Tag: draft picks

Kendre Miller is the first Saints draft pick to sign his rookie contract

Kendre Miller is the first Saints draft pick to sign his NFL contract. Expect the rest of their draft class to follow soon with everyone in town for rookie minicamp:

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Expect more of this in the days ahead. The Score’s Jordan Schultz reports that running back Kendre Miller signed his contract with the New Orleans Saints, making him the first member of their 2023 draft class to put pen to paper and officially turn pro. The Saints are kicking off rookie minicamp practices this weekend.

Miller, who turns 21 in June, starred at TCU and is coming off a career year with 1,399 rushing yards and 17 touchdown runs in just 14 games. He was held out of TCU’s national title game with Georgia due to a meniscus injury, which the Saints are said to be managing carefully in the months leading up to training camp. His four-year rookie deal is projected at $5.65 million with a $1.12 million signing bonus.

Because of the modern rookie wage scale, the salary cap impact from the Saints signing Miller and their remaining draft picks will be minimal — Miller’s 2023 cap charge will fall near $1.02 million. The team should have more than $11 million to work with over the summer even with Miller and the rest of their draft class under contract.

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Sixth-round Saints WR A.T. Perry named a steal of the NFL draft

A.T. Perry could prove a huge get for the New Orleans Saints in the years to come. Touchdown Wire named him a draft steal in the sixth round, via @crissy_froyd:

The New Orleans Saints had an overall successful 2023 NFL Draft, picking up a high value wide receiver in A.T. Perry out of Wake Forest at No. 195 in the sixth round of the event.

In fact, he’s pinned as the biggest steal of the draft for the Saints by Doug Farrar over at Touchdown Wire.

He noted how the fact his role in Wake Forest’s unique offense, dubbed “The Clawfense” by some, may have had a little something to do with that. Farrar wrote:

Wake Forest’s offense can be difficult to project to the NFL level, which I guess is why Perry was available for the Saints with the 195th overall pick in the sixth round… but then again, Perry caught 81 passes on 129 targets for 1,100 yards and 11 touchdowns last season (his second straight 1,000-yard season), and he was pretty much the Demon Deacons’ entire passing game, so I’m not sure how much “projecting” we need to do here.

I would not have been at all surprised to hear his name in the back half of the second day, based on Perry’s size (6-foot-3, 198 pounds) and explosives play ability alone. Perry had 10 catches of 20 or more air yards for 373 yards and five touchdowns last season. Moreover, he can do things after the catch with an athletic ability to separate and get things done in space.

It will be interesting to watch how things play out as Perry prepares to compete for snaps among the likes of Tre’Quan Smith, Bryan Edwards and Shaquan Davis as he projects as a potential diamond in the rough backup to Michael Thomas.

Looking forward at the longer-term projection for Perry, he’s a player that should be expected to primarily be utilized as an X-receiver/split end. According to Pro Football Focus, Perry lined up in the slot on just 9.4% of his routes for the Demon Deacons.

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New Orleans Saints schedule rookie minicamp tryouts

The New Orleans Saints scheduled their rookie minicamp tryouts for May 12-14, creating opportunity for many young players competing for roster spots:

There we go: the New Orleans Saints have scheduled their rookie minicamp practices for May 12, 13, and 14. This is a good opportunity for their 2023 draft class — both players who were picked and those who signed as undrafted free agents — to get on the field, go through drills, and begin to pick up the playbook.

It’s also an opportunity for dozens of other players to try out alongside their peers. Teams usually bring in a mix of first- and second-year free agents as well as a handful of NFL veterans, all of whom will be competing for a roster spot during the summer.

New Orleans currently has five vacancies on their 90-man offseason roster, having waived reserve quarterback Jake Luton and running back Derrick Gore after selecting other players at their positions during the 2023 draft (TCU running back Kendre Miller and Fresno State quarterback Jake Haener). So it’s a safe bet that some of those open roster spots will be filled by players trying out at these minicamp practices next weekend.

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Closer look at the Green Bay Packers’ 2023 draft picks

Player breakdowns, scouting reports, comments from the team and RAS cards for the entire Green Bay Packers 2023 draft class.

The Green Bay Packers selected 13 players during the 2023 NFL draft, including first-round pick Lukas Van Ness, two tight ends, three wide receivers and two defensive linemen.

It’s now time to dig into the draft class and find out what the Packers added to their roster during the year’s biggest roster-building event.

