- Ben Matthews
2023 NFL Draft Watch List: 100 Prospects To Know
Yes, yes, we know. The 2022 NFL Draft is only just in the books, but it is never too early to look ahead. Below you will find our initial 2023 NFL Draft watch list -- this is a list of 100 prospects to keep an eye out for. A way-too-early big board! Enjoy (and take with a pinch of salt).
By Ben Matthews.
Headlined by a bumper crop of excellent quarterback prospects, round one of the 2023 NFL Draft could be littered with franchise-altering signal-callers. Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud are grabbing all of the hype at the moment, but is it warranted?
Don't be too quick to anoint Young and Stroud. Not just yet anyway, for there are challengers to the throne. I am especially excited to see whether Will Levis of Kentucky or Miami's Tyler Van Dyke can elevate their stock to top ten status come next April.
2023 NFL Draft Prospects 1-25
Will Anderson currently resides atop of the rankings. He is a generational talent and will be ranked as such on many early big boards you see over the coming months. Jalen Carter appears at second overall for now. Georgia has just seen a multitude of defensive stars take their next steps into the NFL and Carter could become the best of the bunch. He is a force of nature on the interior.
After that, the quarterbacks start to appear, as do wideouts Kayshon Boutte and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. The 2023 NFL Draft class is another deep one at the wide receiver position, highlighting a seemingly never-ending conveyor belt of pass-catching talent coming from the college level.
It is tough to assess the offensive linemen. Paris Johnson has potential but has predominantly played right guard up to this point in his career. He has a prototypical frame and a lot is expected of him as he transitions to a full-time role as the starting left tackle for Ohio State in 2023.
*If viewing on mobile, scroll to the right on each table to view positional rankings, estimated measurables and college details*
Rank | Name | Pos | HT | WT | College |
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 | Will Anderson Jalen Carter Will Levis C.J. Stroud Bryan Bresee Kayshon Boutte Jaxon Smith-Njigba Bryce Young Myles Murphy Eli Ricks Tyler Van Dyke Felix Anudike-Uzomah Noah Sewell Paris Johnson Isaiah Foskey Bijan Robinson Trenton Simpson Jarrett Patterson Jaxson Kirkland Michael Mayer Brandon Joseph Zion Nelson Emil Ekiyor Jordan Battle Broderick Jones | DE1 iDL1 QB1 QB2 iDL2 WR1 WR2 QB3 DE2 CB1 QB4 DE3 LB1 OT1 DE4 RB1 LB2 iOL1 OT2 TE1 S1 OT2 iOL2 S2 OT3 | 6’4 6’3 6’3 6’3 6’5 6’0 6’0 6’0 6’5 6’2 6’4 6’3 6’3 6’6 6’5 6’0 6’3 6'5 6'7 6’4 6'1 6'5 6'3 6'1 6’4 | 243 310 232 218 300 190 197 194 275 195 224 252 250 315 260 214 225 285 295 249 192 316 324 210 315 | Alabama Georgia Kentucky Ohio State Clemson LSU Ohio State Alabama Clemson Alabama Miami Kansas St Oregon Ohio State Notre Dame Texas Clemson Notre Dame Washington Notre Dame Notre Dame Miami Alabama Alabama Georgia |
2023 NFL Draft Prospects 26-50
Calijah Kancey is a name to watch from this group. He is a disruptive, but slightly undersized interior defensive lineman with real pop in his hands. Playing at Pitt... I'm getting ahead of myself, I know!
More QBs here, too. Hendon Hooker at Tennessee and Stanford's Tanner McKee are impressive athletes with strong arms but lack a little poise and touch. They are both guys who could rise.
Antonio Johnson, Jalen Catalon and Malachi Moore are all classic chess pieces in the secondary who will excite scouts for their versatility.
26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 | Cam Smith Zay Flowers Colby Wooden Antonio Johnson Jalen Catalon Calijah Kancey Nolan Smith Zach Charbonnet Kelee Ringo Jordan Addison Jaelyn Duncan Ochaun Mathis Dawand Jones Garrett Williams Henry To'oto'o Jahmyr Gibbs Sedrick Van Pran Tykee Smith Hendon Hooker Dontay Demus Jr Fabien Lovett Malachi Moore Edefuan Ulofoshio Habakkuk Baldonado Tanner McKee | CB2 WR3 iDL3 CB3 S3 iDL4 DE5 RB2 CB4 WR4 OT5 DE6 OT6 CB5 LB3 RB3 iOL3 S4 QB5 WR5 iDL5 CB6 LB4 DE6 QB6 | 6’1 5’10 6’5 6’3 5’10 6’1 6'3 6'1 6’2 6’0 6’6 6’5 6’8 6’0 6’2 5’11 6’4 5’10 6’4 6’3 6’4 6’0 6’1 6’5 6’6 | 187 177 278 200 178 275 235 222 205 175 315 247 360 190 225 200 310 198 218 217 315 182 235 260 228 | S. Carolina Boston Cl Auburn Texas A&M Arkansas Pittsburgh Georgia UCLA Georgia Pittsburgh Maryland Texas Ohio State Syracuse Alabama Alabama Georgia Georgia Tennessee Maryland Florida St Alabama Washington Pittsburgh Stanford |
2023 NFL Draft Prospects 51-75
Some have Anthony Richardson as QB3 already, I'd pump the breaks on that one for now as the Florida product has a mere 66 passes thrown to date. Let's not get ahead of ourselves.
