I’m sure ranking Anthony Richardson this high won’t be polarizing at all.
I think my rationale behind supporting Richardson to such a degree is sound.
Just hear me out.
Alabama’s Will Anderson is probably atop most big boards you’ll see and for good reason.
He had 101 total tackles, 31 TFL and 17.5 sacks as a sophomore.
Jalen Carter’s legal situation is still pending, but I’ve dropped him from second overall to 19th.
Whether or not Carter is exonerated, seemed like a questionable situation to put himself in to begin with.
OK before we get into the big board, some key context: I inflate certain high-value positions.
Obviously, quarterback tops the priority list, followed by cornerbacks and wide receivers.
I’ll always skew toward giving those guys a leg up.
…Which is why it’s so crazy that Bijan Robinson cracks the top 10.
Without further ado, here we go, and I’ll break down some key storylines below.
2023 NFL Draft Big Board Nos.
1-50
2023 NFL Draft Big Board Nos.
51-100
It’s not ONLY BECAUSE OF THE COMBINE.
Out of curiosity, I looked around at other big boards to see how outlandish putting Richardson at No.
Turns out, not terribly.
Don’t shoot the messenger, just.
Rich Eisen reported in the aftermath of Richardson’s Combine workout that the buzz about him going No.
1 overall was palpable.
I get that Richardson’s completion percentage in college was low.
When you really watch him, you see the mechanical flaws in his lower half.
The staggering inconsistency on short-area throws.
Those are real red flags and need to be cleaned up.
Fixing Richardson’s footwork is an absolute necessity.
Well, let’s first dive into his situation at Florida.
We’re basically talking about a guy who has Lamar Jackson’s speed in Cam Newton’s body.
Or at least that’s something like Richardson would describe his skill set.
He’s been calling himself Cam Jackson since 11th grade.
Not exactly dinking and dunking.
Can he really go to a dysfunctional organization and thrive?
I’m not so sure.
Then you have the smaller than smallish Bryce Young.
Don’t know if he can hold up physically at the NFL level.
He’s the outlier of all outliers when it comes to size.
Richardson is at the complete opposite end of the spectrum.
I’d rather bet on the big man with the superior dual-threat ceiling.
Go watch any of his games from 2022.
It’s jarring how often he’s unloading screens.
Neither would shock me.
More on this towards the end.
PS: The way Levis navigates the pocket and takes brutal hits are shades of Andrew Luck.
The draft is so hard to nail as is.
Bust rates on drafting quarterbacks early are pretty damn high.
I’d take a swing at Richardson, because if you hit?
Bijan Robinson is “built different” as the kids say these days.
Bijan Robinson is HIM/Himothy.
If there’s a hole in Bijan’s game, kindly direct me to it.
He’s the rare workhorse back worthy of a first-round selection.
Another guy who could sneak into the Day 1 mix is Alabama’s Jahmyr Gibbs.
He had a reasonably productive two-year stint at Georgia Tech before transferring to Tuscaloosa.
Gibbs had 103 receptions for 1,212 yards and eight TDs for his college career.
To undercut that take a little, there are bargains to be had on Day 2.
But to circle back to the position I value second-most: Cornerback.
Christian Gonzalez has a bigger cornerback’s body with the twitch of a below-average measurables guy.
It’s pretty incredible.
It was Lovie Smith’s Tampa 2-loving ass that brought Witherspoon to Champaign in the first place.
I counted TWELVE cornerbacks in my top 100 from No.
The wide receiver class is mostly small but intriguing
So many undersized guys in the 2023 wideout group.
It’s kind of baffling.
We’ve seen DeVonta Smith thrive at around 170 pounds, yet he’s generally regarded as an exception.
I don’t know of many other guys doing it at his size.
My lean is toward the latter.
The whole modern game is optimally designed for teams with an elite passing attack.
Another reason I bump up wide receiver values over other positions.
I was surprised to see my WR1 Jaxon Smith-Njigba check in at 6-1, 195.
Thicc boii right there.
Did I just say that?
I just said that.
For someone so thicc, JSN is quick as hell.
Both had 1,000-yard receiving seasons as NFL rookies…and Wilson says Smith-Njigba is better than them.
OK enough JSN man-crushing.
How about Quentin Johnston?
He has some problems catching the ball but my lord, what a talent.
Couldn’t knock him out of the top 15.
How about some QB/pro player comparisons to end this thing?
We’ll go with ceilingandfloor to make it even spicier.
Stroud and Levis were far easier for me to pick out than my two favorites from this group.
