Biggest winners from the 2023 NFL Draft

Denver Broncos v Seattle Seahawks

Geno Smith

In terms of a veteran quarterback who didn’t just earn a massive contract to secure himself as the face of a franchise like Lamar Jackson, nobody probably had a better weekend than Geno Smith.

First, the Seahawks were in prime territory for one of the top QBs in the draft at fifth overall – which I wouldn’t expect them to get another chance like this anytime soon, because the roster is too good at this point – but instead, they selected Illinois cornerback Devon Witherspoon.

Then, at 20th overall, Kentucky’s Will Levis, who most teams had as QB4 on their boards, was still available, yet instead they picked Ohio State wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba – a perfect fit for them in the slot to tie their room of pass-catchers together.

Seattle still had a chance to trade back into the late first round or even up to one of the top two picks on Day 2 for Levis. Instead, they let the Titans pick him 33rd overall. After some people connected them to Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker, they passed on him as well with both of their second-round picks, in favor of Auburn edge rusher Derick Hall (37th overall) and the consensus number three running back Zach Charbonnet from UCLA (52nd), to give them one of the most formidable backfield duos along with another second-rounder Kenneth Walker.

On Day 3, the Hawks got two more interior O-linemen with starter qualities in LSU’s Anthony Bradford (108th) and Michigan’s Olu Ouwatimi (153rd), along with another RB in the seventh round, with Kenny McIntosh (237th) as a replacement for Travis Homer as a designated third-down back.

So instead of potentially taking advantage of the increased draft capital they possessed to invest into a future signal-caller to eventually replace Geno, they got him an uber-reliable slot receiver who does a great job of being friendly to the quarterback with his angles out of breaks.

They added some bodies to an interior O-line that was a bit concerning and they filled out that backfield with two guys that can help out in the passing game as well, when you look at Charbonnet’s work in the screen game and making guys miss in the flats off dump-offs, while McIntosh can be a legit extra receiver, who can flex out wide and go vertical.

This offense has a chance to be really explosive and without any competition added, Geno is going to pull the trigger for them the next couple of years at least.