In this post, we’ll take a closer look at the entire draft class, providing breakdowns, player profiles, scouting reports from The Athletic’s Dane Brugler and comments from the Packers on all 13 selections.

Jaguars currently projected to have 11 picks in 2024 NFL draft

The Jaguars are expected to have a lot of draft picks to work with in 2024, as well.

The Jacksonville Jaguars set a franchise record over the weekend with a 13-player draft class, the largest ever for the team. The Jaguars are set to have a ton of draft ammunition in 2024, as well.

As of right now, the Jaguars own nine picks in next year’s draft — their original seven selections as well as extra fourth- and sixth-round picks they acquired from the New Orleans and Carolina Panthers, respectively.

Barring an outrageous scenario where Calvin Ridley doesn’t make the 53-man roster in the fall, one of those nine picks (a second-, third-, or fourth-rounder) will be sent to the Atlanta Falcons.

But two or three picks will be headed back into Jacksonville’s stockpile next spring when the league announces compensatory picks. A third-rounder for Jawaan Taylor seems like a guarantee and a sixth-rounder for Arden Key looks highly likely.

The question mark is whether the Jaguars will get a seventh-round pick for losing Marvin Jones Jr after he got a contract from the Detroit Lions that is teetering on the edge of being not enough. For now, Over The Cap projects the loss of Jones to net the Jaguars the Mr. Irrelevant selection next year.

Here are the Jaguars’ projected picks in the 2024 NFL draft

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Updated Chiefs draft picks after trade with Lions

The #Chiefs have seven picks remaining in the 2023 NFL draft after trading up in the second round with the #Lions in Round 2.

The Kansas City Chiefs have seven picks remaining in the 2023 NFL draft after trading up in the second round with the Detroit Lions.

The Chiefs sent picks No. 63, 122, and 249 to the Lions, receiving picks No. 55 and No. 194 in return. Pick No. 122 was one of the two fourth-round picks the team had and specifically the one they’d received in the Tyreek Hill trade.

K.C. used pick No. 55 on SMU WR Rashee Rice.

Here’s a look at everything they have left in the 2023 NFL draft:

  • Round 3, Pick 95
  • Round 4, Pick 134
  • Round 5, Pick 166
  • Round 6, Pick 178 (From CHI via MIA for Tyreek Hill)
  • Round 6, Pick 194 (From DET)
  • Round 6, Pick 217 (Compensatory Pick)
  • Round 7, Pick 250 (Compensatory Pick)

They still have the first and last pick in the sixth round of the draft. That’s an area where the team has done a lot of homework on specific players in the form of top-30 visits and so on.

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2023 NFL draft: Updated order of picks for Rounds 2-3

Let’s reset and see where all 32 teams stand going into Round 2.

NFL teams were rather trade-happy on Thursday night, with a bunch of picks swapping hands. Let’s reset and see where all 32 teams stand going into Round 2.

Here is the updated Day 2 draft order.

Round 2

32. Pittsburgh Steelers (from CHI)
33. Arizona Cardinals (from HOU)
34. Detroit Lions (from ARI)
35. Indianapolis Colts
36. Los Angeles Rams
37. Seattle Seahawks (from DEN)
38. Las Vegas Raiders
39. Carolina Panthers
40. New Orleans Saints
41. Tennessee Titans
42. Green Bay Packers (from NYJ via CLE)
43. New York Jets
44. Atlanta Falcons
45. Green Bay Packers
46. New England Patriots
47. Washington Commanders
48. Detroit Lions
49. Pittsburgh Steelers
50. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
51. Miami Dolphins
52. Seattle Seahawks
53. Chicago Bears (from BAL)
54. Los Angeles Chargers
55. Detroit Lions (from MIN)
56. Jacksonville Jaguars
57. New York Giants
58. Dallas Cowboys
59. Buffalo Bills
60. Cincinnati Bengals
61. Chicago Bears (from CAR via SF)
62. Philadelphia Eagles
63. Kansas City Chiefs

