With the 2023 NFL Draft officially behind us, we’ll break down every team’s draft picks over the 3 day event, giving player projections and opinions on team fits as we go division by division through the NFL.
Next up, the always competitive AFC North.
Baltimore Ravens:
1(22) WR Zay Flowers, Boston College
3(86) ILB Trenton Simpson, Clemson
4(124) OLB Tavius Robinson Ole, Miss
5(157) CB Kyu Blu Kelly, Stanford
6(199) OT Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu, Oregon
7(229) OG Andrew Vorhees, USC
The Ravens were already feeling good about themselves after signing QB Lamar Jackson to a 5 year extension prior to the draft, so everything afterwards likely seems like icing on the cake.
Everyone picked the Ravens to go defense with their 1st round pick, particularly with their need at cornerback, but it appears that with the hiring of new offensive coordinator Todd Monken the Ravens are looking to revitalize their almost non existent pass game.
Signing Odell Beckham Jr. and drafting Zay Flowers with their first pick turns one of the worst wide receiver rooms into one of the most intriguing, especially if they can get a healthy season from Rashod Bateman. Flowers is a exceptionally talented slot receiver that plays with constant energy, but needs to focus a little more on his route running to create more separation in the NFL. He seems to be entering the league in an ideal situation for him to develop in Baltimore though.
The Ravens then went back to what they do best, and stole a top linebacker prospect in Trenton Simpson with the 86th overall pick. Simpson played inside in 2022, but has rare speed to run down the play all over the field. He needs some work on his angles and has average play recognition, but going to Baltimore where they churn out linebackers, he lands in an ideal spot and can turn into a star in a couple of years.
Tavius Robinson is another high upside player who plays with aggression and heavy hands. He has a nice array of moves while rushing the passer and the agility and foot speed to beat blockers. He needs to grow into his frame, but has the potential to be a rotational pass rusher as early as this season, before blossoming into a full time player.
Kyu Blu Kelly was also another valuable pick in the 5th round, although the Ravens probably should have addressed their cornerback room earlier than that. He has good size, length and NFL bloodlines, but there are concerns about his lack of recovery speed and his ability to stick to receivers while they run their routes. He has the ball skills and competitiveness to contest catches that always translates well into the NFL, but with the Ravens lack of depth at the position he may be forced to take on a larger role than what would be ideal for his first season.
OT Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu is a powerful lineman who needs a lot of work on his technique before he can be considered as an everyday NFL player. He would be best served spending a season or 2 on the practice squad, and a possible switch to guard would probably serve him well in the long run.
The Ravens gave up a 6th round pick in next year’s draft to be able to select Vorhees, who plummeted down the draft after tearing his ACL at the combine. The Ravens will be patient with him, and when he’s healthy, Vorhees has the talent to have been a 2nd round pick. He has 5 years of starting experience, and is technically sound with consistency and high football IQ. While he needs to work on his hands, taking a player that can eventually become a key starter in the 7th round is another great move by the Ravens.
While Baltimore didn’t fill their biggest need, they’re still walking away with some high upside players. Given their development history, particularly at linebacker, they can feel pretty good about their overall draft haul.
Cincinnati Bengals:
1(28) DE Myles Murphy, Clemson
2(60) CB D.J. Turner, Michigan
3(95) S Jordan Battle, Alabama
4(131) WR Charlie Jones, Purdue
5(163) RB Chase Brown, Illinois
6(206) WR Andrei Iosivas, Princeton
6(217) P Brad Robbins, Michigan
7(246) CB D.J. Ivey, Miami
The Bengals are fully in win now mode, and to do that they need to get through the Chiefs. Their goal in this draft was clearly about rebuilding the defense to have a chance to slow down the Chiefs offense and letting Joe Burrow do his thing.
Having Myles Murphy fall to them in the first round was an unexpected gift, as the team only managed 30 sacks last season and desperately needed to improve their pass rush. Murphy has a high motor and good first step quickness, but he lacks explosiveness. He will need to develop more pass rushing moves, as his bull rush alone won’t lead him to success in the NFL, but he has the traits to develop into a great starter for the Bengals.
They then took the fastest corner from the combine in D.J. Turner, who, despite his smaller size, battles hard and is a solid tackler. He’s an explosive athlete with superior technique and can start right away at nickel covering smaller NFL receivers. He can be bumped off by larger receivers, and doesn’t win many 50-50 balls, but has every other trait necessary to become a solid NFL player.
