2023 Road to the Draft – Part 8

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March 9, 2023

By Noonefromtampa

The accusations against owner Dan Snyder keep coming and getting more strange. Don Van Natta Jr of ESPN wrote a lengthy article on what happened with the minority partners and Dan. Among the accusations detailed in the article and by others in subsequent days were:

  • Dan paid himself a $10 million a year salary, which is unusual for a owner
  • He routinely charged personal expenses as team-related expenses.
  • He leased his jets back to the team and charged the team for having the team logo on the jets
  • The team took out a $55 million line of credit without approval from the board of directors per the shareholder agreement.
  • The league brokered a buyout, when the minority partners pressured the league to sanction or remove Dan as owner for illegally obtaining the line of credit.

The only good from all this is that the leveraged buyout and the reduced income stream because of the negative publicity from the hostile work environment issues have left Dan in a position where he does not have the cashflow to payoff the loans used in the buyout, forcing him to sell the team.

Mock Draft Data

The number of mock drafts is up 11 this week to 179. 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 110 61.45% 61.31% 0.14%
OT 20 11.17% 8.93% 2.24%
QB 18 10.06% 10.71% -0.66%
IOL 9 5.03% 5.95% -0.92%
TE 6 3.35% 4.17% -0.81%
DL 6 3.35% 3.57% -0.22%
LB 6 3.35% 3.57% -0.22%
WR 2 1.12% 1.19% -0.07%
RB 2 1.12% 0.60% 0.52%
Edge 0 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
S 0 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Grand Total 179 100%  

The biggest uptick this week was offensive tackle up 2.24% There are still four people mocking running back or wide receiver to the Commanders, which is very improbable.

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 38 21.23%
Christian Gonzalez CB Oregon 19 10.61%
Devon Witherspoon CB Illinois 19 10.61%
Kelee Ringo CB Georgia 13 7.26%
Anthony Richardson QB Florida 13 7.26%
Cam Smith CB South Carolina 11 6.15%
Broderick Jones OT Georgia 10 5.59%
O’Cyrus Torrence IOL Florida 9 5.03%
Brian Branch CB Alabama 9 5.03%
Peter Skoronski OT Northwestern 5 2.79%
Will Levis QB Kentucky 5 2.79%
Michael Mayer TE Notre Dame 5 2.79%
Bryan Bresee DL Clemson 5 2.79%
Trenton Simpson LB Clemson 4 2.23%
Bijan Robinson RB Texas 2 1.12%
Drew Sanders LB Arkansas 2 1.12%
Paris Johnson Jr OT Ohio State 1 0.56%
Darnell Wright OT Tennessee 1 0.56%
Anton Harrison OT Oklahoma 1 0.56%
Jalin Hyatt WR Tennessee 1 0.56%
Deonta Banks CB Maryland 1 0.56%
Quentin Johnston WR TCU 1 0.56%
Cody Mauch OT North Dakota State 1 0.56%
Dawand Jones OT Ohio State 1 0.56%
Dalton Kincaid TE Utah 1 0.56%
Mike Morris DL Michigan 1 0.56%
Grand Total 179 100.00%

Broderick Jones jumps up almost one full percentage point this week, which helped drive the offensive tackle surge overall. Joey Porter Jr. remained the top pick for the Commanders. His measurables at the Combine were:

  • Height: 6’2.5″
  • Weight: 193 lbs
  • Arm: 34″
  • Hand: 10″
  • Official 40-yard time: 4.46 seconds
  • Official 10-yard split time: 1.5 second
  • Vertical Jump: 35″
  • Broad Jump: 10’9″

Porter’s numbers were not outstanding but will put him into the first round.

Mock Freshness

Age Age %
New 23.46%
1 Week Old 15.64%
2 Weeks Old 25.70%
3 Weeks Old 10.61%
4 Weeks Old 5.03%
5 Weeks Old 6.15%
6 Weeks Old 2.23%
7 Weeks Old 2.79%
8 Weeks Old 3.91%
9 Weeks Old 1.12%
10 Weeks Old 1.12%
11 Weeks Old 2.23%

Trades

There were four trades mocked this past week all for Washington to trade up for a quarterback. These mockers were probably influenced by the Eric Bieniemy hire and think the team will pursue a top-flight quarterback in the draft. My position is still that if the team is involved in a trade, it will most likely trade back for more picks in this deep draft.

Trade Details Trade Direction Trade Position Trade Team Player Taken
No details Up 10 PHI Anthony Richardson
LVR gets WSH 1st round, 2nd round and 2024 3rd round for #7 pick Up 7 LVR Anthony Richardson
WSH trades Nos. 16 and 98 to Houston for No. 12 Up 12 HOU Anthony Richardson
No details Up 6 DET Will Levis

High Visibility Mock Drafters

Below is a list of some of the more visible prognosticators who appear on various shows about the upcoming draft.

Site Author Player Position School
CBS Sports Chris Trapasso Kelee Ringo CB Georgia
CBS Sports Ryan Wilson Devon Witherspoon CB Illinois
ESPN Mel Kiper Broderick Jones OT Georgia
ESPN Todd McShay Devon Witherspoon CB Illinois
NFL Spin Zone Randy Gurzi Christian Gonzalez CB Oregon
NFL.com Daniel Jeremiah Joey Porter Jr CB Penn State
NFL.com Lance Zierlein O’Cyrus Torrence IOL Florida
Pro Football Focus Trevor Sikkema Joey Porter Jr CB Penn State
Pro Football Network Ian Cummings Brian Branch CB Alabama
San Diego Union Tribune Eddie Brown Anthony Richardson QB Florida
Sharp Football Analysis Ryan McCrystal Peter Skoronski OT Northwestern
Sporting News Vinne Iyer Cam Smith CB South Carolina
The Athletic Dane Brugler Cam Smith CB South Carolina
The Huddle Report Brian Johannes Joey Porter Jr CB Penn State
USA Today Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz Joey Porter Jr CB Penn State
Walter Football Walter Cherepinsky Brian Branch CB Alabama

 

Sources: nflmockdraftdatabase.com, grindingthemocks.com, nfldraftbuzz.com, overthcap.com, spotrac.com, pro-football-reference.com