NFL Draft 2023: Top 100 prospect rankings in a class especially strong at two positions
This is the thing we all wait for when it comes to the NFL Draft: finalized rankings that can be absolutely torn to shreds by bystanders as the draft inches closer. Opinions on the 2023 class have ranged widely, but this ended up being a quality draft at the top with a lot of franchise talent for teams needing help on the offensive and defensive lines.
The top player on this big board ended up being Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter. He is one of the most talented defensive tackles to come in the draft in some time. When he’s healthy, he’s a rare 3 technique who can dominate the running and passing games with ease. He even has surprising flexibility on the edge for a player of his size, showing the ability to dip and bend on stunts when Georgia put him in those positions.
Carter has had a concerning offseason with legal troubles and a poor pro day showing, but he has too much dominant game tape to fall far down the board.
Three offensive linemen found their way into the top five of these rankings. Tennessee offensive tackle Darnell Wright, Ohio State offensive tackle Paris Johnson Jr. and Northwestern offensive lineman Peter Skoronski have the chance to be cornerstone offensive linemen for their future teams. Skoronski is the elite technician, Johnson looks like he was built in a lab to be an NFL offensive tackle and Wright has the best of both worlds. Those three lead off an offensive line class that finished with seven players in the top 25. The top of the offensive line class this year is very strong with a few home run swings to take on the second and third days of the draft.
Cornerback is a strong group this year as well, with Oregon's Christian Gonzalez and Illinois' Devon Witherspoon having the chance to be erasers in man coverage at the next level. Maryland’s Deonte Banks, Penn State’s Joey Porter Jr. (yeah we’re old, buddy) and Georgia’s Kelee Ringo also have the abilities to emerge as top-flight corners as their careers progress.
The wide receiver class has depth that can develop into quality targets for a passing game. Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Zay Flowers grab the top spots on this board, but Rashee Rice, Josh Downs and Cedric Tillman could be quality finds on the second day of the draft.
A few other favorite prospects who finished outside of the top 32: Cody Mauch, Kendre Miller, Kobie Turner, Chris Smith, Drew Sanders, Julius Brents, Siaki Ika, Matthew Bergeron and Tyjae Spears. Let’s come back to this in a few years to see how well the prognostication went.
1. Georgia DL Jalen Carter (Junior, 6-3, 314 lbs)
2. Alabama EDGE Will Anderson Jr. (Junior, 6-3 1/2, 253 lbs)
3. Tennessee OL Darnell Wright (Senior, 6-5, 333 lbs)
4. Ohio State OT Paris Johnson Jr. (Junior, 6-6, 313 lbs)
5. Northwestern OT Peter Skoronski (Junior, 6-4, 313 lbs)
6. Oregon CB Christian Gonzalez (Junior, 6-1, 197 lbs)
7. Texas RB Bijan Robinson (Junior, 5-11, 215 lbs)
8. Illinois CB Devon Witherspoon (Senior, 5-11 1/2, 181 lbs)
9. Texas Tech EDGE Tyree Wilson (R-Senior, 6-6, 271 lbs)
10. Notre Dame TE Michael Mayer (Junior, 6-4 1/2, 249 lbs)
11. Alabama QB Bryce Young (Junior, 5-10, 204 lbs)
12. Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud (R-Sophomore, 6-3, 214 lbs)
13. Ohio State WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba (Junior, 6-1, 196 lbs)
14. Florida QB Anthony Richardson (R-Sophomore, 6-4, 244 lbs)
15. Iowa EDGE Lukas Van Ness (R-Sophomore, 6-5, 272 lbs)
16. Boston College WR Zay Flowers (Senior, 5-9, 182 lbs)
17. Florida G O'Cyrus Torrence (Senior, 6-5, 330 lbs)
18. Maryland CB Deonte Banks (R-Junior, 6-0, 197 lbs)
19. Minnesota C John Michael Schmitz (R-Senior, 6-3 1/2, 301 lbs)
20. Georgia TE Darnell Washington (Junior, 6-7, 264 lbs)
21. Kentucky QB Will Levis (Senior, 6-4, 229 lbs)
22. Oklahoma OT Anton Harrison (Junior, 6-4, 315 lbs)
23. Georgia OT Broderick Jones (R-Sophomore, 6-5, 311 lbs)
24. Wisconsin DT Keeanu Benton (Senior, 6-4, 309 lbs)
25. Penn State CB Joey Porter Jr. (R-Junior, 6-2 1/2, 193 lbs)
