The NFL draft is an inexact science. Every year there are rookie draft picks who can’t make the initial roster for the teams that selected them months earlier. This year’s draft class is no exception.
A total of 17 rookie 2023 draftees didn’t make the cut, not counting players who went on injured reserve.
Perhaps the biggest name is Colts CB Darius Rush. Indianapolis quickly gave up on the fifth-rounder from South Carolina. Baltimore also cut a fifth-round cornerback in Kyu Blu Kelly.
Jacksonville had three 2023 draftees that didn’t make the cut. Sixth-round CB Erick Hallett II and seventh-rounders FB Derek Parish and DT Raymond Vohasek didn’t make it.
Chicago waived two of its picks, DT Travis Bell and S Kendall Williamson. Both were seventh-round picks. Miami waived sixth-round TE Elijah Higgins and seventh-round OL Ryan Hayes, two of the Dolphins’ four selections in the 2023 draft.
The nation’s leading rusher in 2022, Dewayne McBride at UAB, couldn’t crack the Vikings roster despite being a seventh-round pick. The same was true for TCU QB Max Duggan, a Heisman finalist for the Horned Frogs. The Chargers waived Duggan, a seventh-rounder.
Other 2023 picks who got waived:
Jets TE Zach Kuntz (7th round)
Bills DB Alex Austin (7th round)
Bills OL Nick Broeker (7th round)
Texans S Brandon Hill (7th round)
Packers WR Grant Dubose (7th round)
Buccaneers EDGE Jose Ramirez (6th round)
The original post had an omission and has since been edited