What the Bears shouldn’t do in the 2023 NFL draft

The 2023 NFL draft is just around the corner. Here’s our warnings for Bears GM Ryan Poles:

The 2023 NFL draft is almost here, and we’re just days away from meeting the Chicago Bears’ 2023 rookie class.

After trading the No. 1 pick to the Carolina Panthers for haul, Chicago has the ninth overall selection. There are several directions the Bears could go with the No. 9 pick, including staying put or trading back — again.

While it’s hard to predict what general manager Ryan Poles will do come draft time — especially in the first round — I have some warnings for Poles ahead of the draft.

Let’s take a look at what Poles and the Bears shouldn’t do in the 2023 NFL draft.

Dylan Cardwell becomes latest Tiger to enter name into NBA draft consideration

Cardwell becomes the fourth player from the 2022-23 roster to consider a professional career as his next move.

As the 2023-24 Auburn basketball roster continues to take shape, another Tiger has made a decision regarding his future with the program.

[autotag]Dylan Cardwell[/autotag], a rising senior for the Auburn Tigers basketball team, has made the decision to enter his name into NBA draft consideration while maintaining his college eligibility. Adam Cole of The Opelika-Auburn News reported the news Tuesday night.

Cardwell becomes the fourth player from last season’s roster to make such a decision, joining guard [autotag]Wendell Green Jr.[/autotag], forward [autotag]Jaylin Williams[/autotag], and center [autotag]Johni Broome[/autotag]. Unlike the previous three names mentioned, Cardwell made the decision quietly, as Cole discovered Cardwell’s among the NBA-released list that includes 242 entries.

In three seasons, Cardwell has participated in 93 games and has averaged 3.5 points and rebounds per game. Last season, he averaged a career-high 15.2 minutes per game and scored a season-high nine points in Auburn’s 93-66 win over Colgate on Dec. 2.

He, along with Auburn’s other NBA draft contenders, have until May 31 at 11:59 ET to withdraw their name from draft consideration.

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Taylor on Twitter @TaylorJones__

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2023 NFL mock draft: C.J. Stroud falls, trades galore in new 4-round projections

In Jarrett Bailey’s 4-round mock draft, the Texans make a surprise pick, C.J. Stroud takes a tumble and multiple veterans are traded.

The 2023 NFL draft kicks off tomorrow, where teams are preparing to welcome a new crop of rookies to the roster.

There are plenty of storylines to monitor leading up to the draft, including how the top 10 will shake out. With the belief that there could be a later run on quarterbacks, we could see teams outside the top 10 looking to move up to land one of the top options. With C.J. Stroud’s stock falling, could he be on the board?

Here’s my final four-round mock draft. What potential stars will go where? Which proven stars will get moved during the draft? All of those questions get answered below. Read ‘em and weep.

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Nobody wants to do mock drafts for the pick-less Browns

The draft is no longer the Super Bowl for the Cleveland faithful

For many years, the NFL draft was the Super Bowl for fans of the Cleveland Browns. Now, however, as the team lacks both a first and second round pick for the second straight year (after trading back on the clock a year ago), the 2023 NFL draft does not carry much luster for the Cleveland faithful.

According to PFF, mock drafts done for the Browns are in the bottom five of every team in the NFL. They are accompanied by four other teams without first round picks. Do not look for this to change next year either, as the Browns are without a first round pick until the 2025 NFL draft.

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Where Auburn softball lands in national polls following series win at Alabama

Winning a crucial series on the road has its perks.

Getting hot in April is usually a good sign for softball teams across the country.

That is the case for Auburn (35-14, 11-7 SEC), as they have won four of their last five SEC series, with their last two being against ranked foes. Auburn earned its first series win over a ranked opponent at home two weeks ago when they took two of three from LSU. They accomplished the feat for the second week in a row last weekend but did so in style by taking down Alabama on the road.

Because of their recent success, Auburn is ranked in all four major polls ahead of this week’s action, seeing significant strides as they crack the top 20 across the board.

How much did Auburn rise in the national polls following last weekend’s series win at Alabama? Here’s a look at Auburn’s place in the USA TODAY Coaches poll, D1Softball poll, Softball America poll, and the ESPN/Team USA poll:

Projecting the Bears’ starting defense ahead of 2023 NFL draft

Ahead of the NFL draft, we’re projecting what the Bears’ starting defense will look like in 2023.

The 2023 NFL draft is almost here, and the Chicago Bears are gearing up for an important draft.

It’s been quite an eventful offseason for Chicago, who traded the No. 1 pick to the Carolina Panthers for a draft haul that included wide receiver DJ Moore. But there’s still plenty of work for general manager Ryan Poles to do in the draft.

When looking at this Bears roster, it’s the defense that’s the most concerning. There are questions across the defensive line, where Poles will look to shore up the edge and interior. But Chicago also needs to address cornerback.

Ahead of the 2023 NFL draft, we’re projecting what the Bears starting defense will look like, featuring some holes at expected positions.

Auburn named a ‘potential landing spot’ for Notre Dame QB Tyler Buchner

Auburn and Alabama appear to be the teams to watch when it comes to landing the former top-ten quarterback.

