New League Year Mock Draft! Aaron Rodgers to the Jets, and Jalen Carter keeps falling

It’s the new league year, so it’s time for a mock draft reflecting all the free-agent moves. Here, Aaron Rodgers gets off the pot, and Jalen Carter keeps falling.

Why isn’t the new NFL league year a national holiday? I mean, the day after the Super Bowl should also be a national holiday, but as worn out as we all are after the two-day illegal tampering period has expired, and deals can now officially be consummated, I think we could all use a day on the couch.

In any event, after that blizzard of free-agent signings that are now finally signings at 4:00 p.m. EST, a lot has changed for most NFL teams regarding their plans for the 2023 NFL draft, which is right around the corner.

2023 NFL Free Agency: Grading all the major transactions

We’ll start with the Green Bay Packers and the New York Jets. We would love to say that a trade sending Aaron Rodgers from the green-and-gold to Gang Green has happened, but the financials are somewhat complicated, and Rodgers has a list of demands that may include a new pony and to be the President of Greenland, so we must merely assume that the Jets will send the 13th overall pick to the Packers as part of that deal. We will do just that for the purposes of this mock draft, because quite frankly, we are tired of waiting for Aaron Rodgers.

Also, the trade between the Carolina Panthers and Chicago Bears that sent the first overall pick to the Panthers and a bevy of picks, along with receiver D.J. Moore to Chicago, is official. We believed at the time that the Panthers went up to grab Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud, and we believe so now.

2023 NFL Draft: Why C.J. Stroud will be the winner of the Panthers’ big trade

So, there are the Bears with the ninth overall pick, and what if Georgia defensive lineman Jalen Carter, the consensus best player in this class, keeps falling after he was charged with misdemeanors relating to the accident that saw teammate Devin Willock and a Georgia staffer Chandler LeCroy die in a January 15 accident? Carter’s performance at Georgia’s pro day just two weeks later didn’t help matters, and it’s tough to imagine a top prospect whose status may have fallen this far in a short space of time.

But given Carter’s legitimately generational talent, do the Bears take the risk? In this mock draft, the Bears do just that.

So, with all that business settled, here’s one version of how the first round of the 2023 draft might look after a tumultuous couple of days.