After losing both starting safeties in free agency, the Bengals found a potential future Pro Bowl replacement in Jordan Battle, who’s experience playing 44 games under Nick Saban will help him transition smoothly into the NFL. He’s athletic enough to be successful in man coverage and is always field aware, giving the Bengals a steady safety at the back of their defense.
The Bengals turned their attention to the offense on day 3, selecting WR Charlie Jones, who should have no problem stepping in as a rotational piece. Jones has above average ball skills and good positioning which helps him win 50-50 balls. He won’t be the one to take the top off of defenses, and isn’t great at dealing with press coverage, but can be a productive and reliable player.
Canadian RB Chase Brown, who’s explosive one-cut running style and ability in the passing game was a great pick to help negate the loss of Samaje Perine in free agency. The twin brother of safety Sydney Brown, who was drafted in the 3rd round, Chase has the potential to become 3 down running back if he’s able to expand his running style to incorporate more than just his one cut move, but will settle in as a high end backup as soon as this coming season.
Andrei Iosivas is a super athletic wide receiver who can become a real weapon if he cleans up his catching. He was a high level 3 sport athlete before making his way to Princeton, but did miss 2 critical years of development as the school didn’t participate in sports during Covid. His natural abilities give him a high ceiling, and it will be interesting to watch how the Bengals handle his development.
Punter Brad Robbins is better at pinning teams near the end zone than flipping the field with power, which is an ideal fit as the Bengals offense rarely gets held up deep in their own zone.
CB D.J. Ivey is a project corner with athletic upside but needs refinement in his technique and consistency, and will be a practice squad player for the time being.
This team is in the midst of competing for the Super Bowl, and the additions they made on both sides of the ball are the additions that championship teams need to make.
DJ Reader ready to embrace another Clemson D lineman in Bengals first rounder Myles Murphy pic.twitter.com/aMEvo6Z4yT
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) May 1, 2023
Cleveland Browns:
3(74) WR Cedric Tillman, Tennessee
3(98) DT Siaki Ika, Baylor
4(111) OT Dawand Jones, Ohio State
4(126) DE Isaiah McGuire, Missouri
5(140) QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson, UCLA
5(142) CB Cameron Mitchell, Northwestern
6(190) C Luke Wypler, Ohio State
The Browns could have had the #12 pick after a 7-12 season, but because of the massive haul they gave up for Deshaun Watson, their first pick was made in round 3 when they took WR Cedric Tillman 74th overall.
Cleveland’s draft strategy has become taking high upside, low floor players who have slipped in the draft, which isn’t a terrible strategy if you are a team like the Steelers or Seahawks who notoriously get the best out of their later picks. The Browns however, have yet to show that they can develop their own picks, but are coming out of the draft with some real potential, so the pressure is on.
Tillman himself has the potential to become a valuable X receiver, but an ankle injury caused his draft stock to fall to the 3rd round. He was a monster in 2021 and his game tape shows a tough athletic receiver that has no problem making contested catches. He has average speed and doesn’t have NFL level explosiveness, but his compete level and toughness will drive him to becoming a valuable player in the NFL.
Siaki Ika is a monstrous nose tackle who can tie up multiple blockers at the point of attack allowing linebackers to come in and clean up, but he will have to be put in the right position to take advantage of his skillset. He projects as a rotational project that has the potential to be dominant in the run game, but hasn’t shown much pass rushing prowess thus far in his college career.
OT Dawand Jones can be a future starter in the NFL with rare length but limited athleticism. He’ll be able to shut down bull rushers on the right side where he will settle in as a powerful right tackle, but his poor foot speed can potentially be exposed by speedy edge rushers in the NFL. Within the right scheme, Jones can carve out a nice career for himself.
Isaiah McGuire is the type of pass rusher that defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz loves to rotate into his defenses. His game tape shows plenty of inconsistencies, but he has high level athleticism and is a bull dozing power rusher who has the ability to upend blockers. He’ll need to work on his run defense, and add a few more pass rushing moves into his repertoire to become a full time player, but should fit into the roster opening day.
Dorian Thompson-Robinson is a 5 year starter with below average size but above average mobility. He has shown improvements over his college career in his ability to read the field, but played in a very quarterback friendly system and has a tendency to misread zone defenses, which will be a problem going forward. He’ll likely max out as a QB3, with some potential to be a QB2 in the right system.
