2023 Road to the Draft – Part 10
March 21, 2023
By Noonefromtampa
Everyone seems to expecting a sale announcement at any moment prior to the start of the owner’s meeting on March 26 at The Biltmore in Phoenix, Arizona. Everyone who is still a fan hopes the new owner(s) provide better stewardship of a storied NFL franchise better than the prior owner.
Tweet Alex for complementary tickets to the parade. Is it too early for April’s Fool jokes?
Let’s Talk Draft Night Fun
We haven’t done a mock draft contest for a couple of years, but if there is sufficient interest, I will set it up and it will make things more interesting on draft night.
Mock Draft Data
The number of mock drafts is up 14 this week to 213. 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 | 122 | 57.28% | 59.30% | -2.02% |
| OT | 31 | 14.55% | 13.07% | 1.49% |
| QB | 18 | 8.45% | 8.04% | 0.41% |
| IOL | 16 | 7.51% | 7.04% | 0.48% |
| TE | 9 | 4.23% | 3.52% | 0.71% |
| DL | 8 | 3.76% | 4.02% | -0.26% |
| LB | 7 | 3.29% | 4.02% | -0.73% |
| WR | 1 | 0.47% | 0.50% | -0.03% |
| RB | 1 | 0.47% | 0.50% | -0.03% |
| Edge | 0 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| S | 0 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Grand Total | 213 | 100% |
The big gainers this week were offensive tackle up 1.89% and interior offensive line up 0.48%. The largest decrease this week was cornerback down 2.02%. Quarterback bounced back a little this week up 0.41%. Tight end and linebacker increased and decreased almost the same amount respectively.
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 | 17.84% |
| Devon Witherspoon | CB | Illinois | 29 | 13.62% |
| Christian Gonzalez | CB | Oregon | 21 | 9.86% |
| O’Cyrus Torrence | IOL | Florida | 15 | 7.04% |
| Broderick Jones | OT | Georgia | 11 | 5.16% |
| Kelee Ringo | CB | Georgia | 10 | 4.69% |
| Anthony Richardson | QB | Florida | 10 | 4.69% |
| Cam Smith | CB | South Carolina | 9 | 4.23% |
| Will Levis | QB | Kentucky | 8 | 3.76% |
| Brian Branch | CB | Alabama | 8 | 3.76% |
| Peter Skoronski | OT | Northwestern | 7 | 3.29% |
| Michael Mayer | TE | Notre Dame | 6 | 2.82% |
| Bryan Bresee | DL | Clemson | 6 | 2.82% |
| Darnell Wright | OT | Tennessee | 6 | 2.82% |
| Deonte Banks | CB | Maryland | 4 | 1.88% |
| Dawand Jones | OT | Ohio State | 3 | 1.41% |
| Emmanuel Forbes | CB | Mississippi State | 3 | 1.41% |
| Trenton Simpson | LB | Clemson | 3 | 1.41% |
| Paris Johnson Jr | OT | Ohio State | 3 | 1.41% |
| Dalton Kincaid | TE | Utah | 2 | 0.94% |
| Nolan Smith | LB | Georgia | 2 | 0.94% |
| Drew Sanders | LB | Arkansas | 2 | 0.94% |
| Jalin Hyatt | WR | Tennessee | 1 | 0.47% |
| John Michael Schmitz | IOL | Minnesota | 1 | 0.47% |
| Mike Morris | DL | Michigan | 1 | 0.47% |
| Calijah Kancry | DL | Pittsburgh | 1 | 0.47% |
| Anton Harrison | OT | Oklahoma | 1 | 0.47% |
| Darnell Washington | TE | Georgia | 1 | 0.47% |
| Bijan Robinson | RB | Texas | 1 | 0.47% |
| Grand Total | 213 | 100.00% |
Joey Porter Jr. still leads this list, but Devon Witherspoon closed the gap between him and Porter. Anthony Richardson dropped from 5th to 7th place on the list, while Will Levis rose 1.2%.
Mock Freshness
| Age | Age % |
| New | 27.70% |
| 1 Week Old | 18.31% |
| 2 Weeks Old | 10.80% |
| 3 Weeks Old | 8.92% |
| 4 Weeks Old | 11.27% |
| 5 Weeks Old | 6.57% |
| 6 Weeks Old | 2.35% |
| 7 Weeks Old | 4.69% |
| 8 Weeks Old | 0.94% |
| 9 Weeks Old | 1.88% |
| 10 Weeks Old | 3.29% |
| 11 Weeks Old | 0.94% |
| 13+Weeks Old | 2.35% |
| Grand Total | 100.00% |
Trades
There were three new trades mocked this past week, two to trade up for a quarterback and one to trade back for an offensive lineman. The trade of five Kansas City selections (a first, a second, a fourth and a sixth round picks) for two Washington selections (a first and a fifth round picks) is the most interesting. The Commanders at that point would have these picks in the 2023 draft: 31, 47, 63, 97, 118, 134, 193, 215, 217 and 233). Six picks in the top 135 selections would be a great haul for the team.
| Notes | Trade Direction | Trade Position | Trade Team | Player |
| No details | Up | 3 | AZ | Will Levis |
| No details | Up | 11 | TEN | Will Levis |
| KC sends Nos. 31, 63, 134, 217 and 2024 fourth to Washington for Nos. 16 and 150 | Down | 31 | KC | O’Cyrus Torrence |
Sources: nflmockdraftdatabase.com, grindingthemocks.com, nfldraftbuzz.com, overthcap.com, spotrac.com, pro-football-reference.com
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