NFL Draft 2023 winners, losers from Day 3: Howie Roseman has Georgia on his mind; Patriots moves not special

Howie Roseman was at it again on Day 3, adding a couple more Georgia Bulldogs to his roster and acquiring picks in future years. First, Roseman traded up to No. 105 to draft Georgia cornerback Kelee Ringo, adding to his haul of Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith from Day 1. Then, Roseman sent the No. 219 pick and a 2024 fourth-rounder to the Detroit Lions for No. 249 and running back D’Andre Swift, adding another explosive playmaker for his offense. Roseman then turned two seventh-round picks into a sixth-rounder, then spun that sixth off to the Buccaneers for a 2024 fifth-round pick. Not bad for a (third) day’s work. 

We can all acknowledge that special teams are important. But no matter what your high school coach tells you, they are not actually one-third of the game and just as important as offense and defense. Just don’t tell the Patriots, who traded up for a kicker, then used a later selection on a punter. In so doing, they became the first team since the 2000 Oakland Raiders to select a kicker and punter in the same draft. It worked out fairly well for the Raiders because they landed Sebastian Janikowski and Shane Lechler. The odds are against it working out nearly that well for the Pats, considering the league’s track record of identifying good players in the kicking game, and the relative year-to-year inconsistency for kickers in particular. 

The Bears did pretty well for themselves on the first couple days of the draft, but I really like what they did on Day 3. First of all, they moved down from No. 103 and added an extra selection, which for a team with so many holes on the roster is quite important. And with one of those picks they landed in that deal, the Bears selected Texas running back Roschon Johnson, who should form a very nice tandem with Khalil Herbert and help lighten the rushing load for Justin Fields. Chicago…