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It’s only June, but predictions for the 2023 NFL season have been underway for quite some time.
We gave our predictions for Bucs Wire earlier in the offseason, and now, NFL Network’s Adam Rank has given his predictions for Tampa Bay’s 2023 NFL season – and for every other team, in fact. Interestingly enough, his final record didn’t look too much different from ours.
Check out his game-by-game predictions below:
Do you agree that this could be Georgia’s potential ‘letdown game’
Pete Fiutak of College Football News recently identified the potential letdown game for every Power Five team in the Football Bowl Subdivision for the 2023 season.
This season, there’s no denying Georgia has a very navigable schedule. But there’s always that one game where it may not play to its full potential. Fiutak thinks Georgia’s letdown game of 2023 could come in Week 4 against UAB.
This should be a wipeout, right? Think Kent State last year. Trent Dilfer’s club will likely be blasted, but it might be an unfocused performance for the two-time defending champs with South Carolina before and at Auburn to follow.
Georgia last played UAB during the 2021 season, with the Bulldogs winning 56-7.
In describing what constitutes a letdown game, he explains it as a game your team should win, but maybe the team overlooked the opponent. Or maybe it’s a sandwich game, which Fiutak describes as “the games in between two more important, bigger battles.”
He actually used Georgia’s 2022 win over Kent State as an example for what a letdown game could look like. That was one of Georgia’s worst showings last year, and Kent State forced three UGA turnovers and put up 22 points on the Bulldogs.
According to ESPN, Georgia will have one of CFB’s best offenses for next few years
Since Kirby Smart took over in Athens, Georgia’s offenses have been hit or miss. Fortunately for Georgia last year, it was a hit. And in 2021, it was certainly good enough to piggyback off the defense’s historic season.
The last two seasons, Georgia’s offense has finished in the top-10 nationally in scoring average. But offensive coordinator Todd Monken, who was hired in 2020 and coached throughout last season, is with the Baltimore Ravens and has been replaced by Mike Bobo.
The good news, though, is ESPN expects Georgia’s offensive success to continue in 2023 and beyond despite losing Monken. Adam Rittenberg released his power rankings of future college football offenses (2023, 2024 and 2025) and ranked the Bulldogs No. 3.
And a large part of that has to do with Georgia’s recruiting efforts. For starters, Georgia has a loaded quarterback room entering 2023. It consists of two former four-stars (Carson Beck, Gunner Stockton) and one five-star (Brock Vandagriff). The major reason for Georgia’s high rank all centers around the recent commitment of quarterback Dylan Raiola, the No. 1 overall player in the class of 2024.
Via ESPN:
Junior Carson Beck and sophomore Brock Vandagriff are competing to replace Bennett, with Beck having an edge entering the summer. Vandagriff was ESPN’s No. 37 overall recruit in 2021. But the big QB news came May 15, as Georgia landed a commitment from Dylan Raiola, ESPN’s No. 1 overall recruit for 2024, who had initially committed to Ohio State.
Despite losing leading rusher Kenny McIntosh to the NFL, Georgia projects well at running back with veterans Daijun Edwards and Kendall Milton, sophomore Branson Robinson, incoming freshman Roderick Robinson II and others.
As far as scoring offense goes, since Kirby Smart took over Georgia has finished:
2022. No. 4, 41.1 PPG
2021: No. 9, 38.6 PPG
2020: No. 38, 32.3 PPG
2019: No. 49, 30.8 PPG
2018: No. 14, 37.9 PPG
2017: No. 20, 35.4 PPG
2016: No. 102, 24.5 PPG
The Bulldogs are plus-220 to win the title this year. Those are the best odds in the nation, per FanDuel.
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Last year, ESPN placed Georgia No. 5 on this list. So it looks like the Bulldogs must have done something right to earn that No. 3 ranking this year.
“He looks like he was built in a factory and his athletic profile does not lag too far behind.”
Former Georgia tight end Darnell Washington will turn heads no matter where he is.
The 6-foot-7, 270 pound pass-catcher is simply a freak, who can be a huge difference-maker at the next level if used correctly.
