Welcome to Wednesday’s edition of the With the First Pick newsletter. Spring is in the air, the 2023 NFL Draft is two weeks away, and we were treated to a trade yesterday, seemingly out of nowhere. Man, life is good.
You probably know this by now, but in case you don’t — we’ve rebranded the Pick Six newsletter through the end of April. And I, CBS Sports NFL Draft analyst Chris Trapasso, will be with you every step of the way. This daily newsletter’s sole purpose is to track everything transpiring in the NFL and spin it into a draft angle.
Before I begin, here’s your daily reminder to tell all your buddies and that one uncle who’s always texting you mock draft links to sign up for the With the First Pick newsletter. Just click here and share this link with them.
Today’s NFL mock draft 🔮: Falcons trade back, pick Bijan
USATSI
Wednesdays are mock draft days for me, and I got a little saucy with one of my last mocks before the actual draft by featuring three first-round trades, one of which did not include a quarterback. Related to this: does anyone else feel like the Falcons are floating into no man’s land at No. 8 overall, especially given their needs?
If we are to truly believe they won’t go quarterback, and names like Will Anderson Jr. and Tyree Wilson aren’t available, they may be faced with a conundrum: pick Jalen Carter or trade back. In this mock, they do glide back — the Commanders move up for Anthony Richardson! — and are still able to pick Bijan Robinson to pair with Cordarrelle Patterson and Tyler Allgeier in the backfield. There’s probably not another coach in the league who’d be more smitten with three legitimate feature backs on the roster than Falcons head coach Arthur Smith.
Other notable prospect-team pairings in my mock:
1. Carolina Panthers – Bryce Young, QB, Alabama
2. Houston Texans – C.J. Stroud, QB, Ohio State
10. Philadelphia Eagles – Calijah Kancey, DT, Pittsburgh
17. Pittsburgh Steelers – Peter Skoronski, OT, Northwestern
19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Hendon Hooker, QB, Tennessee
23. Minnesota Vikings – Nolan Smith, EDGE, Georgia
29. New Orleans Saints – Zay Flowers, WR, Boston College
Grading the Lions-Falcons Jeff Okudah trade 🖊
The No. 3 overall pick in the 2020 draft was moved…
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