Four Best Bets To Be The First Pick In The 2023 NFL Draft

The 2023 NFL Draft might be quite far down the line. That doesn’t mean that the scouting department is going to take a break on evaluating the top talent when the event comes back around again. Obviously, the top story is going to be what player will get drafted with the number one overall selection. Here are four options that could hear their name called at that spot.

Bryce Young

Bryce Young is definitely expected to go number one overall in 2023. The Alabama quarterback doesn’t run all that much even though he has shown that he can get the job done with his legs. Instead, he relies on his intelligence and arm talent to make plays when it seems like there isn’t one. Even when his top weapons go down with injuries, Young continues to show up in a big way and keep this team consistently competitive. Plus, winning the 2021 Heisman award definitely helps your case. All he is missing is another big season in 2022.

Will Anderson

Strong, athletic and fierce edge rushers will always find a way to fly up teams’ draft boards throughout the season. Will Anderson perfectly fits that mold and could be taken above some of the quarterbacks this year. He finished with 101 tackles, 17.5 sacks and 33.5 tackles for loss in this most recent season. He even found himself getting listed alongside players like Travon Walker and Aidan Hutchinson, two guys that were drafted first and third overall. It’s hard to imagine that the team holding the top overall selection in 2023 would want to pass up on a generational type of edge talent like Anderson.

CJ Stroud

If it weren’t for a growing trend with Ohio State quarterbacks performing worse than expected in the NFL, then CJ Stroud could have a higher shot at going number one overall. However, that doesn’t mean that the top team will bite the bullet and roll the dice on him if they need a signal caller. Stroud doesn’t have the incredibly running talent that Justin Fields showed last year, but he also was a bit more accurate in the passing game. Not to mention that he is far more agile and versatile than other quarterbacks from Ohio State in recent years. Stroud needs to put together a serious year to be considered for the top spot.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba

Here we have another Ohio State player, this time it is a wideout named Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Smith-Njigba found a way to get lost in the Ohio State wide receiver room with guys like Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave sitting around him. However, he was putting together incredible performances under the radar and nobody seemed to notice. He had a 15 catch, 347-yard game when both Wilson and Olave missed an outing last season. That strong play continues the rest of the year and if the top team desperately needs a wideout, Smith-Njigba is going to be really hard to pass on.