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Oregon fans feel pretty confident that linebacker Noah Sewell is going to keep the Ducks’ streak of first-round draft picks alive and well in 2023, but it’s unclear where he might go in that first round.
Some ambitious fans are proclaiming that he’s going to have such a great junior season in Eugene under Dan Lanning that his stock will rise to a top-10 player, which is relatively rare for an inside linebacker. Others see him going later, landing with an established playoff team that needs a little bit of help in the middle of the defense.
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According to ESPN’s Todd McShay, who released his first 2023 mock draft on Thursday, the answer is somewhere in the middle. McShay has Sewell going to the New England Patriots with the No. 15 overall pick in the draft.
The brother of 2021 first-rounder Penei Sewell, Noah Sewell can impact multiple areas of the game. The 6-foot-3, 251-pound linebacker had 110 tackles, four sacks and six pass breakups last season. And the Patriots are still looking for a leader in the middle of their defense.
Landing on a Bill Belichick-led defense as a rookie seems like a pretty prime place for Sewell, who has all of the intangibles to be an NFL great should he fit into the system. As one of the best defensive minds in the history of the NFL, you can feel comfortable that Belichick would utilize Sewell in the right way and get the most out of his talents.
Sewell was the only Oregon player to be listed in the 2023 mock draft, but that’s something that may change over the next 8-10 months or so. We know that, should Justin Flowe stay healthy and show more of what he can do, he will likely head to the NFL, and there are a number of incredibly talented defensive linemen like Brandon Dorlus, DJ Johnson, and Keyon Ware-Hudson who Lanning and Tosh Lupoi could turn into first-round picks as well.
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