It’s always fun to see something divergent on the mock draft front. One month out from the 2023 NFL draft, former NFL general manager Mike Tannenbaum certainly delivered on a set of projections that break from the flock.
Tannenbaum, now an analyst at ESPN, revealed some very interesting selections in his latest mock draft.
It starts out normal enough with QBs Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud as the first two picks, then Alabama pass rusher Will Anderson coming off third. Thereafter, Tannenbaum adds some creative flourish to his projections. Some of the more notable observations from the draft published at ESPN.
Hendon Hooker at No. 5?
It’s not crazy to think the Seattle Seahawks could opt to select a quarterback at No. 5 overall. But Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker is not one of the usual suspects to go that high. Or anywhere near that high; Hooker is typically a second-round projection, though he has steadily moved up into the second half of the first round of many mocks recently.
The second half of the first round is a long way from No. 5 overall, however. And with Florida’s Anthony Richardson, not to mention several highly-touted defenders still on the board, it’s a tough sell for Seahawks fans to digest
A big run on OTs
Tannenbaum projects the Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles to each select an offensive tackle with their picks at nine and 10, respectively. Northwestern’s Peter Skoronski stays close to his collegiate home with the Bears, while Georgia’s Broderick Jones gets the nod for the Eagles.
Both of those selections are certainly plausible. But many mocks right now list Ohio State’s Paris Johnson as the first offensive lineman off the board. The Buckeyes standout is slated at No. 13 to the Jets here. Johnson is part of a big run on OTs.
He’s followed by Tennessee’s Darnell Wright at No. 14 to the Patriots and Ohio State behemoth Dawand Jones at 15 to the Packers. Five offensive tackles in a seven-pick span are quite a cluster.
Jalen Carter falls to 18
Georgia DT Jalen Carter is clearly one of the draft’s biggest mysteries. However, it’s rare to find Carter falling all the way to the 18th pick in the draft, where Tannenbaum projects his precipitous drop ends with the Detroit Lions.
No linebackers
Tannenbaum joins the growing chorus of projections that do not include any off-ball linebackers in the first round. Georgia’s Nolan Smith joins Anderson as stand-up pass rush specialists, but they’re EDGEs and not traditional linebackers. The closer we get to the draft, the less we are seeing off-ball LBs like Jack Campbell of Iowa, Drew Sanders from Arkansas or Clemson’s Trenton Simpson in the first round.