Mapping out the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft:

andCommanders and Steelers coaches Ron Rivera and Mike Tomlin

The odd 16-to-19 range:

16th – Washington Commanders, 17th – Pittsburgh Steelers, 18th – Detroit Lions and 19th – Tampa Bay Buccaneers

I don’t want to call the franchises in this area odd, but a couple of teams here have very uncertain quarterback situations. The Commanders are supposedly rolling with Sam Howell after only starting the final game of his rookie season.

Meahwhile, the Bucs’ only guy on the roster currently is a late third-rounder from a couple of years ago in Kyle Trask, who they haven’t really shown an eagerness to get on the field at all. They currently have the least effective cap space available, but I wouldn’t be shocked if GM Jason Licht decided to go all in for a Tom Brady replacement with one of these veterans, in order to squeeze out what they have remaining on that roster.

The Steelers haven’t shied away from targeting lesser-valued positions by the modern standard early in recent drafts, such as running back, linebacker and maybe to a lesser degree, safety.

For the Lions, I have been a big fan of what GM Brad Holmes and company have put together in recent drafts, heavily investing in the trenches along with a big trade up for speedster wide receiver Jameson Williams last year. For them, of course, a lot of what they do with their own first-round pick will depend on what they do at No. 6. Will they have taken a chance on a quarterback, gotten a potential blue-chip defensive player or did they maybe trade down?

Washington and Pittsburgh could be targeting the same player here, if one of the top three offensive tackles or corners falls to this range, or if there’s another name from those positions that is high on their respective boards.

The Lions, at No. 18, are in an interesting spot, because of what I already mentioned, and they could continue to boost the interior line on offense, with a beast like Florida’s O’Cyrus Torrence, or defensively with Clemson’s Bryan Bresee, whose mindset I think would be something coach Dan Campbell would buy into.

However, if they addressed the defense early on and don’t find a way to bring back Jamaal Williams, they may look at this as a luxury pick with Texas all-world running back Bijan Robinson. That’s a name that may at least on the radar for Tampa Bay, if the Bucs do push their chips into the middle with a QB.

But otherwise, I’d think a freakish version of Anthony Nelson (set to hit free agency) in another former Iowa edge defender like Lukas Van Ness, or a long, physical corner like South Carolina’s Cam Smith or Georgia’s Kelee Ringo, would be in the mold of what they usually look for.