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Surprise pick at number one in this 2023 NFL mock draft

By Ronnie Eastham

2023 NFL Mock Draft: Bryce Young #9 of the Alabama Crimson Tide during the game against the Mississippi Rebels at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on November 12, 2022 in Oxford, Mississippi. (Photo by Justin Ford/Getty Images)
2023 NFL Mock Draft: Bryce Young #9 of the Alabama Crimson Tide during the game against the Mississippi Rebels at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on November 12, 2022 in Oxford, Mississippi. (Photo by Justin Ford/Getty Images) /
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The NFL draft is like the Super Bowl of the offseason.  Every fan is glued to their digital screens, pouring over scouting reports, checking out the latest mock drafts, and doing their own mocks.  Everyone has their opinion, and some will get a few picks right, while most of the 31 first-round selections will not.

This is my first go at a full first-round mock draft, as I prefer to wait until after a few weeks of free agency have passed.  The NFL Draft is already impossible to predict, even when trying the night before but before free agency, you have a better chance of hitting the lottery than getting any picks right.

2023 NFL Mock Draft
NFL Mock Draft 2023 – Frank Reich speaks with the media during the Carolina Panthers head coach introduction at Bank of America Stadium on January 31, 2023 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by David Jensen/Getty Images) /

2023 NFL Mock Draft: Carolina Panthers hold top pick in the 2023 NFL Draft

For example, many analysts pinned either a wide receiver or offensive lineman to the Bills at 27 but since then, they’ve signed two new offensive linemen and two new wide receivers, plus re-signed Jordan Poyer, along with Zayne Anderson and Taylor Rapp via free agency.  Good luck guessing where they might go in the first round now.

We also have several quarterbacks believed to be first-round talent; however, many analysts are saying only about 15 to 18 players in this year’s NFL draft are truly first-round worthy players.  This could result in a lot of trades, whether that is teams in the back half trying to move up to get one of those players or perhaps falling back because anyone they graded with a first-round grade is no longer available.

I have no doubt many people will question my picks here and some will flat-out say I have no clue what I’m doing or talking about and that’s fine.  At the end of the day, this is for fun, something we all do because we don’t have actual games being played and simply need some type of football to entertain ourselves.  So, with that, here is my first-round NFL mock draft.

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