It’s hard to see what the Browns see in CB Cameron Mitchell other than his toughness and play strength, unless they’re hoping to move him into an in the box safety role. He lacks the length, speed and fluidity required to play cornerback, and likely could have been a UDFA signing, but the Browns decided to make him a 5th round selection.
6th round selection Luke Wypler was the Browns steal of the draft. He was projected to go in either round 3 or 4, and probably fell down draft boards due to being slightly undersized. But Wypler is incredibly athletic as an interior offensive lineman and has no problem getting to the second level to make key blocks. He can be overwhelmed by aggressive bull rushers, and probably won’t thrive if asked to work in a downhill rushing style offense, but is very technically sound and projects to be an average to good starter in a zone blocking scheme and a movement based running attack.
Many of the Browns picks will rely on being put into the right scheme to be able to succeed at the NFL level, so Cleveland will have to establish the right styles to help this draft class succeed.
Pittsburgh Steelers:
1(14) OT Broderick Jones, Georgia
2(32) CB Joey Porter Jr., Penn State
2(49) NT Keeanu Benton, Wisconsin
3(93) TE Darnell Washington, Georgia
4(132) OLB Nick Herbig, Wisconsin
7(241) CB Cory Trice, Purdue
7(251) OG Spencer Anderson, Maryland
While many people are crowning the Steelers in-state neighbours over in Philadelphia the winners of the draft, Pittsburgh went out and took care of business over the weekend. Every pick of their draft seems like either an absolute steal, or just a player who was born to play Steeler football.
They kicked it off by trading with the Patriots to get ahead of the tackle needy Jets to take OT Broderick Jones, who will likely be their starting left tackle for the next decade plus. Jones is a pure left tackle and started all 15 games last season for the 2-time national champions and ranked 3rd in athletic testing amongst all tackles at the combine. His technique is still a work in progress, but with his physical attributes and the coaching he’ll receive in Pittsburgh, he’s set to make life easier on Kenny Pickett and Najee Harris as early as this coming season.
The Steelers then showed incredible patience waiting until the 1st pick in the 2nd round (a pick they got by absolutely fleecing the Bears in the Chase Claypool trade) and selected the cornerback everyone and their mother could see that they wanted in Joey Porter Jr. The son of former Steeler great Joey Porter Sr. is a physically impressive defender who has the skills to be a true cornerback who uses his strength to reroute wide receivers right off the line in press coverage. He was barely tested in college as offenses just avoided his side of the field, but the upside he has with his size and strength bodes well for his future in the NFL.
More defensive improvements came in the form of 6’3” 309 lbs DT Keeanu Benton who will step into the Steelers 3-4 defensive scheme with ease after playing the same system in Wisconsin. The Steelers notoriously have churned out high level defensive tackles and Benton looks to be the next one to center their defensive line. While he spent most of his college career eating up double teams opening up space for the linebackers to make plays, his impressive 5.08 40 time shows he has some explosiveness to get after the quarterback himself.
3rd round pick TE Darnell Washington is a rare breed of tight end that is an elite blocker that will again help Kenny Pickett and Najee Harris on the offense. He tumbled much further in the draft than expected, and the Steelers couldn’t pass up the value of picking Washington to pair with current starter Pat Freiermuth to create mismatch nightmares in 2 tight end sets.
Nick Herbig is a 3-year college starter as a 3-4 outside linebacker who possesses plenty of athleticism and potential. He’ll benefit from a year in the gym to work on his strength, but he’s an elusive rusher with some great moves to get by blockers. Herbig is another player whose career could have fizzled out quickly in the NFL if he was miscast, but his skill set fits in perfectly with the Steelers and he has the potential to become a starter as soon as this season.
Cory Trice, selected 241st overall, is a supersized athletic CB that, in the right system, can become a full time starter. He has legitimate strong safety size, but his physical playstyle and aggressive nature will suit him well at the cornerback position. He has limitations to be sure, as his lack of high level foot speed will have him best suited in only press coverage or zone coverages, but there’s room for more technical growth and within the Steelers organization he’ll have a chance to thrive.
OG Spencer Anderson has experience starting all along the offensive line, and while he has the size, he lacks the length to be a tackle in the NFL. He can become a versatile part of the roster, but has below average athleticism and doesn’t possess enough strength to rely on becoming a power blocker.
There’s a reason why the Steelers never seem to just go away, and seeing the way that they draft reminds us what the reason is.
-Devon Gallant
Twitter: @DevGallant
Photo: Erik Drost. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.