While five teams are currently without a first-round selection in the 2023 NFL Draft, four teams have a great opportunity to add two high-quality talents on Day 1. CBSSports.com explores the teams that meet that criteria and rank them from biggest to smallest opportunity.
SportsLine’s R.J. White constructed an updated trade value chart and his figures will be factored into these rankings.
1. Texans: Nos. 2 and 12 overall
Houston’s picks in the first round have a total point value of 1108.97, which is by far the most value held by any of these four teams. The Texans should be able to get a franchise quarterback at No. 2 overall but there have been rumblings that they could bypass the position if Alabama’s Bryce Young is taken No. 1 overall. If that truly ends up being the case, then the franchise winning two of the last three games after losing nine straight could prove to be very costly. Value is not created equally. The opportunity to take a quarterback at No. 2 overall outweighs the value of taking any other position.
Houston also holds the No. 12 overall selection, which was a part of the Deshaun Watson trade. The 2023 draft class is relatively light on elite talent but first-year head coach DeMeco Ryans should be getting an important building block with that selection. One problem that teams in the latter half of the first round will encounter is prospect value. The ceiling of this class drops off beyond those top 12-ish prospects.
2. Seahawks: Nos. 5 and 20 overall
The gap between Nos. 2 and 3 on this list is much narrower than any other gap. Those two picks amount to 751.60 points. There is an indistinguishable difference between Seattle and Detroit’s second first-round selections. The quality of player available in that range is very comparable. The reason that the Seahawks have an edge on this list is because they have the higher selection in the first round.
Similar to Houston, Seattle could theoretically be in a position to take a quarterback at No. 5 overall. They are in a better position to do so than the Lions. If quarterbacks are taken with the first four selections, then the franchise would also be afforded the opportunity to take the first non-quarterback. There is no guarantee that the player selected ends up being better than those chosen after him but scouting departments are paid a lot of money, so decision-makers should feel confident in their…
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