2023 NFL Draft Week Rumors Wednesday
Updated April 26, 2023
By Charlie Campbell. Follow Charlie on Twitter
@draftcampbell.
Draft week is finally here! With the 2023 NFL Draft just one day away, here is some of the chatter that WalterFootball.com is hearing from team sources.
For a lot of the draft process, the consensus top-three cornerback prospects were Illinois’ Devon Witherspoon, Oregon’s Christian Gonzalez and Penn State’s Joey Porter Jr. However, there are teams that differ from that after finishing off their organizational draft meetings. Some franchises have Mississippi State cornerback Emmanuel Forbes as the third corner behind Witherspoon and Gonzalez. Witherspoon is cemented as the top corner with Gonzalez a lock behind him, but some teams feel Forbes is a better player than Porter. While Forbes is skinny, he is extremely fast and possesses phenomenal ball skills and excellent instincts. Some teams that need corner help will pass on Porter because he is viewed as a press-man only corner and not a good fit for teams that like to play zone or off-man coverage. Hence, don’t be shocked if Forbes goes ahead of Porter tomorrow night. Early in the 2023 NFL Draft process, a cornerback who was considered a candidate to go in Round 1, but has fallen significantly is Miami’s Tyrique Stevenson. Stevenson has good size, speed and athleticism, looked good as a press-man corner during his time with the Hurricanes. While Stevenson had problems in off-man coverage, there were evaluators who liked his potential for the NFL. Stevenson, however, has sigifnicat make-up concerns and multiple teams have dropped him off their board. They say there are serious problems with his football character as well. Hence, Stevenson could be a surprise slider. Sources say the Buffalo Bills could attack their offensive line and defensive line in the early rounds of the 2023 NFL Draft. Buffalo feels it needs to get bigger and stronger up front on both sides of the ball. Hence in the first round, the team could give consideration to players like Florida guard O’Cyrus Torrence and Oklahoma’s Anton Harrison. Tennessee right tackle Darnell Wright probably won’t get close to the pick, but the Bills would love it if he was an option at No. 27.
Some large defensive linemen who could interest Buffalo in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft could include Michigan’s Mazi Smith and Clemson’s Bryan Bresee. Sources say that Pittsburgh’s Calijah Kancey is not a fit because he is too similar to Ed Oliver as an undersized fast defender.
If the Bills were to take an offensive lineman on Thursday night, they could look to the defensive line on Day 2. Smith might slide, and other options for Buffalo could include Florida defensive tackle Gervon Dexter and Baylor’s Siaki Ika.
Wide receiver is a dark-horse for Buffalo in the early rounds as well, but sources say the organization would like to come out of the 2023 NFL Draft with bigger, tougher linemen on both sides of the ball. The consensus has been to project the Washington Commanders to take a cornerback in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft, which is definitely a strong possibility. Washington loves Illinois’ Devon Witherspoon, but knows he will be long gone. Oregon’s Christian Gonzalez could also be gone by pick No. 16, but if he makes it there, the Commanders could easily end the fall. Sources say that Washington likes Mississippi State’s Emmanuel Forbes more than Joey Porter Jr. Forbes is a candidate at for the Commanders with the 16th pick of the 2023 NFL Draft.
Another route Washington might go, according to sources, is offensive tackle. The Commanders are hoping that a quality tackle slides to them, so they have that option to consider as well. Northwestern’s Peter Skoronski, Tennessee’s Darnell Wright and Georgia’s Broderick Jones could all be off the board by No. 16, but if one of them slides, the Commanders might end that fall.
