The Best And Worst Draft Picks From The 2023 NFL Draft Three Years Later

Every year during the NFL Draft you’ll often hear that we’ll know the true winners and losers from this draft class in 3 years. And given that we are now in 2026 – and we 3 years into the 2023 NFL Draft classes careers – we are going to breakdown the biggest winners and losers from the 2023 draft. This class started by having 3 quarterbacks taken in the top 4 in Bryce Young, CJ Stroud, and Anthony Richardson – and also had a run 4 straight receivers in the first round too – highlighted by Jaxon Smith Njigba. And in today’s article we’re going to breakdown the best and worst picks from the 2023 NFL draft 3 years later. I hope you enjoy!

CJ Stroud

The Texans had a long 2022 season and needed a new franchise signal caller in the post Deshaun Watson era. The Panthers selected quarterback Bryce Young with the first overall pick which left the Texans to draft Ohio State quarterback CJ Stroud with the second overall pick. In three seasons with Stroud as their quarterback the Texans have had three double digit winning seasons and made the playoffs in each year. CJ Stroud, along with another player that we will discuss shortly has helped significantly change the Texans franchise and this was an easy A+ pick

Tyree Wilson

Tyree Wilson was the seventh overall pick in the 2023 draft and there was a lot of conversation prior to the draft of who is a better edge rushing prospect Tyree Wilson, or Will Anderson. And three years later, we definitively know it is Will Anderson. But that didn’t stop the Raiders from selecting Wilson with the number seven pick. In three years Wilson has just 12 sacks and has just seven starts out of 51 possible games and he is unfortunately a draft bust. He had a good situation to walk into as he was playing opposite Max Crosby, but unfortunately has not been what the Raiders were hoping for with a top seven pick.

Will Anderson

Will Anderson was a really good pass rushing prospect out of the University of Alabama and the Texans traded up from the number 12 pick to the number 3 pick to draft him. Anderson has been a consistently good player for the Texans over the first three years of his career and really broke out in 2025 as he had 93 pressures and 12 sacks. Anderson is a two-time pro bowler and when you draft a pass rusher in the top five of the NFL draft, this is exactly what you’re looking for. It is not exaggeration to say the Texans would not be where they are today without CJ Stroud and Will Anderson.

Emmanuel Forbes

The Washington commander selected corner Emmanuel Forbes out of Mississippi State with the 16th pick the draft and this was a selection I did not understand when it was made. Forbes is a very light corner and I did not like the idea of him matching up against AJ Brown twice a year – specifically when AJ Brown has over 50 pounds on him and I thought that that was an extreme disadvantage for Forbes before he played his first NFL game. The NFC East is loaded with talented receivers, and I also thought there was a better corner on the board with the 16th pick at the time in Oregon corner Christian Gonzalez. Gonzalez has been a really good corner for the Patriots in the first few years of his career while Forbes is on a second team and was released released by the Commanders prior to the end of his second season. This pick was in the middle of a very rough span for the Washington Commanders franchise and Emmanuel Forbes being flat out released prior to his second ending was one of the worst picks they made. Forbes now plays for the Los Angeles Rams and has turned his career around, but this was a bad pick for Washington.

Puka Nacua

The Rams selected Puka Nacua with the 177th pick the 2023 draft and Puka paid immediate dividends as he had a 1,486 yard season in his rookie year. 1,486 yards is in an NFL rookie record that still stands today and after missing some time in his second season, he still averaged 90 yards per game in 11 games played. In 2025, Nacua set a career high in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns as he had 129 catches, 1,715 yards and 10 touchdowns and made a second pro bowl in three years. He is undoubtedly one of the best receivers in the NFL today, and this is one of the biggest draft steals in NFL history.

Lukas Van Ness

The Packers drafted Lukas Van Ness with the 13th pick in the 2023 draft and this was always going to be a project pick, and unfortunately the project didn’t work out. In 43 career games Van Ness has just 84 total tackles, 23 quarterback hits, and 8.5 sacks. He’s also started just two games in three seasons, and I think the Packers making the trade for Micah Parsons was a pretty good indication they needed an upgrade at the edge position. There’s an old saying that a third of first round picks are stars a third are average and a third are draft busts and three years later – unfortunately, Lukas Van Ness is a draft bust. 

