Tag: 2023 NFL draft

Steelers GM Omar Khan says trade up for Broderick Jones came quickly

Omar Khan shared a little of the process for making a quick trade up during a live draft.

When the Pittsburgh Steelers brain trust of general manager Omar Khan and head coach Mike Tomlin addressed the media and noted they aren’t overly interested in trading up in the first round on Thursday. But this wasn’t the case in the 2023 NFL draft.

Last year Pittsburgh moved up from pick No. 17 to pick No. 14 in order to land offensive tackle Broderick Jones. The move came as a big surprise to fans and analysts and according to Khan, this wasn’t planned in advance and came together in a rush.

That one came together on Thursday,” Khan said. “I wouldn’t say with three minutes left on the clock, but it was pretty close to us being on the clock.”

There are a few players we could see the Steelers working a quick trade on Thursday night to land but it won’t be a Jones situation. If wide receiver Rome Odunze or Malik Nabers slides, it would make sense or maybe one of the top offensive tackles forces a repeat of last year.

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Giants had one of NFL’s least productive rookie classes in 2023

Pro Football Focus ranks the New York Giants’ 2023 NFL draft class among the least productive in football.

The New York Giants made seven selections in the 2023 NFL draft but nearly the entire class missed time last season due to injury.

As a result of those injury issues, their overall production was way down. In fact, Pro Football Focus outlines, the Giants’ 2023 rookie class was among the least productive in all of football.

A small saving grace actually came courtesy of an undrafted rookie — quarterback Tommy DeVito.

26. New York Giants

Total rookie snaps: 3,109

Notable rookies:

• QB Tommy DeVito (64.4 passing grade)

• CB Deonte Banks (48.6 coverage grade, 1.30 yards per coverage snap)

• C John Michael Schmitz Jr. (26.9 pass-block grade, 51.3 run-block grade)

• WR Jalin Hyatt (58.5 receiving grade, 1.16 yards per route run)

Only the Carolina Panthers, Las Vegas Raiders, San Francisco 49ers, New York Jets, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Washington Commanders fared worse than the Giants.

Despite their underwhelming first season, many of the Giants’ second-year players are expected to play important roles. Cornerback Deonte Banks and center John Michael Schmitz are locked-in starters, while wide receiver Jalin Hyatt and running back Eric Gray will see significant offensive snaps.

The jury remains out on cornerback Tre Hawkins, defensive lineman Jordon Riley, and safety Gervarrius Owens.

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Commanders fare poorly in 2023 NFL draft re-grade

The early returns aren’t good for Washington, but a new regime brings hope.

Ron Rivera’s final season in charge of the Washington Commanders was horrendous. The Commanders finished 4-13 and fielded the NFL’s worst defenses, and Rivera was relieved of his duties in January.

Rivera’s final legacy with Washington is his 2023 NFL draft class. The early returns aren’t good. Cornerback Emmanuel Forbes, the Commanders’ first-round pick, was benched twice. Second-round pick Quan Martin showed flashes when he was allowed to play, while third-round pick Ricky Stromberg barely played, made no impact and missed the second half of the season with an injury.

Fourth-round pick Braeden Daniels likely wasn’t making the team out of training camp and was placed on injured reserve. Fifth-round pick K.J. Henry showed promise in the second half of the season, while sixth-round pick Chris Rodriguez Jr. thrived in a limited role. Finally, seventh-round selection Andre Jones Jr. didn’t do much but has tools.

So, if we graded this class after one year, it wouldn’t be a passing grade.

Diante Lee of The Athletic recently regraded the entire 2023 NFL draft, assigning grades to all 32 NFL teams. Lee placed Washington under the final category: A step backward/Incomplete. Only three teams were in this category, and Lee offered the following analysis:

Washington Commanders: D-minus

Emmanuel Forbes (No. 16) had some rough moments, to the point that he was benched during the 2023 season. Safety Quan Martin (No. 47) played in the slot by necessity as a rookie, but it’s not clear if that’s the best spot for him in Dan Quinn’s defense. After trading away two starting edge rushers last year, this team cannot afford to have its early picks sitting on the bench.

