NFL Mock Draft 2023: First-round picks plus opening selections for Broncos, 49ers and more

#25. Kansas City Chiefs – Anton Harrison, OT, Oklahoma (via NYG)

Oklahoma offensive tackle Anton Harrison

This brings us to our final trade of this mock draft. Looking at Joe Schoen’s first draft as GM of the Giants last year, he traded back in the second and fourth round, and I don’t see a player here that I’m convinced he feels that definitely won’t be available at 31.

So I have the reigning champs moving up six spots in exchange for the earlier of their two fourth-round picks (122nd overall), and securing the book-ends of their offensive line. Anton Harrison was part of another RPO-heavy offense at Oklahoma and probably replaces a former Sooner in Orlando Brown Jr. on the blindside, allowing them to keep recently-signed Jawaan Taylor on the right edge.

Harrison has that ability to create lateral displacement on B-gap defenders to allow those athletic interior guys to pull around, he shows light feet and has several impressive moments of recovering in pass-pro. Now it’ll be up learning how to play with a little more sink in his hips and how to re-fit his hands accordingly.

#26. Dallas Cowboys – Michael Mayer, TE, Notre Dame

Michael Mayer #87 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish jumps over Eavan Gibbons #11 of the Navy Midshipmen

I could have easily gone defensive line here. That’s an area the Cowboys are looking to invest early on nearly every year and they will be looking for a shade nose-tackle some time on day two for sure (considering that’s the most important piece to add if they want to compete for the NFC with the Eagles and 49ers).

However, I don’t see Jerry Jones and company passing up on a player at a position of need, from one of the big-time programs. Michael Mayer has been the best tight-end in the country not named Brock Bowers (who might be a top-ten pick next year out of Georgia) over the past two seasons.

He’s been losing some shine throughout this process, because he didn’t test particularly well and I don’t think has the explosive profile to be a big-time separator, but he has the frame and want to become a great blocker. Even if he doesn’t actually break free, he constantly comes up with catches through contact and becomes a locomotive with the ball in his hands.

They may be okay with Jake Ferguson replacing Dalton Schultz, but they ran a bunch of 12 personnel under their old OC because it was their most effective set.

#27. Minnesota Vikings – Jordan Addison, WR, USC (via BUF)

Jordan Addison #3 of the USC Trojans runs in for a touchdown against the Stanford Cardinal

After trading back four spots, I think the Vikings still get a player that could be very productive for them next to Justin Jefferson. Jordan Addison is held in high regards by people who really study and understand the wide receiver position, because right now he’s the best pure route-runner in this class.

His player profile changed a little bit, since he was more so looked at this multi-faceted weapon at Pitt, who they funneled touches towards. However, I think it’s actually encouraging to see him win without having that fabricated workload, but rather get open within the structure of your passing attack.

Running at 4.49 at just 173 pounds was rather underwhelming, but he gets up to that top speed quickly and doesn’t lose much of it, as he works in trigger-steps and head-nods to get defenders turned the wrong way. You combine that with a 49% career contested catch rate and I believe he can be an exceptional number two to JJ.

#28. Cincinnati Bengals – Adetomiwa Adebawore, EDGE/IDL, Northwestern

Defensive lineman Adetomiwa Adebawore of Northwestern participates in a drill during the NFL Combine

This group could be in the market for a right tackle, considering La’el Collins most likely won’t be available early in the year and the displeasure Jonah Williams has expressed with the franchise.

However, unless they feel like Ohio State’s Dawand Jones in combination with Orlando Brown Jr. now on the left side would widen the corners so much for edge rushers that it doesn’t matter that they aren’t the lightest of foot, that’s not a direction I see them going in this case. Instead, I have them looking at the defensive line and another player with inside-out versatility.

Adetomiwa Adebawore actually played a lot more six-technique strong-side defensive end in the Wildcats’ four-down front in 2021, before splitting time pretty evenly between that role and three-technique last year. He has the strength to stack and shed solo-blockers with 34-inch arms despite only being 6’2”, but his get-off and ability to corner his rushes has become so much better. Plus the quick-twitch and flexibility makes this guy a nightmare to take over on stunts, which DC Lou Anarumo loves to run.

I had Clemson’s Bryan Bresee here first and it’s sort of a toss-up, but considering Adebawore tested slightly better across the board than last year’s first overall pick Travon Walker, despite packing an extra ten pounds, I just don’t see him falling out of the first round.

#29. New Orleans Saints – Keion White, EDGE, Georgia Tech

Defensive lineman Keion White of Georgia Tech participates in a drill during the NFL Combine

Another fit I have really liked since I got to his tape in preparation for the Senior Bowl is Keion White going to the Saints. A tight-end like Darnell Washington from Georgia could make a lot of sense here as well, but this guy fits the mold of what they’re typically looking for, in terms of an overside D-end with some flexibility to slide inside in passing situations.

White isn’t a perfect player at this point by any means, not showing the greatest recognition/awareness for run schemes, still needing to work on his hand-placement and rushing the passer with more of a plan.