There are several quarterbacks in the transfer portal that are looking for new homes ahead of the 2023 season. For one transfer candidate, there appears to be smoke regarding Auburn as a landing spot.

Notre Dame quarterback [autotag]Tyler Buchner[/autotag] announced Monday that he would be entering the transfer portal to weigh his options after losing the QB1 battle at Notre Dame to Wake Forest transfer, Sam Hartman.

“I love Notre Dame,” Buchner shared on Twitter. “The people, and especially my teammates, are what makes this play special to me. I have decided to enter the transfer portal in order to explore my options and decide what is best for my future. After discussions with Coach Freeman, remaining at Notre Dame is thankfully an option I’m going to consider. I am truly thankful to everyone for their support during this process.”

Not long after the announcement from Buchner, Tom Loy of 247Sports shared that college football fans should “keep an eye on” Alabama and Auburn as potential landing spots for the former top-ten quarterback from the 2019 recruiting cycle.

In two seasons at Notre Dame, Buchner appeared in 13 games for the Irish where he would throw for 949 yards and six touchdowns while completing 57% of his passes.

He played in ten games during the 2021 season but saw the most time on the field in 2022. In three games last season, he had two games where he passed for over 200 yards. In the Irish’s Gator Bowl win over South Carolina, he completed 18-of-33 passes for 273 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for two more scores. His efforts earned him Gator Bowl Most Valuable Player.

Here’s a look at Buchner’s key moments at Notre Dame via ESPN.

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Taylor on Twitter @TaylorJones__

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Rams may look for trade that narrows gap between their 3rd- and 5th-round picks

The Rams are slated to go 90 spots without a pick but Les Snead indicated some staff members want to narrow the gap between Nos. 77 and 167

The Los Angeles Rams will be on the clock a lot during the draft this weekend despite not having a first-round pick. They’re slated to pick 11 times between Friday and Saturday, though that number can and probably will change.

General manager Les Snead is always someone who fancies himself a draft-day trade and the Rams’ massive gap between picks in Rounds 3 and 5 makes a move all the more likely. During his pre-draft press conference this week, Snead indicated there are some on the Rams’ staff who would like to narrow the gap between pick Nos. 77 and 167, a 90-spot wait for Los Angeles.

The Rams could accomplish that by trading back from either No. 36, 69 or 77 and picking up a selection in the 100-120 range, or they could also move up from the fifth round and get back into the fourth – or close to it.

“It’s interesting. I think a lot of people on our staff would love for us to at some point move back to cover some of that gap and get in between maybe our 77th pick and whatever the first pick in the fifth round is, but that’s still to be determined,” he said. “That’s definitely always an option. It’s always a beneficial option based on accumulating more picks, maybe filling that gap. But you can always trade up too from the fifth round into those gaps so there’s many ways to accomplish that. And at the end of the day, it’s going to be, ‘Hey, when we get on the clock is there a trade partner? Is there not? Is there a player in that moment that we really feel good about and we want to make a Ram?’”

Peter King of NBC Sports said in his column this week that he believes the Rams would like to accumulate more top-150 picks, potentially doubling their total from three to six by trading down. That wouldn’t surprise anyone, but in order for them to do that, they’d either need to trade down multiple times or drop way back from No. 36.

We outlined some possible trade scenarios that would work for the Rams if they move down the board, and all of them close the gap between Picks 77 and 167, which would be helpful for Snead and his staff.

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Evaluating Bears roster by position before 2023 NFL draft

Let’s take a look at where the Bears’ roster stands ahead of the 2023 NFL draft.

With the 2023 NFL draft just a couple days away, we’ll soon see how Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles addresses some big roster needs.

After trading the No. 1 pick to the Carolina Panthers before free agency, the Bears are sitting at ninth overall in the first round. They also have three other selections in the top 64.

The draft serves as the foundation of any NFL team, so it’s a good time to evaluate exactly where this roster stands before the new crop of Bears join the fray. Especially as Poles looks to fill some roster holes at positions ranging from offensive tackle to defensive line to cornerback.

Let’s take a look at where the Bears’ roster stands ahead of the 2023 draft.

Cooper McMurray named Collegiate Baseball’s National Player of the Week

He hit five homers in four games.

The recognition continues to roll in for Cooper McMurray as Collegiate Baseball named him the National Player of the Week on Monday. The award comes after he was named the SEC Player of the Week.

He homered in each of Auburn’s four games last week and hit five total. McMurray led the led conference in home runs and total bases (20) while tying for the league lead in runs (seven) and RBI (nine) for the week.

Three of his four home runs against Mississippi State opened the scoring for the Tigers as they won two of three games against the Bulldogs.

He had a career game Sunday when he hit two home runs and drove in five runs. His homers hit both foul poles and made him the first Auburn player to homer in three straight SEC games since Trent Mummey from April 17-23, 2010.

McMurray and the Tigers will return to conference play Friday when they travel to Columbia to take on the No. 2 South Carolina Gamecocks.

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Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow JD on Twitter @jdmccarthy15.