Takeaway’s from Todd McShay’s post combine 2023 NFL mock draft
Breaking down the biggest takeaways from ESPN’s Todd McShay’s post-combine 2023 NFL mock draft.
With the Super Bowl in the rear view mirror we are now fully in draft season. We’re still months away from draft day, but it’s not too early to start thinking about different scenarios.
With an eventful combine that had a lot of storylines there is still a lot of unknowns about what will unfold on draft night. However,
After an eventful combine and big news surrounding Lamar Jackson it looks we’re going to be in store for an exciting offseason. This includes the NFL draft that is poised to produce all sorts of intriguing storylines.
Today we’re taking a look at ESPN’s Todd McShay’s mock draft to get a look at what he’s projecting post-combine. McShay is one of the best and biggest names in the draft business, so his mock draft is something to put a lot of weight into.
So, without further ado let’s hop into my biggest takeaways starting with a trade at number one.
1: Colts trade up and select QB Bryce Young
One of the biggest questions heading into the combine was what Bryce Young’s size profile would be which came in at 5-foot-10 ⅛, 204 pounds.
Young had the best tape of any quarterback in this class, so he remains the favorite to be the first player off the board and in this scenario the Colts trade up for him.
Given how many veteran quarterbacks the Colts have missed on in recent years, it makes a lot of sense for them to be aggressive in their pursuit for a young quarterback.
7: Bears Select OL Peter Skoronski after trading down twice
One scenario that has been discussed more recently is the Bears trading back multiple times to acquire as many future picks as possible. With the unfortunate Jalen Carter news this now seems like a bigger possibility as Carter could fall down draft boards.
With the current state of the Bears’ roster this would make a lot of sense for them as they’d still come away with a talented prospect to go along with future assets.
8: Falcons Select Edge Nolan Smith
Nolan Smith was one of the most highly discussed players at the combine after his eyebrow raising performance which included a 4.39 40 yard dash, 41.5” vertical, and 10’ 8” broad jump.
It’s unclear how much of an impact it’ll have on his draft stock as he still weighed in at just 238 pounds. McShay is projecting this will vault Smith into the top ten. As far as a team fit goes this would make sense as the Falcons have a big need at edge rusher.
10: Eagles select RB Bijan Robinson
The biggest thing that stood out to me from McShay’s mock draft was Bijan Robinson going in the top ten to the Eagles. Robinson is certainly amongst the ten best players in this class, however I would be surprised if anybody is willing to use a top ten pick on a running back.
Robinson is certainly one of the biggest wild cards of this draft and it will be a good test of how much the league values running backs.
12: Texans select DT Jalen Carter
The biggest story of the combine was the unfortunate news surrounding Jalen Carter who was arrested on reckless driving and racing misdemeanor charges in connection to the tragic car crash that killed Georgia teammate Devin Willock and recruiting staffer Chandler LeCroy.
It’s very hard to judge how his draft stock will be affected by this. Some believe this will result in his draft stock plummeting, while others believe he’s a talented enough prospect that it won’t have a major effect on where he comes off the board.
McShay projects Carter to fall outside the top ten in this post combine mock draft.
17: Steelers select CB Emmanuel Forbes
One of the big takeaways from the combine was reinforcing just how talented this cornerback class is. Devon Witherspoon and Christian Gonzalez appear to be the consensus top two corners in this class, but the combine showed that there’s plenty of other good options in this class.
Against those is Emmanuel Forbes, who raised some concerns at the combine weighing in at just 166 pounds. However, this projection from McShay perhaps shows that his elite play in the SEC at Mississippi State, plus his 4.35 40 yard dash will combat his weight concerns.