Jahmyr Gibbs

Jahmyr Gibbs was the 12th overall pick in the 2023 draft and has three straight seasons of double digit rushing touchdowns. He had over 1,900 total yards and 20 total touchdowns in his second season as the Lions had a top 15 scoring offense in NFL history and Jahmyr Gibbs was a large reason why. He followed it up in 2025 with a 1,200 rushing yard 13 rushing touchdown season and also had an additional 600 receiving yards out of the backfield. Jahmyr Gibbs has the most touchdowns in NFL history before a players turned 24 years old, including more than Lions legend Barry Sanders. Gibbs is a home run threat and a tremendous football player and is one of the best players in the NFL.

Deonte Banks

Deonte Banks was the 24th pick in the first round in 2023 and what was really unfortunate for the Giants at the time was they needed a receiver in the 2023 draft, but four receivers went directly in front of them. General managerJoe Schoen’s hand was forced to the fire as he had to make a pick and three years later Deonte Banks did not work out. He’s played in 45 games for the Giants and has two interceptions and at times throughout his NFL career has been picked on routinely. There was also a clip against the Eagles in 2024 where he  was jogging as Jalen Hurts ran by him for a first down, and unfortunately Banks has not worked out for the Giants. The Giants have not had a lot of success over the past few years, and missing on picks like this is why.

Bijan Robinson

Bijan Robinson was one of the best running back prospects in the past 10 years and has played like it through the first three years of his career. After splitting carries with Tyler Allgeier in his rookie season, he had over 1,400 yards in 2024 along with 14 rushing touchdowns. He followed up with another 1,400 yard rushing season in 2025 and broke the Falcons record for yards from scrimmage in a season as he had nearly 2,300 total yards in 2025. Bijan Robinson is one of the best running backs in the NFL and there is always a little bit of a discussion of whether or not you want to take a running back in the first round, but you can’t argue with Bijan Robinson’s production. He,  along with another running back from this class are reasons why if the talent is there – you can draft a running back in the first round and you should simply draft good football players.

Felix Anudike-Uzomah

The Chiefs selected Felix Anudike-Uzomah with the final pick in the first round in 2023 hoping to bolster their pass rush for the next few years. They had just drafted George Karlaftis in the previous first round and all things considered – Karlaftis has been a solid first round pick for them. Unfortunately, it did not work out for Felix Anudike-Uzomah and in three years he has just three career sacks. He missed the entire 2025 season due to a hamstring injury, but prior to the 2025 season had started just 3 out of 34 possible games. The Chiefs are not the same old Chiefs and whiffing on first round picks like this is exactly exactly why. 

Jalen Carter

The 2022 Philadelphia Eagles went to the Super Bowl and had a great defensive line and they drafted the best defensive tackle in the draft with the ninth overall pick in Georgia defensive lineman Jalen Carter. Jalen Carter is a two-time pro bowler in three years and finished 12th in defensive player of the year voting in his second season at 23 years old. He played a big part in the Eagles absolutely dominating the Chiefs in Super Bowl 59 and when he’s healthy – which I don’t think he was for a large portion of 2025 – he is an absolute game wrecker. And 3 years later – there are a lot of teams that wish they selected Jalen Carter. 

Jaxon Smith-Njigba

Jaxon Smith- Njigba was the first receiver taken in the 2023 draft and after a slower start to his career than we’ve been used to from big name receivers like Justin Jefferson Ja’Marr Chase and even the aforementioned Puka Nacua – JSN broke out in 2025 as he led the NFL and receiving yards and had a near 1,800 yard season. JSN was a really good player in 2024, but took his game to another level in 2025 and given that Sam Darnold is just 28 years old and that JSN will be entering year four in 2026 – the future looks extremely bright for both Darnold and Smith-Njigba. And three years later, JSN is undoubtedly one of the best picks from the 2023 NFL draft

Anthony Richardson

Anthony Richardson was a very fun prospect coming out of Florida and his highlight real plays are amongst the highest you’ll see in NFL history. But unfortunately that’s the biggest problem with Anthony Richardson. He is not a consistent player and has completed just 50.6% of his passes in his career. He has more interceptions than touchdowns and also couldn’t stay healthy. The Colts eventually brought in Daniel Jones for a training camp battle and as we know, Daniel Jones won the training camp battle. Richardson is just 23 years old, but the first few years of his career were an absolute nightmare.

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