Round 3

64. Chicago Bears
65. Houston Texans
66. Philadelphia Eagles (from ARI)
67. Denver Broncos (from IND)
68. Denver Broncos
69. Los Angeles Rams
70. Las Vegas Raiders
71. New Orleans Saints
72. Tennessee Titans
73. Houston Texans (from CLE)
74. Cleveland Browns (from NYJ)
75. Atlanta Falcons
76. New England Patriots (from CAR)
77. Los Angeles Rams (from MIA via NE)
78. Green Bay Packers
79. Indianapolis Colts (from WAS)
80. Pittsburgh Steelers
81. Arizona Cardinals (from DET)
82. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
83. Seattle Seahawks
84. Miami Dolphins
85. Los Angeles Chargers
86. Baltimore Ravens
87. Minnesota Vikings
88. Jacksonville Jaguars
89. New York Giants
90. Dallas Cowboys
91. Buffalo Bills
92. Cincinnati Bengals
93. Carolina Panthers (from SF)
94. Arizona Cardinals (from PHI)
95. Kansas City Chiefs
96. Arizona Cardinals*
97. Washington Commanders*
98. Cleveland Browns*
99. San Francisco 49ers*
100. Las Vegas Raiders (from NYG via KC)*
101. San Francisco 49ers*
102. San Francisco 49ers*

(*comp pick)

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Updated list of Green Bay Packers picks in 2023 draft following Aaron Rodgers trade

Following the Aaron Rodgers trade, the Packers will have 11 picks in the 2023 NFL draft, including three in the top-50.

The Green Bay Packers upgraded their draft capital by trading quarterback Aaron Rodgers to the New York Jets before the 2023 draft.

The trade details, including compensation, can be found here.

In total, the Packers will go into the draft with 11 picks.

Here are the Packers’ picks following the trade:

First round, No. 13 overall (from NYJ)
Second round, No. 42 overall (from NYJ)
Second round, No. 45 overall
Third round, No. 78 overall
Fourth round, No. 116 overall
Fifth round, No. 149 overall
Sixth round, No. 207 overall (from NYJ)
Seventh round, No. 232 overall
Seventh round, No. 235 overall (from LAR)
Seventh round, No. 242 overall (from JAX)
Seventh round, No. 256 overall (compensatory)

Green Bay Packers draft history under GM Brian Gutekunst (2018-22)

It’s hard to find good players where 49ers pick in 3rd round

The 49ers hold pick Nos. 99, 101 and 102 in this year’s draft. That’s not a bad place to be, but finding Pro Bowl caliber talent there is historically difficult:

The 49ers have built a juggernaut in part by discarding their top draft capital in trades. Their 2021 acquisition of quarterback Trey Lance cost them a 2023 first-round selection, and they parted ways with their own 2023 second, third and fourth-round choices to pull running back Christian McCaffrey away from the Carolina Panthers ahead of last season’s trade deadline.

Now they’re left with their third-round compensatory picks to kick off their 2023 draft, which sets their starting line at the No. 99 pick. Holding three of the final four picks in the third round isn’t the worst place for a team to be, but the draft is going to be particularly important for the 49ers in the next couple of years.

San Francisco can keep its roster loaded with high-priced, top-end talent like Trent Williams, Fred Warner and George Kittle because they’ve hit on some draft picks who produce well above their rookie contracts. This means they’ll need to find a couple of high-quality starters over the next draft or two to help restock the cupboard when to account for exiting free agents who will be priced out of the 49ers’ range.

They have 11 picks this year, so they have some ability to move around the board and target players they think can start for them. However, finding that player at one of their first three selections isn’t going to be easy. Only nine total players drafted between No. 99 and No. 102 since the AFL-NFL merger have made the Pro Bowl. While the 49ers have had some success later in the draft, finding a high-quality player in the third round – something they’ve not been able to do outside of the Warner selection in 2018 – would be a nice way to start an important couple of drafts for general manager John Lynch and the front office.

Here are the nine players who’ve made Pro Bowls out of the slots the 49ers hold at the end of Round 3:

The 10 college programs with the most NFL draft picks since 2000

These 10 college football programs have produced the most NFL talent through the draft since 2000 and are expected to continue in 2023.

Often times we judge the success of college football programs by the NFL talent that they produce. Recruiting plays a massive contribution in this, but more so the player development of the programs, and nobody has been more successful at this than the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Ohio State Buckeyes.

No conference has produced more NFL talent since 2000 than the SEC as it occupies four of the top five spots on this list. Alabama has been dominant in the draft since Nick Saban took over, but interestingly enough, the Tide have never had the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft. However, Bryce Young could become the first at the end of the month as the Carolina Panthers seem to fall in more love with him with each passing day.

Things don’t appear much different for most of these programs in the 2023 draft as a lot of these schools will be strongly represented. Here are the top 10 teams with the most draft picks since 2000.