With 50 days until the 2023 NFL Draft, here’s 50 facts giving you a comprehensive look at the major storylines for April’s event. I’ve got you covered from the top prospects, quarterbacks, team needs, college and positional trends, even some draft history and anniversaries sprinkled in. Enjoy!
Facts are from myself and CBS sports researcher Ryan Satsky.
1) The 88th annual NFL Draft will be located in Kansas City, Missouri, from April 27-29, home to the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.
2) The Bears have the first overall pick for the first time since 1947 with a big decision to make. Draft a quarterback and trade Justin Fields or trade the pick for assets to build around Fields. They have a lot of needs to address, starting on defense. They had the worst scoring defense in the NFL last season for the first time since 1945.
3) The likely scenario is that Chicago trades the pick. The top pick has been traded 12 times in the common draft era (since 1967), most recently when the Rams traded up with the Titans for Jared Goff. Seven of those 12 picks made a Super Bowl with their debut team.
4) One team that could move up is the Colts, who have the fourth overall pick and are looking for stability at QB. The Colts are headed toward a seventh straight season with a different starting QB in Week 1. It is also the 25-year anniversary of the Colts selecting QB Peyton Manning first overall, ahead of Ryan Leaf. Perhaps lightning can strike again.
5) Alabama QB Bryce Young is the favorite to be the first pick at Caesars Sportsbook (-170), thanks to a career at Alabama that included winning the Heisman Trophy in 2021. There’s a lot to like about Young, including his 79 touchdown passes in the last two seasons, the most in a two-season span in SEC history.
6) The one long-term concern is his size. Young measured at 5-foot-10 and 204 pounds at the 2023 NFL Combine. Kyler Murray, who is recovering from a torn ACL, is the only QB under 6 feet drafted in the first round in the common draft era.
7) If that scares a team from making Young the top pick, Florida QB Anthony Richardson has the type of dual-threat upside scouts dream of. He broke QB records for the vertical jump and broad jump at the combine, while running a 4.43 40-yard dash at 244 pounds.
8) Richardson has a huge advantage in terms of measurables against Young, but Young has a significant edge in…
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