Winners, losers from first round of 2023 NFL Draft originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
The first round of the 2023 NFL Draft is complete.
The Panthers kicked things off in Kansas City in unsurprising fashion, taking Alabama quarterback Bryce Young with the No. 1 overall pick. The 2021 Heisman Trophy winner was the first of three signal callers selected in Round 1, followed by C.J. Stroud to the Texans at No. 2 and Anthony Richardson to the Colts at No. 4.
Those weren’t the only headliners from the first round, either. There was a stunning trade-up into the top three, two running backs picked in the top 12 (!), a quarterback slide into Day 2 and much more.
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Here’s a look at the winners and losers from the first 31 picks of the draft:
Winner: Carolina Panthers
The Panthers paid a hefty price to move up from the ninth pick to the top spot in the draft. It appeared at the time of the trade with Chicago that Carolina was going up for Stroud. Then, a random Reddit post linking the Panthers to Will Levis caused some commotion in the days leading up to the draft.
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But the Panthers ultimately settled on the right quarterback. Are Young’s height and frame real concerns? Of course. The talent is worth the risk, though, especially for a franchise that’s endured five consecutive losing seasons with the likes of Kyle Allen, Teddy Bridgewater, Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield manning the sport’s most important position.
Winner: Shams Charania
If you turned off Twitter notifications for Adam Schefter and Ian Rapoport but didn’t for Shams Charania ahead of the draft, the first pick still would have been spoiled for you. Charania stunned social media when the NBA insider reported Carolina’s selection of Young roughly 17 minutes before it was announced by commissioner Roger Goodell.
With just one NBA playoff game on Thursday, Charania apparently had some extra time on his hands to break major NFL news.
Loser: Houston Texans
The draft immediately went off the rails following the first pick. First, the Texans made a somewhat surprising selection of Stroud at No. 2. And they weren’t done there, trading up from No. 12 to the Cardinals’ No. 3 selection for Alabama pass rusher Will Anderson Jr. The cost to move up for arguably the best defensive player in the draft was No. 12, No. 33, a 2024 first-round pick and a 2024 third-round pick (Houston also received pick No. 105 in the deal).
So…why did the Texans not just take Anderson Jr. at No. 2, keep their 2024 first-rounder and kick the quarterback can down the road to 2024, where a potentially loaded quarterback class awaits? Houston could have rolled out Davis Mills for another 17 games, strolled to the league’s worst record (as long as Lovie Smith isn’t coaching the final game) and taken a quarterback whose already drawing comparisons to Patrick Mahomes in 2022 Heisman winner Caleb Williams.
Can you imagine if Stroud has an ugly rookie campaign and the Texans cough up a top-two pick?
Winner: Philadelphia Eagles
You know you made a great pick when a star player from your division rival is upset about it. Howie Roseman worked his magic once again, trading up one spot to the Bears’ No. 9 pick to select a blue-chip prospect in Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter, leaving Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons sick to his stomach in the process.
The Eagles then nabbed another star from that vaunted Bulldogs defense in EDGE Nolan Smith, who was somehow still on the board at No. 30. Philadelphia now has four defensive players from Georgia's 2021 national championship team in Carter, Smith, 2022 first-round defensive tackle Jordan Davis and 2022 third-round linebacker Nakobe Dean.
Carter is potentially the most talented player in this class, but there are character concerns that arose during the pre-draft process. The Eagles will be hoping that reuniting Carter with three college teammates and putting him in the same defensive line room as veterans Brandon Graham and Fletcher Cox will bring the best out of him. If the Eagles’ two first-rounders work out, Philadelphia will have a scary defensive front for years to come.
Losers: Teams that drafted a running back
On the one hand, an offense with Bijan Robinson, Drake London, Kyle Pitts and Cordarrelle Patterson sounds extremely fun. On the other, why is a team that’s not close to contention spending a top-10 pick on a running back?
The Falcons made the first head-scratching selection of the night by taking Robinson at No. 8. The Texas product has all the makings of a stud tailback, but barring a Desmond Ridder breakout, Atlanta will be wasting at least one of his rookie contract years with a non-contending team. Robinson would have made sense for the Super Bowl runner-up Eagles two picks later, not the 7-10 Falcons.
Not to be outdone, the Lions made another confounding running back selection just a few picks later. Detroit took Alabama’s Jahmyr Gibbs after trading down from No. 6 to No. 12. The Lions already have D'Andre Swift and they just gave David Montgomery a three-year, $18 million deal. So with the 12th pick, Detroit reached for a player that wasn’t even at a position of need.
Winner: Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens were winners before the draft even started. Baltimore finally ended the Lamar Jackson contract saga by striking a record-breaking five-year deal with the 2019 NFL MVP. A few hours later, the Ravens gave their franchise quarterback a new weapon.
Baltimore selected wideout Zay Flowers with the 22nd pick. The Boston College product is one of the most exciting skill players in this class after racking up 1,077 receiving yards and 12 TDs in 2022. The 2023 Ravens could feature the best set of pass-catchers Jackson has ever had at his disposal, headlined by Flowers, Odell Beckham Jr. and Mark Andrews.
Loser: Will Levis
Malik Willis. Johnny Manziel. Geno Smith. Jimmy Clausen. Brady Quinn. Aaron Rodgers. And now, you can add Levis to that group.
Levis became the latest draft free-faller at the quarterback position by shockingly going unselected in the first round. The Kentucky signal caller was widely viewed as a top-10 pick, with ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. having him as the No. 2-rated QB. But several teams that were potential candidates to draft a quarterback -- like the Raiders, Falcons, Titans, Lions, Commanders, Patriots, Buccaneers and Vikings -- all passed on him.
The question now becomes how long Levis lasts on Day 2 (and whether the fact that he puts mayo in his coffee affected his draft slide).
Loser: Miami Dolphins
The NFL took away the Dolphins’ 2023 first-rounder and 2024 third-rounder for tampering, but it was certainly worth it given all that Tom Brady and Sean Payton have done for the franchise in recent years…A tip for NFL owners: If you’re going to tamper with high-profile players and coaches make sure you actually get them so that the potential penalties are easier to swallow.
Unfortunately for Fins fans, the first round was just the start of what’s shaping up to be another quiet draft. Miami has just four picks for a second straight year, the fewest of any team.
