Fowler Football 2023 Mock Draft

This mock draft is not predictive. It is what I would do if I were the GM of every team picking in the first round. Most of these picks are a BPA at a position of need, but a few are very scheme-specific needs where a player might go a bit higher than you'd expect. These are based on my evaluations of the players and do not reflect what the consensus view on each player is. For teams without a first round pick, I gave some thoughts of potential options at their first selection spot. To learn more about my thoughts on the players drafted, you can click on their names to view their individual profiles.

 

Pick #	Team	Player	POS	School	Grade
1	CAR	Bryce Young	QB	Alabama	84.33
2	HOU	C.J. Stroud	QB	Ohio St	82.03
3	ARI	Will Anderson	EDGE	Alabama	89.33
4	IND	Anthony Richardson	QB	Florida	76.28
5	SEA	Jalen Carter	iDL	Georgia	84.00
6	DET	Christian Gonzalez	CB	Oregon	80.61
7	LV	Devon Witherspoon	CB	Illinois	79.89
8	ATL	Tyree Wilson	EDGE	Texas Tech	80.33
9	CHI	Paris Johnson Jr.	OT	Ohio St	81.40
10	PHI	Myles Murphy	EDGE	Clemson	80.00
11	TEN	Peter Skoronski	OT	Northwestern	80.67
12	HOU	Jaxon Smith-Njigba	WR	Ohio St	77.67
13	GB	Michael Mayer	TE	Notre Dame	77.87
14	NE	Broderick Jones	OT	Georgia	78.47
15	NYJ	Darnell Wright	OT	Tennessee	76.27
16	WAS	Cam Smith	CB	South Carolina	79.18
17	PIT	Joey Porter Jr.	CB	Penn St	76.33
18	DET	Bryan Bresee	iDL	Clemson	78.09
19	TB	Will Levis	QB	Kentucky	74.75
20	SEA	Nolan Smith	EDGE	Georgia	75.33
21	MIA	Forfeited	N/A	N/A	N/A
22	LAC	Bijan Robinson	RB	Texas	83.36
23	BAL	Jordan Addison	WR	USC	78.86
24	MIN	Deonte Banks	CB	Maryland	75.61
25	JAX	Brian Branch	S	Alabama	75.42
26	NYG	Zay Flowers	WR	Boston College	77.28
27	DAL	Dalton Kincaid	TE	Utah	76.22
28	BUF	Derick Hall	EDGE	Auburn	77.67
29	CIN	Jahmyr Gibbs	RB	Alabama	77.13
30	NO	Keion White	iDL	Georgia Tech	76.78
31	PHI	O'Cyrus Torrence	iOL	Florida	75.12
32	KC	Lukas Van Ness	EDGE	Iowa	74.67

For the 5 teams not picking in round 1, here are my thoughts on who I think each team should target with their first pick. These again are based on my observations and how the board fell in this scenario. I think these would all be reasonable targets for these teams at their current draft positions based on my evaluations of the players.

Team	What I would do
LAR	The Rams kick things off at pick 2.37 (keeping the Dolphins forfeited pick in the count). The Rams have fallen so far, from Super Bowl champs to one of the worst rosters in the league in the span of 14 months. They really should go BPA, but with holes at corner, they can also address a need with a high level player like Phillips, Ringo, or Forbes.
MIA	After losing their first round pick by getting caught tampering, the Dolphins get their first pick of the draft at 2.52. Their needs seem to fall more on the offensive side of the ball, and with the departure of Mike Gesicki, a TE like Luke Musgrave or Darnell Washington could give Tua another weapon, and in Washington's case, an extension of the OL.
DEN	The Broncos have an interesting season ahead of them with newly acquired HC Sean Payton. Trying to get the Russell Wilson project back on schedule with back to back picks at 3.68 and 3.69 (Nice), I'd look to add a center like Luke Wypler or just go BPA at a defensive position of need with both a deep EDGE and CB class.
CLE	The Browns have needs in the front 7, and in the third round at pick 3.75, they could look to address that need with a number of solid late day 2/early day 3 guys. The likes of Daiyan Henley and DeMarvion Overshown, or someone like Tuli Tuipulotu could be a good pickup to strength that front 7.
SF	With one of the most complete rosters in the league, the 49ers have a chance to add depth at key positions and build around either Brock Purdy or Trey Lance. With picks at 3.99, 3.101, and 3.102, look for them to add depth at EDGE with someone like Zach Harrison or Colby Woolen or add another offensive weapon with Davis Allen or Zach Kuntz.