B.J. Ojulari, brother of the Giants' Azeez, is one to watch. Seven sacks in 2021 for LSU and some believe he is a better prospect than his sibling. Texas A&M receiver Ainias Smith has some Deebo Samuel vibes. Derick Hall has a shot at the first round if he continues his upward trajectory of pass-rushing production.
51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 | Zach Evans Andrew Vorhees Ventrell Miller John Michael Schmitz Byron Young Marvin Mims Joey Porter Jr Ainias Smith Rashad Torrence Gervon Dexter B.J. Ojulari Phil Jurkovec Anton Harrison O’Cyrus Torrence Akeem Dent Sam LaPorta DeMarvion Overshown Nick Broeker Rakim Jarrett Anthony Richardson Derick Hall Zach Harrison Peter Skoronski Brenton Cox Justin Flowe | RB4 iOL4 LB5 iOL5 iDL6 WR6 CB7 WR7 S5 iDL7 DE7 QB7 OT7 iOL6 S6 TE2 LB6 OT8 WR8 QB8 DE9 DE10 OT9 DE11 LB7 | 5’11 6’6 6’1 6’4 6’3 5’11 6’2 5’10 6’0 6’6 6’3 6’5 6’5 6’5 6’1 6’4 6’4 6'4 6’0 6’4 6’3 6’6 6’4 6'4 6’2 | 212 320 226 320 292 177 195 190 205 303 244 226 309 332 193 249 217 305 200 236 256 268 294 252 246 | Ole Miss USC Florida Minnesota Alabama Oklahoma Penn State Texas A&M Florida Florida LSU Boston Cl Oklahoma Florida Florida St Iowa Texas Ole Miss Maryland Florida Auburn Ohio State N'thwestern Florida Oregon |
2023 NFL Draft Prospects 76-100
Can Spencer Rattler redeem himself in Carolina? Will recent transfer Jermaine Burton be the next great receiver taken from the Alabaman production line? Can Andre Carter force his way up the board and become the first Black Knight drafted since 2008?
76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 | Tank Bigsby Demani Richardson Amari Gainer Spencer Rattler Jermaine Burton Cooper Beebe Xavier Hutchinson Quentin Johnston William McDonald Andre Carter DeMarcco Hellams Ricky Stromberg Wanya Morris Zion Tupuola-Fetui Arik Gilbert Carter Warren Parker Washington Jaheim Bell Jaquelin Roy Kris Abrams-Draine Tyler Davis Xavier Thomas Zacch Pickens Devon Achane Jahleel Billingsley | RB5 S7 LB8 QB9 WR9 OT10 WR10 WR11 DE12 DE13 S8 iOL7 OT11 DE14 TE3 iOL8 WR12 TE4 iDL8 CB8 iDL9 DE15 iDL10 RB6 TE5 | 6’0 6’1 6’3 6’1 6’0 6’3 6’3 6’4 6’4 6’7 6’1 6’4 6'5 6’4 6’5 6’6 5’10 6’3 6’4 5’11 6'2 6'2 6'3 5’9 6'4 | 208 210 232 200 200 320 210 193 245 265 208 310 313 260 248 315 212 230 297 177 300 270 305 185 230 | Auburn Texas A&M Florida St S. Carolina Alabama Kansas St Iowa State TCU Iowa State Army Alabama Arkansas Oklahoma Washington Georgia Pittsburgh Penn State S. Carolina LSU Missouri Clemson Clemson S. Carolina Texas A&M Texas |
There we have it; our initial 2023 NFL Draft watch list.
It'll be an interesting exercise to see how this list looks in just under 12 months, but we will keep you updated with all the risers and fallers throughout the season and all the way up to next year's draft.
Thank you for taking the time to check out the list, and please follow me, Gridiron Xtra and The Franchise 33 NFL Show on Twitter.