Dallas Cowboys
(26) Mazi Smith DT Michigan
(58) Luke Schoonmaker TE Michigan
(90) DeMarvion Overshown LB Texas
(129) Viliami Fehoko Edge San Jose St.
(169) Asim Richards OT North Carolina
(178) Eric Scott CB Southern Miss
(212) Deuce Vaughn RB Kansas St
(244) Jalen Brooks WR South Carolina
Immediate Impact: DT Mazi Smith, TE Luke Schoonmaker
The Cowboys may have reached a bit for Mazi Smith but the DT position wasn’t top heavy and they decided to address it anyway. Smith is a big-bodied dude at 6’3 337 lbs. and they need the heft inside. He should easily displace Jonathan Hankins as a starter. Schoonmaker is better than Jake Ferguson or Peyton Hendershot and he can start if he stays healthy.
Best Value: None
The Cowboys reached a bit for Smith and Schoonmaker. I liked Schoonmaker just fine but there were a couple of TEs I liked better still on the board, Darnell Washington and Tucker Kraft. The rest of the draft wasn’t great value either.
Sleeper: RB Deuce Vaughn
It feels like cheating to pick Vaughn, no one expects Vaughn to be some great RB because he’s so small. Everyone has doubted Vaughn pretty much at every turn and he’s proven them wrong. He’s a player, and they need some help behind Tony Pollard. Vaughn isn’t going to be some bell cow back but he can be a useful player.
Overall Analysis
The Cowboys got a starting DT and probably their starting TE and then this draft went off the rails. DeMarvion Overshown is a good coverage LB who doesn’t do much else and I thought that’s what Jabril Cox was supposed to be for. Viliami Fehoko is a edge rusher but they have Demarcus Lawrence, Micah Parsons, Sam Williams, and Dorance Armstrong, not sure when he’s going to play.
Asim Richards is a developmental offensive lineman but they needed someone who could help them sooner. CB Eric Scott is a developmental player that may take some time, he’s not helping any time soon. Vaughn was a very solid day three pick even if he is the shortest player in the NFL by quite a bit. I suppose WR Jalen Brooks was a solid choice in round seven after the team has lost guys like Cedric Wilson and Noah Brown over the last two off seasons.
New York Giants
(24) Deonte Banks CB Maryland
(57) John Michael Schmitz C Minnesota
(73) Jalin Hyatt WR Tennessee
(172) Eric Gray RB Oklahoma
(209) Tre Hawkins III CB Old Dominion
(243) Jordon Riley DL Oregon
(254) Gervarrius Owens S Houston
Immediate Impact: CB Deonte Banks, C John Michael Schmitz, WR Jalin Hyatt
The Giants had some clear holes and they filled them quite nicely. Banks is a man cover corner who is a perfect fit in their defense. He can fill in outside opposite Adoree’ Jackson and gives them some actual size at CB. Schmitz is an immediate starter at center, he’s light years ahead of anyone they have at the position. I had him mocked to them in round one, they got him in round two. Hyatt isn’t a big, physical outside receiver but he is a field stretcher. The only sort of deep threat they have is Darius Slayton and they have never fuller trusted him. Hyatt can take the top off the defense which should push the safeties back, lighten the box for Saquon Barkley, and allow all of their slot receivers to work underneath (they have plenty of those guys).
Best Value: C John Michael Schmitz
As much as I like Jalin Hyatt and I think he was a steal in round three, he is going to have to fight through a number of WRs to make a real difference. Schmitz steps in on day one and is the starting center. The other guys on the roster are going to have to compete at guard, he’s just simply too good to not start. As a late second round pick, that’s good value.
Sleeper: RB Eric Gray
The Giants have Saquon Barkley and Matt Breida at the top of the depth chart but Barkley is on the franchise tag for a year and Breida has bounced around quite a bit in his career. Gray was never a break out star in college but he’s a pretty talented back. The Giants are building a good offensive line behind two young tackles and a new starting center, if Gray ends up playing, he could really do some damage.
Overall Analysis
The first three picks have a chance to be high impact players. Banks and Schmitz will start right out of the gate and Hyatt brings a skill set at WR they are really lacking. If he can find some chemistry with Daniel Jones, he can change the look of their offense significantly. He’s not a refined route runner but what he does well (going deep) he does better than almost anyone. I really like the Gray pickup, he was worth betting on in round five.
The Giants obviously saw a need to address the secondary and they didn’t stop with Banks. They took a shot on Tre Hawkins III, a big 6’3 CB from a small school. If you’re going to take a chance on a small school CB, might as well be on dude who’s 6’3. They also took a rangy free safety out of Houston, Gervarrius Owens. They also took a 6’5 325 lbs. nose tackle from Oregon. Jordon Riley isn’t going to make headlines but guys his size don’t grow on trees.
Philadelphia Eagles
(9) Jalen Carter DT Georgia
(30) Nolan Smith Edge Georgia
(65) Tyler Steen OT Alabama
(66) Sydney Brown S Illinois
(105) Kelee Ringo CB Georgia
(188) Tanner McKee QB Stanford
(249) Moro Ojomo DL Texas
Immediate Impact: DT Jalen Carter, S Sydney Brown
The Eagles don’t need Carter to be a Pro Bowler from day one, they have Fletcher Cox, Jordan Davis, and Milton Williams inside at DT, that isn’t going to stop Carter from being awesome. If Carter keeps his head on straight and does the work, he’s going to play and he’s going to make a difference. Sydney Brown may have been a third-round pick but his competition at safety is Terrell Edmunds and Reed Blankenship, he’s better than either of them at their positions. Brown isn’t the biggest or fastest safety but he’s a gamer. He’s going to be a starter in Philly, sooner rather than later.
