The Best Franchise Building Blocks in the 2023 NFL Draft
NFL draft evaluations may seem straightforward, but nuance is required when you're looking at rankings.
While a prospect might have a high grade, positional value often affects how a player is viewed. For example, although Bijan Robinson is a great prospect, running backs are among the more replaceable players in the league. He's more a standout player than a building block.
On the other hand, NFL teams generally look at quarterbacks, pass-rushers, offensive tackles, cornerbacks and wide receivers as the most valuable pieces for the future.
If you follow the draft, you've certainly seen these names. If not, consider this a primer on key prospects at top positions to know.
Landing spots are based on perceived draft stock and which franchises, given the current order, are best positioned to select a player.
Peter Skoronski, OT
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Perhaps you prefer Ohio State product Paris Johnson Jr., but fellow Big Ten prospect Peter Skoronski leads B/R's offensive tackles.
Listed as the No. 11 overall talent, Skoronski was a three-year standout at Northwestern. He earned All-Big Ten honors as a freshman and sophomore, then received first-team AP All-America recognition in 2022.
Skoronski, who is 6'4" and 315 pounds, is built like an interior player. In fact, he probably would've been a guard initially before then-NU left tackle Rashawn Slater opted out of the 2020 season. Skoronski moved outside and shined in the role during all three college years.
And in 2022, according to Pro Football Focus, he allowed only six pressures on 474 pass-blocking snaps.
Skoronski has earned an opportunity to block the blind side, though he'll shift inside if necessary.
Potential Landing Spots: Chicago Bears, Las Vegas Raiders, Philadelphia Eagles, Tennessee Titans
Joey Porter Jr., CB
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Until the 2022 campaign halted the streak, NFL offenses had posted top-20 all-time marks in receiving touchdowns per game during every season since 2010.
Still, someone has to cover all that talent.
Georgia's Kelee Ringo, Oregon's Christian Gonzalez, South Carolina's Cam Smith and Utah's Clark Phillips III are solidly in the first-round discussion. The early leader on B/R's board, though, is Joey Porter Jr. from Penn State at No. 5 overall.
The son of once-feared Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Joey Porter Sr., he's a 6'2" lockdown corner who's also a willing tackler. Porter recorded 111 stops in three years as a starter.
Per PFF, he broke up nine passes and allowed only 15 receptions during the 2022 season.
Potential Landing Spots: Detroit Lions, New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers, Seattle Seahawks, Washington Commanders
Myles Murphy, Edge
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Based on this mid-January perception of top prospects, the next four players are likely to lead the 2023 selections. Myles Murphy has a strong chance to hear his name called fifth.
B/R's scouting crew rates Murphy, a 6'5", 275-pound edge-rusher, as the third-best prospect.
In three seasons at Clemson, he collected 117 tackles with 36.5 for loss, including 17.5 sacks. PFF credited Murphy with 76 pressures over the last two years, as well.
If there's an early run on quarterbacks beyond the pair expected to go at the top, Murphy may slip slightly. The evaluations of Kentucky's Will Levis and Florida's Anthony Richardson will vary dramatically around the league, but—as the saying goes—it only takes one team.
Should that happen, however, an NFL team in need of a pass-rushing jolt should be sprinting to the podium for Murphy.
Potential Landing Spots: Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons, Detroit Lions, Houston Texans, Seattle Seahawks
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Jalen Carter, DL
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Need an interior defensive lineman? Jalen Carter is your guy.
Although he sat behind recent first-rounder Jordan Davis for two years, Carter had regular snaps and commanded respect in his backup role. He became the featured piece of Georgia's defense in 2022 and played his way to unanimous first-team All-America honors.
Perfect prospects do not exist, but Carter is about as much a slam-dunk top-five option as possible.
"There are a few technical flaws that he needs to clean up, most notably his hand placement on bull rushes and against the run, but most of his issues are easily fixable," B/R's NFL Scouting Department said.
Carter, the second-best player in our rankings, has the ability to establish himself as a cornerstone of an NFL defense.
Potential Landing Spots: Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons, Chicago Bears, Seattle Seahawks
Will Anderson Jr., Edge
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The presumptive top defensive player is Will Anderson Jr., a record-setting edge-rusher from Alabama.
During the 2021 campaign, he established the official NCAA mark at 33.5 tackles for loss. He followed that up with 17 TFLs in 2022, tallying a combined 27.5 sacks in those seasons. Anderson also contributed 10.5 tackles for loss (seven sacks) as a freshman.
In short: He's a menace in the backfield.
Anderson ideally would be a stand-up rusher at the next level, but there's no defensive scheme that he doesn't fit.
Barring a shocking change in draft attitudes, he's a strong candidate for every franchise with a top-five pick outside of the Indianapolis Colts. And it'd be stunning if he's not a top-three selection anyway.
Potential Landing Spots: Arizona Cardinals, Chicago Bears, Houston Texans, Seattle Seahawks
Bryce Young, QB
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On the opposite side of the ball from Anderson, the Crimson Tide leaned on quarterback Bryce Young.
Alabama celebrated an SEC title and finished as the national runner-up in 2021 when Young also secured the Heisman Trophy. He put together a strong 2022 season, ending his Alabama career with 8,356 yards and 80 touchdowns to just 12 interceptions.
Opinions will vary between him and Ohio State's C.J. Stroud—more on him shortly. B/R's NFL Scouting Department rates Young behind Stroud, for example, but it's not controversial to say that isn't a unanimous belief.
Young, regardless, will be a top first-rounder.
The major question is whether the Chicago Bears will take him first overall, trade the pick to another team to take Young or he simply goes behind Stroud. No matter the outcome in April, Young will soon be handed the keys to an NFL offense.
Potential Landing Spots: Carolina Panthers, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Las Vegas Raiders, Seattle Seahawks
C.J. Stroud, QB
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Considering the necessary value placed on quarterbacks and the NFL's number of QB-needy rosters, the race for No. 1 overall is strictly between Young and C.J. Stroud.
Based on B/R's rankings, Stroud would be the choice.
One common refrain about the Ohio State product will be that he struggles to create outside of the structure of a play. On schedule and in rhythm, however, Stroud is a highly efficient and accurate thrower.
Unlike the QB prospects behind him and Young, Stroud is a multiyear star talent, too. He threw for 3,600-plus yards and at least 41 touchdowns in both seasons as OSU's starter.
That production does not guarantee NFL success, but it certainly has solidified him as a franchise-caliber QB.
Potential Landing Spots: Carolina Panthers, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Las Vegas Raiders, Seattle Seahawks
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