26. Alabama CB/S Brian Branch (Junior, 6-0, 190 lbs)
27. Georgia CB Kelee Ringo (R-Sophomore, 6-2, 207 lbs)
28. TCU C Steve Avila (R-Senior, 6-3 1/2, 332 lbs)
29. TCU WR Quentin Johnston (Junior, 6-3, 208 lbs)
30. USC WR Jordan Addison (Junior, 5-11, 173 lbs)
31. Iowa State EDGE Will McDonald IV (R-Senior, 6-4, 239 lb
32. Georgia EDGE Nolan Smith (Senior, 6-2, 238 lbs)
33. Michigan DL Mazi Smith (R-Junior, 6-3, 323 lbs)
34. Arkansas LB Drew Sanders (Junior, 6-4, 235 lbs)
35. Clemson EDGE Myles Murphy (Junior, 6-5, 268 lbs)
36. Oregon State TE Luke Musgrave (Senior, 6-6, 253 lbs)
37. Utah TE Dalton Kincaid (Senior, 6-4, 246 lbs)
38. Wisconsin C Joe Tippmann (R-Junior, 6-6, 313 lbs)
39. Kansas State EDGE Felix Anudike-Uzomah (Junior, 6-3, 255 lbs)
40. North Dakota OL Cody Mauch (R-Senior, 6-5, 302 lbs)
41. Pittsburgh DT Calijah Kancey (R-Junior, 6-1, 281 lbs)
42. Alabama RB Jahmyr Gibbs (Junior, 5-9, 199 lbs)
43. Tulane RB Tyjae Spears (R-Junior, 5-10, 201 lbs)
44. Syracuse OT Matthew Bergeron (Senior, 6-5, 318 lbs)
45. South Carolina CB Cam Smith (R-Junior, 6-1, 180 lbs)
46. Tennessee WR Jalin Hyatt (Junior, 6-0, 176 lbs)
47. Florida DT Gervon Dexter (Junior, 6-6, 310 lbs)
48. Notre Dame DL Isaiah Foskey (R-Junior, 6-5, 264 lbs)
49. LSU EDGE BJ Ojulari (Junior, 6-2, 248 lbs)
50. Iowa TE Sam LaPorta (Senior, 6-3, 245 lbs)
51. Texas A&M S Antonio Johnson (Junior, 6-2, 198 lbs)
52. Northwestern EDGE Ade Adebawore (Senior, 6-2, 282 lbs)
53. South Dakota State TE Tucker Kraft (R-Junior, 6-5, 254 lbs)
54. Texas A&M RB Devon Achane (Junior, 5-8 1/2, 188 lbs)
55. Ohio State OT Dawand Jones (Senior, 6-8, 374 lbs)
56. Kansas State CB Julius Brents (R-Senior, 6-3, 198 lbs)
57. Michigan CB DJ Turner (R-Junior, 5-11, 178 lbs)
58. TCU RB Kendre Miller (Junior, 5-11, 215 lbs)
59. SMU WR Rashee Rice (Senior, 6-1, 204)
60. Wake Forest WR A.T. Perry (R-Senior, 6-3 1/2, 198 lbs)
61. Georgia S Christopher Smith (Senior, 5-11, 192 lbs)
62. Alabama S Jordan Battle (Senior, 6-1, 209 lbs)
63. Ohio State IOL Luke Wypler (R-Sophomore, 6-3, 303 lbs)
64. Utah CB Clark Phillips (Junior, 5-9, 184 lbs)
65. Houston WR Tank Dell (R-Senior, 5-8, 165 lbs)
66. Baylor DL Siaki Ika (Senior, 6-3, 335 lbs)
67. Clemson DT Bryan Bresee (R-Sophomore, 6-5 1/2, 298 lbs)
68. Tennessee WR Cedric Tillman (R-Senior, 6-3, 213 lbs)
69. UCLA RB Zach Charbonnet (Senior, 6-0, 214 lbs)
70. North Carolina WR Josh Downs (Junior, 5-9, 171 lbs)
71. Mississippi State CB Emmanuel Forbes (Junior, 6-1, 166 lbs)
72. Iowa LB Jack Campbell (Senior, 6-5, 249 lbs)
73. Ole Miss WR Jonathan Mingo (Senior, 6-2, 220 lbs)
74. Tennessee EDGE Byron Young (Senior, 6-2, 250 lbs)
75. Michigan C Olusegun Oluwatimi (Senior, 6-2 1/2, 309 lbs)
76. N.C. State G Chandler Zavala (R-Senior, 6-3, 322 lbs)
77. Wake Forest DT Kobie Turner (Senior, 6-3, 290 lbs)
78. Michigan TE Luke Schoonmaker (Senior, 6-5, 251 lbs)
79. Oklahoma WR Marvin Mims (Junior, 5-11, 183 lbs)
80. Illinois CB Sydney Brown (Senior, 5-10, 211 lbs)
81. Ohio State EDGE Zach Harrison (Senior, 6-5 1/2, 274 lbs)
82. Auburn EDGE Derick Hall (Senior, 6-3, 254 lbs)
83. Syracuse RB Sean Tucker (Junior, 5-9, 207 lbs)
84. Georgia Tech DL Keion White (R-Senior, 6-5, 285 lbs)
85. Clemson LB Trenton Simpson (Junior, 6-2, 235 lbs)
86. Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker (R-Senior, 6-3, 217 lbs)
87. Stanford QB Tanner McKee (R-Sophomore, 6-6, 231 lbs)
88. USC DL/EDGE Tuli Tuipulotu (Junior, 6-3, 266 lbs)
89. Texas RB Roschon Johnson (Senior, 6-0, 219 lbs)
90. BYU WR Puka Nacua (Senior, 6-2, 201 lbs)
91. Florida State DB Jammie Robinson (Senior, 5-11, 191 lbs)
92. Georgia EDGE Robert Beal Jr. (Senior, 6-4, 247 lbs)
93. Alabama DL Byron Young (Senior, 6-3, 292 lbs)
94. UCLA QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson (Senior, 6-2, 203 lbs)
95. Alabama LB Henry To'oTo'o (Senior, 6-1, 227 lbs)
96. Virginia WR Dontayvion Wicks (Senior, 6-1, 206 lbs)
97. Oregon LB Noah Sewell (Junior, 6-1 1/2, 246 lbs)
98. Maryland OT Jaelyn Duncan (R-Senior, 6-6, 306 lbs)
99. LSU WR Kayshon Boutte (Junior, 5-11, 195 lbs)
100. Army LB Andre Carter II (Senior, 6-6 1/2, 256 lbs)