That’s a deserving grade. We could make the case you could give Washington an F. The good news here is that new head coach Dan Quinn brings hope. Quinn hired an all-star staff, including new defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr., known for his work with defensive backs. That’s good news for Forbes and Martin.

If Forbes and Martin turn out to be hits, while others, like Henry and Rodriguez, can carve out roles, this draft will not look nearly as bad in a couple of years.

Giants don’t fare well in 2023 NFL draft re-grade

In a 2023 NFL draft re-grade courtesy of The Athletic, the New York Giants did not fare particularly well but hope remains.

The jury is still out on the 2023 NFL draft class but Diante Lee of The Athletic recently decided to grade the class after just one season.

The New York Giants had seven picks in the draft leading off with Maryland cornerback Deonte Banks at No. 24 overall. He started 15 games and was solid most of the season. He is now considered a No. 1 outside corner, so they appear to have made a good choice in him.

Banks was not likely the Giants’ first choice on their board, however. They were said to be in the market for a wide receiver and it just so happens that four studs were chosen right before they were on the clock in Jaxson Smith-Njigba, Quentin Johnson, May Flowers, and Jordan Addison.

The rest of the draft is still very much a mystery as injuries and underuse left much to be desired.

New York Giants: C-minus

Deonte Banks (No. 24) was a fun watch coming out of college and as a rookie showed the speed, physicality and competitive edge that made him a late riser in the draft process. Jalin Hyatt (No. 73) flashed some downfield ball-tracking skills, but he didn’t separate enough last season to be considered a long-term piece of this offense.

This year, the Giants hope to see some growth in center John Michael Schmitz, cornerback Tre Hawkins III, safety Gervarrius Owens, and defensive lineman Jordon Riley.

Eric Gray is expected to help fill the void left by Saquon Barkley and Hyatt still has to earn the trust of the coaches and quarterbacks.

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Steelers GM Omar Khan focused on athletes in first NFL draft

Based on their RAS scores, you can see the emphasis the Steelers put on athleticism last year.

The Pittsburgh Steelers front office was somewhat old-fashioned with Kevin Colbert as general manager. But in just one full offseason we’ve already seen just how much more aggressive with a better focus on athletics and analytics.

Case in point is the Steelers 2023 NFL draft. We turn to Kent Lee Platte, the creator of RAS (Relative Athletic Score). Platte’s ability to condense the athleticism of NFL prospects into an easily comparative score makes it much simpler to understand the mindset of your team’s front office.

Platte shared the graphic below on Twitter highlighting how much the Steelers emphasized athleticism in the 2023 NFL draft.

The higher the number the better obviously and seeing six of seven players the Steelers drafted in the top tier of athleticism is meaningful. Honestly, we are more shocked to see edge rusher Nick Herbig so low in comparison to the rest of the draft class.

But regardless, we love this trend and can’t wait until Platte starts putting out the RAS scores for some of our favorite Steelers prospects.

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15 Most Impactful Texans of 2023: No. 3 Will Anderson

Up next in our “15 Most Impactful Texans of 2023” series is Will Anderson, the Defensive Rookie of the Year.

The Houston Texans had an extremely successful 2023 campaign.

They cruised to a 10-7 record under new head coach DeMeco Ryans and captured several accolades along the way. They won the AFC South and won a playoff game for the first time since the 2019 season. Rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud won PFWA’s Offensive Rookie of the Year, rookie edge rusher Will Anderson won PFWA’s Defensive Rookie of the Year, and even Ryans took home hardware with PFWA’s Coach of the Year.

With a revamped team effort that led to dramatic improvements compared to both the 2021 and 2022 Texans, it’s worth examining who created that impact this past season and what their future projects moving forward.

