2023 NFL mock draft: Cowboys, Falcons make massive trades up
6. Detroit Lions: Jalen Carter, DL, Georgia
Pick Analysis. 6. player. 50. Scouting Report. DL. Georgia. Jalen Carter
There have been some rumors that the two teams picking on this page — the Lions and Raiders — have removed Jalen Carter from their draft boards completely. I guess I’ll believe that one when I see it for sure. There have been some off-field concerns popping up of late with Carter that could cause him to fall in the 2023 NFL Draft, but there are many people who believe, strictly speaking on the football side of things, that Carter is the best overall talent in this draft class.
The flashes are not hard to find when you watch the Georgia defense these past couple of years. People have been excited on Carter for a decent amount of time. If you think the Lions aren’t interested in Carter, you would be wrong. Dan Campbell himself said that the background check process has reached the point where they are asking some of Carter’s teammates about what kind of person he is.
The Lions have to feel strongly about their culture. I don’t think they just want to throw anyone into the mix and hope it works out — you’re picking sixth overall and can get a number of game-changing players here. The risk may be worth the reward, though, if you are talking about pairing up Jalen Carter with last year’s top pick Aidan Hutchinson and terrorizing teams in the trenches.
7. Las Vegas Raiders: Devon Witherspoon, CB, Illinois
Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. Devon Witherspoon. player. 28. CB. Illinois. 7
The Raiders have made wholesale changes in 2023 and you’ve got to give Josh McDaniels credit. For as maddening as his methods can be, at least he’s consistent. He fancies himself a true disciple of Bill Belichick, and he’s putting his stamp on this Raiders roster, come hell or high water.
The major change was obviously the decision to jettison Derek Carr and replace him with Jimmy Garoppolo, who has had a lot of success in his days away from McDaniels and Belichick. Garoppolo helped take the 49ers to three NFC Championship games in the last four years. Although this past year it was Brock Purdy who finished out the season, it was Garoppolo who came in off the bench to stabilize things.
He’ll have a shot to keep his wildly successful NFL career going with some nice pieces around him in the Raiders’ offense, but the Raiders don’t have a top-10 defense like Garoppolo had behind him in San Francisco. They can get closer to having one by adding a player like Devon Witherspoon to the secondary.
Not saying he will be immediately better, but I like Witherspoon’s overall game more than Sauce Gardner coming out a year ago.