Ahead of the 2023 NFL draft, USA TODAY’s Draft Wire wrote a piece evaluating the Las Vegas native.
The former five-star prospect clocked a 4.64 40-yard dash (sixth among tight ends) with a 4.08 20-yard shuttle (first).
Washington caught 28 passes for 454 yards (16.2 average) and two touchdowns in 2022.
Even though he’s been labeled primarily as a blocker, Washington’s catching ability was on stage at the combine and he didn’t disappoint.
Via Draft Wire:
While not heavily involved in the passing game at Georgia, that is not due to a lack of talent, and while Washington does not have elite movement skills or high-end speed he is athletic enough in his body to be considered a threat anywhere on the field and especially in the red area. He uses his body well in boxing out defenders and catches through contact. With the ball in his hands, he is good at turning his body upfield and using his athleticism and size to churn out extra yards including just straight-up bulldozing defenders.
Blocking is where Washington shines most. While he isn’t as foundationally as secure as an offensive lineman, he does use his body well and is often able to match up with edge defenders as an almost swing tackle. He moves well downfield as a lead blocker and is quite the sight to see in momentum running at defensive backs. He is very bought-in as a blocker and gives max effort on each play. He was a key contributor to Georgia’s dominant running attack.
ESPN NFL draft analyst Matt Miller recently released his seven-round mock draft, which saw Washington go at No. 56 overall in the second round to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Draft Wire provided its projection as well:
Washington is one of the more intriguing prospects in the draft just based on his skill ceiling. His blocking is excellent already as well, and will likely go as high as any other tight end because of it.
Projection: Top 40 Pick
The draft takes place April 27-29.
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CFN released its postseason predictions for the 2023 season
The Georgia Bulldogs are currently the kings of college football. After winning back-to-back national titles, UGA is looking to go for the three-peat in 2023.
Pete Fiutak of College Football News seems to think Georgia has a pretty solid shot of at least putting itself in position to win it all. Fiutak recently released his bowl projections for next season and has Georgia going to the championship game, though he did not provide a prediction for the title game.
Fiutak’s four College Football Playoff teams include Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State and Texas.
He has Georgia playing Texas in the Sugar Bowl from New Orleans. In the other semifinal game, the Rose Bowl, Fiutak projects an Alabama vs. Ohio State matchup.
He predicts Georgia and Ohio State to win their playoff games and meet in the national championship, in what would be a rematch of last season’s epic Peach Bowl. Georgia beat Ohio State 42-41 in the semifinal last season to advance to the national title, where it beat TCU 65-7.
According to Vegas, no school has better odds to win it all than UGA does. Georgia’s odds are currently listed at +225, per BetMGM. Alabama has the second best odds (+500).
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Georgia opens its season on Sept. 2, and has arguably the easiest schedule in the entire conference next season.
Six Bulldogs selected in this two-round mock draft
With April here and the NFL draft right around the corner, the NFL Wires have published its two-round NFL mock draft.
Six former Georgia Bulldogs are projected to be selected in this mock draft, including cornerback Tyrique Stevenson who transferred to Miami.
From Jalen Carter to Darnell Washington, here’s the projected landing spot for these six former Georgia Bulldogs in the 2023 NFL draft.
Five former Dawgs taken in this mock draft
With the NFL draft right around the corner, College Sports Wire has published its final NFL mock draft, predicting the outcome of the first three rounds.
Five former Georgia Bulldogs are projected to be selected in this mock draft, plus cornerback Tyrique Stevenson who transferred to Miami.
From Jalen Carter to Darnell Washington, here’s the projected landing spot for these six former Georgia Bulldogs in the 2023 NFL draft:
Can you imagine???
ESPN’s Mel Kiper released his two-round NFL mock draft, which featured five Georgia Bulldogs going in the first two rounds.
In this mock draft, Kiper has the Atlanta Falcons drafting two Georgia Bulldogs – one in the first and one in the second round.
