2023 Road to the Draft – Part 7
February 28, 2023
By Noonefromtampa
The rumors about the sale are abundant now. The three major ones being reported are:
- The bids are around $5.5 billion dollars
- There are two major groups making bids
- Dan Snyder has refused to accept a bid from Jeff Bezos
This is leading to speculation that Mr. Snyder may back out of the sale process as the bids do not meet his $7 billion expectation. I don’t think that will be allowed to happen as the media will go full court press on the NFL and its “bad” owner.
The team now has an offensive coordinator in Eric Bieniemy, formerly of the Kansas City Chiefs.
Let’s Talk NFL Combine
The NFL Combine runs Sunday, February 26th through Monday, March 6th. The order of the groups is:
- Defensive linemen and linebackers [on-field workouts March 2nd]
- Defensive backs, placekickers, and punters [on-field workouts March 3rd]
- Quarterbacks, wide receivers, and tight ends [on-field workouts March 4th]
- Offensive linemen and running backs [on-field workouts March 5th]
As usual, the NFL Network will carry daily shows on the combine, so check your local schedules for details.
Mock Draft Data
The number of mock drafts is up 18 this week to 168. The Commanders will have the 16th overall pick in the first round. The position picked by descending frequency is:
| Position | Picked Count | Picked % | Last Week % | % Change |
| CB | 103 | 61.31% | 65.33% | -4.02% |
| QB | 18 | 10.71% | 11.33% | -0.62% |
| OT | 15 | 8.93% | 8.00% | 0.93% |
| IOL | 10 | 5.95% | 2.67% | 3.29% |
| TE | 7 | 4.17% | 3.33% | 0.83% |
| DL | 6 | 3.57% | 3.33% | 0.24% |
| LB | 6 | 3.57% | 4.00% | -0.43% |
| WR | 2 | 1.19% | 1.33% | -0.14% |
| RB | 1 | 0.60% | 0.67% | -0.07% |
| Edge | 0 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| S | 0 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Grand Total | 168 | 100% |
Cornerback is down some this week as offensive line and tight end gain some in the standings. That is possibly a side effect of the offensive coordinator hire this past week.
The players mock picked to the Commanders at the 16th pick are, in descending frequency:
| Player | Position | School | Picked Count | Picked % |
| Joey Porter Jr | CB | Penn State | 33 | 19.64% |
| Christian Gonzalez | CB | Oregon | 19 | 11.31% |
| Devon Witherspoon | CB | Illinois | 19 | 11.31% |
| Anthony Richardson | QB | Florida | 15 | 8.93% |
| Kelee Ringo | CB | Georgia | 13 | 7.74% |
| Cam Smith | CB | South Carolina | 11 | 6.55% |
| O’Cyrus Torrence | IOL | Florida | 9 | 5.36% |
| Broderick Jones | OT | Georgia | 8 | 4.76% |
| Brian Branch | CB | Alabama | 6 | 3.57% |
| Michael Mayer | TE | Notre Dame | 6 | 3.57% |
| Bryan Bresee | DL | Clemson | 5 | 2.98% |
| Trenton Simpson | LB | Clemson | 4 | 2.38% |
| Peter Skoronski | OT | Northwestern | 4 | 2.38% |
| Will Levis | QB | Kentucky | 2 | 1.19% |
| Drew Sanders | LB | Arkansas | 2 | 1.19% |
| Jalin Hyatt | WR | Tennessee | 1 | 0.60% |
| Deonta Banks | CB | Maryland | 1 | 0.60% |
| Anton Harrison | OT | Oklahoma | 1 | 0.60% |
| Bijan Robinson | RB | Texas | 1 | 0.60% |
| John Michael Schmitz | IOL | Minnesota | 1 | 0.60% |
| Quentin Johnston | WR | TCU | 1 | 0.60% |
| Cody Mauch | OT | North Dakota State | 1 | 0.60% |
| Lamar Jackson | QB | Baltimore | 1 | 0.60% |
| Tyrique Stevenson | CB | Miami | 1 | 0.60% |
| Dalton Kincaid | TE | Utah | 1 | 0.60% |
| Mike Morris | DL | Michigan | 1 | 0.60% |
| Darnell Wright | OT | Tennessee | 1 | 0.60% |
| Grand Total | 168 | 100.00% |
Some interesting names show up new this week, such as Cody Mauch and Tyrique Stevenson. When you look at the projections for these players, they predominantly have second-round grades. Drafting either one would be a major stretch unless they have some incredible results at the combine. Lamar Jackson will be discussed in the trade section below.
Mock Freshness
| Age | Age % |
| New | 26.19% |
| 1 Week Old | 27.98% |
| 2 Weeks Old | 11.31% |
| 3 Weeks Old | 8.93% |
| 4 Weeks Old | 8.33% |
| 5 Weeks Old | 4.17% |
| 6 Weeks Old | 3.57% |
| 7 Weeks Old | 3.57% |
| 8 Weeks Old | 2.38% |
| 9 Weeks Old | 0.60% |
| 10 Weeks Old | 2.98% |
| Grand Total | 100.00% |
Trades
The new trade mocked this week is a blockbuster deal for Lamar Jackson with Baltimore getting Washington’s 1st round, 2nd round and 3rd round picks this year (No. 1, 48 and 98 overall), plus a 2024 first-round pick, and a 2025 second-round selection. This is another trade I do not see happening. This team is not just a quarterback away from a Super Bowl; it needs the steady influx of talent those current and future draft picks bring in.
Sources: nflmockdraftdatabase.com, grindingthemocks.com, nfldraftbuzz.com, overthcap.com, spotrac.com, pro-football-reference.com
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