With that being said, the speed this young man moves at for being around 280 pounds, the flexibility and balance to get banged around and somehow work around blockers and the flashes he had at Georgia Tech are pretty crazy. He’ll already turn 25 in January, but he's only played in 16 games over the last three years.

Since New Orleans lost David Onyemata and Marcus Davenport in free agency, while their first-round pick at D-end from a couple of years ago in Payton Turner has only combined for just over 300 snaps so far, I think they’re ready to go after that position again.

#30. Philadelphia Eagles – Will McDonald IV, EDGE, Iowa State

Running back Justin Johnson Jr. #26 of the West Virginia Mountaineers is tackled by defensive end Will McDonald IV #9 of the Iowa State Cyclones

We’ll continue our run on defensive linemen here with the Eagles making their own first-round selection and a player that may remind some people of the guy they signed to a big contract a year ago in Haason Reddick.

Will McDonald played out of position for the majority of his career with the Cyclones, heavily lining up at 4i- and five-technique. He wasn’t allowed to attack up the field a whole lot and you saw some bad moments of getting move around on double-teams and angular blocks in the run game. However, the fact that he was still able to rack up 127 pressures across 862 pass-rush snaps in his career is pretty remarkable.

Considering Derek Barnett and Brandon Graham are in the final years of their contracts and Josh Sweat has just one more after that left on his deal, I think this is a smart move looking ahead to how they’ll need to navigate around the newly-signed Jalen Hurts mega-contract, whilst McDonald fills out his frame.

#31 New York Giants – John Michael Schmitz, IOL, Minnesota (via KC)

John Michael Schmitz #60 of the Minnesota Golden Gophers lines up against the Miami (Oh) Redhawks

With the final selection of this first round, I have the Giants going back to the well and continuing to fill out the offensive line. With hopes of last year’s seventh overall pick Evan Neal having a similar transformation as Andrew Thomas on the opposite end of the line and some options between veterans and young guys at guard, they probably feel pretty good about that unit. However, they don’t have a single trained center on the roster right now.

Even though I really like Wisconsin’s Joe Tippman as more of an athletic alternative, John Michael Schmitz is the best guy available in this draft. His ability to latch his hands and keep riding defenders down the line in the zone run game, the power to dig A-gap defenders off their landmarks on combos and how he typically doesn’t let interior rushers go anymore once he gets his paws inside their chest, makes him a plug-and-play starter for the G-Men.

#32. Pittsburgh Steelers – Bryan Bresee, IDL, Clemson

Defensive lineman Bryan Bresee of Clemson participates in a drill during the NFL Combine

Since I mentioned him a couple of paragraphs ago and didn’t want to leave him out, give me Bryan Bresee going to Pittsburgh at pick 32. Pittsburgh did just re-sign Larry Ogunjobi and drafted DeMarvin Leal in the third round last year, but beyond that, they look rather thin on the D-line (and Cam Heyward turns 34 years old a couple of days from now).

Bresee can play that five-technique role Stephon Tuitt filled so brilliantly for many years, with the length to two-gap, but has also become so much better at reducing his surface area and creating negative plays in the run game.

He lined up anywhere from one- all the way out to six-technique for Clemson. He’ll probably be moved around a lot on passing downs and be asked to set up games with his natural force to create softer angles for his fellow rushers.

While he didn’t quite live up to the status of a former number one overall recruit, seeing him test as well as he did at the combine and now finally being in a mental and physical state necessary to excel, there’s reason to believe his best days are certainly ahead of him. He feels very much like a Steeler.

Deserving first round mentions

Quentin Johnston, WR, TCU

I couldn’t quite sneak him in. Obviously Johnston is an incredible talent in terms of long speed, change-of-direction for that size and what he can do after the catch, but I’m concerned with how little success he’s had at utilizing that size and winning in contested situations (as well as his hands altogether). I think he may go at pick 33 to the nearby Texans as a weapon for their new QB.

O’Cyrus Torrence, IOL, Florida

My top-ranked guard in this year’s class. I was really going back and forth between Will McDonald and him as the pick for Philly at 30 (who just lost Isaac Seumalo in free agency and Torrence is a guy that could remind them of Brandon Brooks, which is who I saw when watching his tape, as a bruising people-mover in the run game and a wall to get around in protection).

Cam Smith, CB, South Carolina

Cam Smith would’ve been my next-highest ranked corner. The Vikings and Bengals were considerations, as well as potentially the Eagles if they hadn’t gone corner at tenth overall. There are some worries about not having the high-end athletic traits and a tendency of getting grabby because of that.

To me, Smith is a play-maker at the position, capable of riding receivers into the boundary and shutting down runs to the edge, but some teams may see him playing more inside or even as a safety.

Hendon Hooker, QB, Tennessee

There was some buzz around Hooker going in the first round. That has cooled off to some degree, but he seems to be the clear QB5 for many teams. I won’t rule out somebody like the Seahawks or Titans trading back up into the late first for him.

With how little what he did at Tennessee translates to the NFL, the instincts to become a runner rather than play-extender to potentially counterbalance that to some degree as he learns early on, him already being 25 years old and coming off the torn ACL – I just couldn’t do it.