Best Value: CB Kelee Ringo
I never really agreed with the “Kelee Ringo is a first rounder” narrative, he has holes in his game and while he’s a great athlete, his CB skills need some refinement. However, he is a great athlete and he has all the confidence you want in a CB. He may be too confident which is why he isn’t as polished as he should be, he thinks he can just wing it. If he takes being a fourth-round pick as a motivation to prove everyone wrong and learn how to actually be a good corner, the sky is the limit. He has starting CB1 traits, he’s just underdeveloped. Apparently, his attitude was the reason for his fall to day three, that’s a red flag, but if it doesn’t destroy him, he can be fantastic.
Sleeper: DT Moro Ojomo
It’s hard to call anyone in this class a sleeper, they just drafted that well. Ojomo was a seventh-round flyer on a guy who’s not the biggest DT but has plenty of athletic ability and agility. Those are the two things Fletcher Cox built his career on and it’s been a very good career. Cox was never the behemoth DT who took up space and anchored down. He’s always been the up-field penetrator disrupting the play in the backfield. That’s Ojomo’s game. He’s not Cox, no one is, but he has a skill set that could be valuable playing next to Jordan Davis or Jalen Carter inside and Fletcher Cox doesn’t have a lot of time left in his career.
Overall Analysis
The consensus is that Howie Roseman and the Eagles had arguably the best draft in 2023, I’m not going to argue against them. When you pick ninth and get the best talent in the draft, it’s a good start. Then they followed that up by waiting in round one to pick up Nolan Smith, one of the best athletes in the draft. Smith had top 15 potential and they got him 30th. Smith fell because he doesn’t fit everyone’s scheme but the Eagles already have Hassan Reddick so they know how to use and undersized edge rusher with a great first step and elite athleticism.
Tyler Steen wasn’t my favorite offensive lineman but Howie Roseman has a way of finding guys and getting them a little early and letting them develop. It’s easier to do with offensive linemen when you have one of the best offensive line coaches in football, Jeff Stoutland, developing them. Steen makes a great backup for now and he’s probably a starter in a year or two. Sydney Brown and Kelee Ringo were steals in rounds three and four and I still can’t believe they got them. By the way, if Ringo doesn’t work out at CB, he might become a great safety and he and Brown can just be the starting safeties for the next decade.
The one quibble with this draft is QB Tanner McKee, I actually like the player fine and he was well worth a sixth-round pick, my question is the fit. A team that has Jalen Hurts and Marcus Mariota as the top two QBs on the roster feels like they have a type, McKee is not that type. McKee is a 6’6 230 lbs. statue, I’m not sure how he runs the Eagles system if it ever comes to that. This is like having Drew Bledsoe backing up Michael Vick, stylistically it presents challenges. Finally, I like the Ojomo pick, he’s the type of guy you take in round seven and hope for the best outcome.
Washington Commanders
(16) Emmanuel Forbes CB Mississippi St.
(47) Jartavius Martin DB Illinois
(97) Ricky Stromberg C/G Arkansas
(118) Braeden Daniels OT Utah
(137) KJ Henry Edge Clemson
(193) Chris Rodriguez Jr. RB Kentucky
(233) Andre Jones Edge Louisville
Immediate Impact: CB Emmanuel Forbes, DB Jartavius Martin
Washington’s secondary was pretty bad last year and the Commanders clearly noticed. Emmanuel Forbes is one skinny CB but he’s the best cover corner on the team already. He starts on day one and while he might struggle with the adjustment to the NFL given his size, he’ll be fine. Martin might just be the nickel back but it’s also possible he’s the starting free safety, he’s good enough to start right away. Either way, these two are the upgrade to the secondary the team needs.
Best Value: RB Chris Rodriguez
Rodriguez isn’t the flashy type and the Commanders already have a big back in Brian Robinson, however, they clearly aren’t sold on Antonio Gibson as a RB so there’s some room on the depth chart. Rodriguez is a powerful runner who likes to grind opponents down. He and Robinson together could really pound the rock next season and take the pressure off of Sam Howell or Jacoby Brissett at QB. He is a pretty good RB for a sixth-round pick.
Sleeper: C/G Ricky Stromberg
Stromberg isn’t a finished product but he’s a solid interior offensive lineman and they need those in Washington. They signed Nick Gates to take one spot and Andrew Wylie should be the new RT meaning Sam Cosmi could move to OG. They may not need Stromberg this year but he could step in at either center or guard in the near future.
Overall Analysis
The Commanders started off the draft going for starters in the secondary and they filled two holes with really good prospects, that’s a good start. They added depth on the offensive line with Stromberg and OT Braeden Daniels. The Daniels pick was a bit high but he has some versatility to play guard or tackle so it’s not a horrible choice. They needed the depth and they got versatile bodies.
They spent two late round picks on edge rushers, KJ Henry in round five and Andre Jones in round seven. Their defensive line is their strength but DE isn’t the deepest position. I’m not sure Henry or Jones actually helps that anytime soon. Henry is a big guy who can play all three downs but he’ll have to battle to get playing time. Jones is an even bigger guy but he doesn’t play with the power Henry does. He’s got an even bigger hill to climb. Rodriguez is a helpful piece in the running game that they need to rely on heavily with a weird QB spot.
The Hott Read 