The concept of grading draft picks in any sport right after they happen may seem silly to some, as we obviously have no idea how those prospects will perform for their new teams. In these cases, it’s not about assigning an absolute grade to a player; it’s more about weighing positional value, value at the pick, any trade capital that may be involved, and how one estimates that prospect might fit with his new team.
So, if there are grades here that make you happy or enraged as a fan of your favorite team, remember that these are not the last word on anything. NFL players outperform their initial evaluations all the time, and as John Wooden was fond of saying, “Success is never final, and failure is never fatal.”
With that bit of philosophy out there. it’s time to assign initial grades to the 31 picks in the first round of the 2023 NFL draft.