What the world does not need is another NFL Mock Draft. I am doing an Alabama Football one anyway. In the endless NFL Draft cycle, which to me feels like it runs 13 months out of every year, I look at dozens and dozens of mocks. I could look at hundreds because I suspect thousands are available. What is titled my ‘Final’ Mock Draft is also my only one.
I only pay close attention to about three sources. A couple of them are not frequently mentioned as top draft experts. Over time, I have found them to be the least wrong and right enough to be credible. One reason so many mocks are not very accurate is Draft Day trades.
My projections are shaped by crimson-tinted glasses, but not enough to blind me. I want to agree with one trusted expert, Charlie Campbell, that Will Anderson Jr. will be picked at No. 2 by the Houston Texans. But as the list below shows, I cannot agree.
Of course, I agree with Campbell on Bryce Young being the overall No. 1 pick. Anyone who disagrees is delusional.
Among my 13 picks, only the Bryce one is in my opinion a lock. The rest are maybes, with a couple being slanted toward hopeful rather than practical. An important reminder is NFL teams draft on the basis of need, sometimes resulting in more highly rated players being chosen later.
Alabama has never had 13 players drafted in a single year. My mock has 13 being selected in the 2023 NFL Draft, setting a new team record.
Alabama Football 2023 NFL Mock Draft
- The no-brainer selection of Bryce Young as the No. 1 overall to the Carolina Panthers.
- Will Anderson Jr. – First Round, No. 3 to the Arizona Cardinals UPDATE: Via a trade, Houston is expected to pick at No. 2 and No. 3 and will take Anderson at one of the spots.
- Brian Branch – First Round, No. 13 to the Green Bay Packers. Branch might go later but he is a first-round lock.
- Jahmyr Gibbs – First Round, No. 28 to the Cincinnati Bengals. Gibbs might slide to early in the second round.
- Tyler Steen – Third Round, No. 99 to the San Francisco 49ers. Steen is almost impossible to predict. Mocks have him being drafted from the second to the sixth round.
- Emil Ekiyor Jr. – Fourth Round, No. 113 to the Atlanta Falcons
- Jordan Battle – Fourth Round, No. 127 to the Jacksonville Jaguars
- Eli Ricks – Fourth Round, No. 128 to the New York Giants. Ricks would have benefitted from another Alabama football season.
- Byron Young – Fifth Round, No. 146 to the New Orleans Saints. Young could go earlier or this could be a steal for the Saints.
- Henry To’oTo’o – Sixth Round, No. 184 to the New England Patriots
- Cam Latu – Seventh Round, No. 222 to the San Francisco 49ers. Latu is another hard pick to project. He might go as high as the middle of the fifth round.
- DJ Dale – Seventh Round, No. 230 to the Houston Texans
- DeMarcco Hellams – Seventh Round, No. 231 to the Las Vegas Raiders
The seventh-round guys might benefit more from UFA deals, leading them to teams with a clear need at their position.
That’s it, bring on the chaos, during which I join the hordes who get most picks wrong.