This series has taken a look at defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins, running back Devin Singletary, rookie receiver Tank Dell, and veteran tackle George Fant, and upstart linebacker Blake Cashman.

Entering the top 10, we took a closer look at cornerback Steven Nelson and linebacker Christian Harris, and offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik, franchise left tackle Laremy Tunsil, and budding shutdown cornerback Derek Stingley

Entering the top five, third year wideout Nico Collins received due praise for his breakout year alongside fourth year edge rusher Jonathan Greenard. Now, our attention turns to the trio of rookies that dominated for Houston — starting with Defensive Rookie of the Year, Will Anderson.

Commanders re-sign a pair of 2023 rookies to the roster

A pair of last season’s UDFAs are returning to the Commanders in 2024.

Washington Commanders general manager Adam Peters made his first two signings Tuesday by agreeing to terms with a pair of 2023 undrafted rookies.

Wide receiver Kazmeir Allen and guard Mason Brooks, two of Washington’s priority free agents after last year’s NFL draft, have inked deals with the Commanders.

Allen, who played collegiately at UCLA, is a wide receiver/return specialist who drew praise from former head coach Ron Rivera for his work last summer. However, Allen failed to separate himself and was beaten out by Dax Milne for one of Washington’s final roster spots. Milne would go injured reserve before Week 1 last season, and the Commanders chose to elevate recently signed veteran Jamison Crowder to replace him.

Allen stayed on the practice squad all season, allowing the former college running back to continue to develop as a receiver.

Brooks played offensive tackle at Western Kentucky and transferred to Ole Miss for his final season. He was reportedly Washington’s highest-paid undrafted free agent last spring. Brooks stood out during training camp practices last summer and during the preseason.

The 6-foot-6, 315-pound Brooks has a nasty streak and could figure into the mix with a strong offseason.

Teams normally sign practice-squad players to future deals as soon as the season ends, but Brooks and Allen reportedly explored other opportunities before choosing to return to Washington.

 

NFL.com ranks Broncos’ 2023 draft class worst in the league

It’s too early to truly grade the 2023 draft class, but early returns are not good for the Broncos.

Eric Edholm and Chad Reuter recently ranked all 32 classes from the 2023 NFL draft and their rankings were not kind to the Denver Broncos or general manager George Paton.

Denver’s 2023 draft class ranked 32nd, dead last in the NFL.

Elsewhere in the AFC West, the Kansas City Chiefs (No. 11), Las Vegas Raiders (No. 14) and Los Angeles Chargers (No. 25) dew mixed reviews. The Houston Texans had the No. 1-ranked class.

The Broncos only ended up making five picks last year following the trades for quarterback Russell Wilson (2022) and coach Sean Payton (2023). With those five picks, Denver landed WR Marvin Mims, LB Drew Sanders CB, Riley Moss, DB JL Skinner and OL Alex Forsyth.

Mims was the only one who made a big impact as he earned a Pro Bowl nod and received All-AFC and All-Rookie recognition from PFWA as a returner.

Mims aside, last year’s class certainly doesn’t look great right now, but a one-year sample size is too short of a window to truly judge a class. Most pundits agree that it takes three years before being able to give a fair grade. So we’ll revisit this topic in 2026, but the early returns are concerning.

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Best photos from rookie season of Bills 2023 draft class

Best photos from rookie season of #Bills 2023 draft class:

The Buffalo Bills did not have the biggest of draft classes in 2023 but their haul from it ended up being an impactful one.

At the top, tight end Dalton Kincaid slowly came along during his first year in the pros after being a first-round pick. Then as a surprise selection in Round 2, offensive lineman O’Cyrus Torrence became a Day 1 for Buffalo.

On the flip side, some players from the Bills’ recent draft class were even too good to stick around. The likes of seventh rounder Nick Broeker now lines up on the Houston Texans’ offensive line after Buffalo had to cut Broeker and try to get him on their practice squad.

Following the conclusion of all six draft picks’ first year in the NFL, here are some of the top photos of each from their first season in 2023: