What did we learn from the 2023 class? We look closer at the run on quarterbacks and the rebuilt AFC South, among other storylines.
Two things were certain heading into the 2023 NFL draft: Bryce Young would be drafted No. 1 by the Carolina Panthers and everything else would be chaos.
Check and check.
The other thing that’s certain now that the draft is over: the AFC South is at the dawn of a new era.
The Jacksonville Jaguars won the division in 2022 after back-to-back No. 1 picks in 2021 and 2022, but the other three teams made significant moves throughout the 2023 draft to close the gap.
The Texans traded with the Arizona Cardinals to make back-to-back picks at No. 2 and No. 3, securing future leaders for new head coach DeMeco Ryans on both sides of the ball in Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud and Alabama linebacker Will Anderson Jr. The Indianapolis Colts weren’t far behind, drafting Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson at No. 4 overall.
And in Tennessee, new general manager Ran Carthon made a shrewd move to trade up and snag Kentucky quarterback Will Levis, widely projected to be a first-round pick, with the No. 33 overall selection.
Once alone in their post-rebuild success, the Jaguars look to have competition as the rest of the division adds their own foundational pieces.
Some other takeaways from three eventful days in Kansas City:
A year ago, Kenny Pickett was the lone first-round quarterback and only QB selected in the first 73 picks, but this time around a stronger quarterback class rebounded in a big way. Led by Young, three quarterbacks were taken in the first four picks including Ohio State’s Stroud (Texans) and Florida’s Richardson (Colts). Levis, projected by many draft prognosticators as a top-10 pick, fell to the second round when he was scooped up by the Titans. Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker, who also attracted some late buzz as a possible first-rounder, went early in the third round to the Detroit Lions.
Through five rounds, a record 12 quarterbacks were selected — the most in the common draft era. Of those, five quarterbacks were from the SEC, matching a 1971 record for the most quarterbacks ever taken from the conference in a single NFL Draft.
All told, 14 quarterbacks came off the board, more than the nine picked in 2022 but still well short of the seven-round record of 17 set in 2004.
Though the 2023 class was stronger than the year before, the 2024 class led by USC’s Caleb Williams and North Carolina’s Drake Maye is perceived to be even better.
Turns out some NFL teams do think there’s value to drafting a running back in the first round. A year after no running backs were selected in the first round, two were taken in the first half of the first round when Texas’ Bijan Robinson went No. 8 overall to the Atlanta Falcons and Alabama’s Jahmyr Gibbs followed shortly after at No. 12 to the Detroit Lions. It marked the first time that two running backs were selected in the top 12 since Christian McCaffrey and Leonard Fournette in 2017. Meanwhile, the first wide receiver didn’t come off the board until four in a row were taken from picks 20-23.
Though Robinson had only 19 receptions for 314 yards and two touchdowns to 1,580 rushing yards and 18 rushing touchdowns last season, Atlanta coach Arthur Smith pointed to Robinson’s versatility in explaining the decision to draft him.
“His background, playing in the slot, was another big piece of it,” Smith told local media. “That’s intriguing. We feel he is an explosive weapon, a home run hitter however he gets the football in his hands.”
The Cowboys’ war room gets emotional after announcing the 212th overall pick as Deuce Vaughn, son of assistant director of college scouting Chris.
Likewise, Gibbs’ versatility was behind the Lions’ decision to draft him at No. 12 after acquiring the pick from the Arizona Cardinals in a package that also included the No. 34 overall pick in exchange for the sixth overall pick. ESPN’s Draft Predictor gave more than a 99% chance that Gibbs would be on the board for the Lions’ No. 18 pick, but the organization made the unexpected decision to take him at 12.
“He’s bringing a value also in the passing game that’s a large, large value,” Lions running backs coach Scottie Montgomery said. “Then you add that to what he can do from a dynamic standpoint and in the run game, and at the end of the day it is about value. It’s one of those situations where you looked at it and as [GM] Brad [Holmes] and [coach] Dan [Campbell] looked at it, there was a value that they saw in this young man. There was a value that they saw in him, and we made the decision to go get him.
“That value is on the player and what it can mean for our team. We placed a high value on what he could do for our team from an explosive standpoint, creating more “explosives,” but not being limited to creating those explosives in the running game.