In 2021, Georgia set a school record when it had nine players selected in the draft. In 2022, the Bulldogs shattered that record, sending 15 players to the NFL, including five first-round picks from the defensive side of the ball.
Here is Kiper’s projection for the four Georgia Bulldogs in this first-round mock draft:
Insiders discuss where Jalen Carter may land
Former Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter is one of the top players in the 2023 NFL draft.
Though he may no longer be the favorite to go No. 1 overall following the Chicago Bears trading the top pick to the Carolina Panthers, who are expected to take a quarterback, he’s still expected to be a top-10 draft pick.
In fact, Carter is so certain he’ll be taken within the first 10 selections that he has declined visits with franchises selecting outside the top 10.
“Scouts and executives around the league weren’t surprised,” ESPN NFL draft insider Matt Miller wrote, in regard to Carter’s decision to decline the visits. “‘More players should do this, honestly,’ said one college scouting director.”
Carter’s not going No. 1 overall anymore, but how far he’ll fall is the big question. Miller said NFL scouts and execs believe he’ll go as high as No 5 and as low as No. 9.
“When asked to predict Carter‘s landing spot, more than 10 scouts and execs polled believed he would be drafted at No. 5 (Seattle Seahawks) or No. 9 (Chicago Bears),” Miller wrote. “And no one polled thought he would slip out of the top 10 picks.”
And at No. 10 is the Philadelphia Eagles, who look to be the last possible landing spot for Carter.
“Yeah, and a lot of folks I’ve spoken to think Carter won’t fall out of the top 10 because the Philadelphia Eagles hold the 10th spot. … Plus, Carter’s former Georgia teammate, Jordan Davis enters his second year with the Eagles,” wrote Jeremy Fowler.
“Most agree that Carter would be best-served going to a team with a well-established culture of winning and accountability. He could of course go earlier than No. 10, but the Eagles might serve as a backstop.”
If the Eagles do take Carter at No. 10, not only would be it a huge steal, but he’d be paired with his former college teammates Jordan Davis and Nakobe Dean.
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Is this too low?
Georgia cornerback Kelee Ringo is considered one of the top corners in the 2023 NFL draft.
Ringo’s size and athleticism was on full display at the NFL combine and UGA’s pro day. The Tacoma, Wa., native checked in at 6-foot-2, 207 pounds and clocked a blazing 4.36 40-yard dash in Indianapolis.
Draft Wire’s Jeff Risdon recently ranked the top-20 corners in this year’s draft with Ringo coming in at No. 9.
There are times Ringo looks like the best-in-class, and he’s got the athletic profile to back it up. There are also more than a few times when he looks like he’s never played football before, and the maddening fluctuations make him a very high-risk/reward outside CB prospect.
ESPN’s Matt Miller also released his top ranked cornerback prospects in the draft, where he placed Ringo at No. 6.
“If we had done this exercise last summer, Ringo would have been higher. He was one of the top prospects in the entire class before the 2022 season began, but Ringo struggled last year as teams picked on him with breaking routes that challenged his change-of-direction skills. At 6-2 and 207 pounds, he has fantastic size and legitimate 4.3 speed (4.36 at the combine), but final appearances against LSU (six catches allowed for 104 yards) and then Ohio State in the College Football Playoff (five catches allowed for 75 yards) have stuck in evaluators’ minds. And against the Buckeyes, it wasn’t all just Marvin Harrison Jr.”
According to Miller, Ringo’s measurements are impressive, but there is a concern in man coverage ability.
“One defensive backs coach thinks a position change might help, though: ‘I almost think you move him to free safety if you run a man defense. It’s that bad.’
Ringo has impressive metrics and did record four career interceptions. He also broke up 10 passes last season and had 42 tackles. There’s no doubting the elite size, tackling ability and recovery speed, but the man coverage traits need developing if he stays at cornerback. He’s probably safely a Round 2 guy, but I think he has to play in Cover 3 or make a position change,” said an AFC area scout.”
Miller projects Ringo as a best fit for the Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers and New York Jets.
The draft will kickoff on April 27 televised on the NFL Network.
