2023 Road to the Draft – Part 1

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January 20, 2023

By Noonefromtampa

Welcome to the 2023 edition of Road to the Draft. Last season we eagerly awaited the new team nickname and this year we eagerly await to see if a new owner is going to take over the franchise. Yes, Virginia, it’s the offseason, the time where Washington fans eternally (well at least for 25 years or so) dream of better days and better teams.

This weekly column focuses on the draft and the players mocked to Washington in various mock drafts published on the Internet.

If you want to have some fun making up your own mock drafts, check out these sites:

Upcoming Free Agents

The partial list of Commanders free agents are: Jonathan Bostic, Milo Eifler, Taylor Heinicke, Cole Holcomb, Khaleke Hudson, Tyler Larsen, Nick Martin, David Mayo, Efe Obada, Daron Payne, Jeremy Reaves, Wes Schweitzer, Cam Sims, Joey Slye, Trai Turner, Rachad Wildgoose, Jonathan Williams, and Eli Wolf.

The front office has some key decisions to make on players like Heinicke, Holcomb, Payne and Slye.

Needs

The major obvious need is a quarterback, followed by offensive line and the defensive secondary.

Early Data

So far, 69 mock drafts have been published since the end of the regular NFL season. Wwe ended up tracking 300 different mocks last year. Washington will have the 16th overall pick in the first round this year.  The position picked for Washington in the existing mock drafts by descending frequency is:

Position Pick Count Pick %
CB 42 60.87%
OT 5 7.25%
LB 5 7.25%
QB 5 7.25%
TE 4 5.80%
DL 3 4.35%
IOL 3 4.35%
S 1 1.45%
WR 1 1.45%
Grand Total 69 100.00%

The players mock picked to Washington at the 16th pick are in descending frequency:

Player Position School Picked Count Picked %
Cam Smith CB South Carolina 11 15.94%
Christian Gonzalez CB Oregon 10 14.49%
Kelee Ringo CB Georgia 7 10.14%
Joey Porter Jr CB Penn State 5 7.25%
Anthony Richardson QB Florida 4 5.80%
Devon Witherspoon CB Illinois 4 5.80%
O’Cyrus Torrence IOL Florida 3 4.35%
Paris Johnson Jr OT Ohio State 3 4.35%
Brian Branch CB Alabama 3 4.35%
Bryan Bresee DL Clemson 2 2.90%
Michael Mayer TE Notre Dame 2 2.90%
Noah Sewell LB Oregon 2 2.90%
Darnell Washington TE Georgia 2 2.90%
Clark Phillips III CB Utah 2 2.90%
Trenton Simpson LB Clemson 2 2.90%
Anton Harris OT Oklahoma 1 1.45%
Jalin Hyatt WR Tennessee 1 1.45%
Darnell Wright OT Tennessee 1 1.45%
Antonio Johnson S Texas A&M 1 1.45%
Nolan Smith LB Georgia 1 1.45%
Mike Morris DL Michigan 1 1.45%
Will Levis QB Kentucky 1 1.45%
Grand Total 69 100.00%

The early trend of the mock draft season is that Washington is going to take a cornerback with its first pick in the draft. There are several good cornerbacks available in the range where the Commanders are picking. A few brief notes on the cornerbacks listed at the top of draft list:

  • Cam Smith is 6’0” and 188 pounds. A two-year starter who played in 32 games.
  • Christian Gonzalez is 6’2” and 201 pounds. A three-year starter, two with Oregon and one with Colorado. He has played in 30 games.
  • Kelee Ringo is 6’2” and 210 pounds. A two-year starter who has played in 28 games. Who can forget his 79-yard interception returned for a touchdown against Alabama in the championship game in 2021.
  • Joey Porter Jr. is 6’2” and 198 pounds, plus is the son of former NFL great linebacker Joey Porter. He is a multi-year starter and played in 35 games.

Like last year, this column will be published weekly in the run up to the NFL Draft which will be held April 27-29 in Kansas City, Missouri.

The Hog Sty will post reviews of available free agents and potential draft picks by position group over the course of the offseason.

Sources: nflmockdraftdatabase.com, grindingthemocks.com, nfldraftbuzz.com