trevor had the best half season of his career which was highlighted during the Baltimore games and the second half of the Chargers playoff game.
They traded back and still acquired the player they wanted. Great. Good for them. Harrison hasn’t been great as a first round pick and I have been critical of Anton at times, but there are far worse things to gripe about with this class and it’s really every pick aside from Anton Harrison. They selected Penn State Tight End Brenton Strange in the 2nd round with the 61st overall pick and this was a pick I hated from the minute it was made.
A little personal background – I am a Penn State fan and while it’s nice to see players from your favorite college get drafted – I was shocked when the Brenton Strange pick was announced. I remember thinking during his final year at Penn State that I liked Brenton as a collegiate tight end and I was hoping he would be a 5th or 6th round pick and hopefully for his sake – stay in the NFL for 6 or 7 years and get as much money as he can while he’s in his physical prime. But when they selected him at the end of the second round – my jaw dropped. And to date he has played in 24 games and has just 25 receptions. I’m not getting into the revisionist history of how they should have selected Sam LaPorta – who was selected at the top of the 2nd round – but I like Tucker Kraft and Darnell Washington a lot more than I liked Brenton Strange as a prospect and this was after a year where Evan Engram was coming off of a 73 catch season. I really disliked the value on Strange and I recently went back and looked at a few scouting reports pre draft and he was around a late 4th round grade. The value was off, and he hasn’t played well in over a year and a half.
They then drafted Tank Bigsby in the 3rd round and I liked Bigsby as a prospect, and after a brutal rookie season – he is playing a lot better in year 2 – but I was kind of shocked by this one because of the value. I also like De’von Achane a lot more than I liked Bigsby, and he was selected 4 spots prior to Tank. They of course had selected Travis Etienne in the first round back in 2021 and I was simply surprised by the Bigsby pick. Ironically – the Rams selected Kobie Turner immediately after Tank Bigsby, and the Jags would go on to draft an interior defensive lineman in the second round of 2024 in Maason Smith. They selected Ventrell Miller in the 4th round and this was another pick I didn’t understand the value, although Vetnrell has played better than I thought he would for where he was selected, and Tyler Lacy has been below average when he’s played. I didn’t think the value aligned with really any of their picks in rounds 2-4 – and there’s a reason the Jags are not a good football team. It’s not strictly because of the 2023 draft, but the lack of production they receive routinely from their drafts is pretty telling. And we’re seeing in this in a big way just a year and half later.
I hope you enjoyed today’s article! I also did a video breakdown of this on YouTube and if you enjoyed the article – you will enjoy the video! Thank you for reading and have a great day!
