Every year, we flock to our trusty mock draft machines and pretend to be our favorite team’s general manager. Most times, we come out thinking, Man, this is so easy! Why can’t [insert GM’s name here] do this in real life?
As it turns out, it’s not that easy! I found that out firsthand on February 26, when I had the opportunity to participate in Walk The Mock’s 2023 Draftnik Mock Draft as a late substitution for the great Cole Jackson. The rules were simple: 3 rounds, 2 minutes per pick, with trades of both picks and players permitted.
Just 1 hour away!
Our annual #MockDraft is almost here!@broshmo is our official live stream host. You can find the link here➡️https://t.co/mz5FSQ5BZw
Coverage there starts at 7:45pm est.
If any of our GMs are going live, feel free to post a link below. pic.twitter.com/cwMvClAE08
— WalkTheMock (@WalkTheMock) February 27, 2023
I joined the draft just 10 minutes before it was due to kick off, and my first order of business was to find a suitor for Lamar Jackson. That proved difficult for a reason that would recur throughout the draft: people wanted to use their picks! (Drafting is fun! Whoda’ thought?)
Without a blockbuster deal to get me in range of one of the draft’s top four quarterbacks, I turned my attention towards my upcoming 22nd overall pick. Trading up otherwise never crossed my mind. It’s just not worth it for any non-QB, especially with just two picks across the first three rounds. I entertained trading back with the Broncos for a package that included picks 3.4, 3.5, a 2024 first and a 2024 third – good value, but not the kind of deal I was looking for in this mock draft, especially with how the board looked at 22.
I considered the following players (listed in no particular order):
- Nolan Smith, EDGE, Georgia
- Bijan Robinson, RB, Texas
- Zay Flowers, WR, Boston College
- Kelee Ringo, CB, Georgia
- Deonte Banks, CB, Maryland
Ultimately, though, it was a no-brainer, with my WR1 and one of my personal favorite players in this draft just sitting there in Ohio State wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
Forget the Ravens’ need for a WR, and even the position’s massive value, for one second.
Smith-Njigba would still be my pick here as the clear best player available. He does his job – getting open and making catches – better than any other receiver in this draft class. His short area quickness, agility and balance are near-unguardable on their own, but he knows how to maximize those physical abilities, too. His preternatural understanding of leverage and angles makes him an absolute problem for opposing corners and a mismatch nightmare for any other defender. That athleticism and spatial awareness not only allow him to get open with ease, but create after the catch as well, even if he doesn’t have the breakaway burners of some of his contemporaries. He’s not going to be running away from the league’s more athletic corners, but they won’t be able to stick with him regardless.
I don’t think he’s restricted to the slot in the NFL, either, even if that’s where he’ll do the most damage right away. Sure, he mostly operated out of the slot in college, but that was with Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson and Marvin Harrison Jr. dominating snaps out wide. Does that mean that Smith-Njigba can’t line up out wide, or was Ohio State just putting their players in the best position to succeed? I’d argue the latter, especially given his lethal release package and ability to track balls and make plays along the sideline.
Speaking of those Ohio State receivers, Wilson (and many others) swear that JSN is better than both Wilson and Olave, who went 10 and 11 in the 2022 draft. That’s some pretty high praise from the reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year!
It's notable how many OSU people just say this as fact. Like there's no debate in their minds. And they've been saying it since last year. https://t.co/T2jcgzxcVt
— Ted Nguyen (@FB_FilmAnalysis) March 5, 2023
Remember when I said to forget about the Ravens’ WR need and the position’s relative value? Bring that back into the equation, and Smith-Njigba would be an absolute steal/home run at 22, and a concrete step towards properly revamping the Baltimore WR room. Add a big-body vet like D.J. Chark, plus a high-upside flier like Parris Campbell, and suddenly Lamar Jackson has a deep, versatile set of targets who can fill multiple roles and line up everywhere.
I’m just not sure that JSN even makes it to the Ravens at 22. I think teams could fall in love with his technical proficiency and football I.Q. in the pre-draft process and snap him up as the first or second receiver off the board – and in this league, just one WR going in the top-20 would surprise me.
Smith, Robinson, Flowers and Ringo were all taken in the next six picks, which, at the very least, made me feel more confident about my evaluation and selection process.
With plenty of time until my next pick – the 86th overall – I set about trying to add another selection or two by placing Chuck Clark, Calais Campbell, Devin Duvernay and Patrick Queen on the trade block. In truth, I have little interest in trading Campbell – I’d rather give him the Marshal Yanda treatment until he retires – but I entertained the idea nonetheless.
Only Clark garnered any significant trade interest, mostly from Buffalo. In fact, I almost dealt Clark earlier, packaging him and 1.22 to the Bills in exchange for 1.27 and 2.28 – garnering a exceptional mid-third round value for the veteran safety – but time constraints and my desire to secure Smith-Njigba kept the deal from coming together.
My trade fervor intensified as I watched Deonte Banks fall deep into the second round. (This was before his excellent combine that will likely cement him as a first-round pick). The Maryland product has the prototypical size that the Ravens tend to covet in their outside cornerback prospects with plenty of movement skills and the mirroring ability to match. He’s smooth in coverage and a solid tackler whose main drawback entering the NFL is a lack of refinement, both in his press-man technique and his ability to diagnose opposing route concepts. While he played almost exclusively on the outside in college, his lateral agility is impressive at his size and could offer some slot versatility, which is always valued in Baltimore.
I scrambled to trade up to keep the former Terp in Maryland, offering a combination of players and future picks, and almost got a deal done with Tampa Bay for 2.19. But they ended up keeping the pick…and selecting Banks with it. Oh, well.
From there, I didn’t have any interest in moving up from 3.23, as no player fell into a range that would have made it worth it to trade up.
My shortlist for the 86th overall pick included the following players:
- DJ Turner, CB, Michigan
- Kyu Blu Kelly, CB, Stanford
- Mike Morris, DL, Michigan
- Zach Evans, RB, Ole Miss/TCU
- Andrew Voorhees, OG, USC
- Bryon Young, EDGE, Tennessee
This was a much tougher decision, especially this early in the draft process. Had it been after the Combine, Bryon Young might have been the pick here.
Instead, I went with the safe choice in Turner, an experienced prospect who could contribute right away in Baltimore upon reuniting with Mike Macdonald. His blazing 40 time at the Combine only made me feel better in hindsight about him as a high-floor, plug-and-play corner. He doesn’t have elite size, but he found consistent success in college without it. That speaks not only to his movement skills, but his knowledge of how to deploy them effectively against a variety of routes. On a team with Marlon Humphrey and Kyle Hamilton, he’ll rarely be asked to match up with someone he can’t cover physically, and his speed will keep him in play against almost anyone in the NFL.
Blu Kelly, Morris, Voorhees and Young all went in the next several picks, but just like my shortlist for 1.22, one fell through the cracks: Zach Evans.
Even with Gus Edwards taking a pay cut to stay in Baltimore – a long-expected move – I’d still love to add a running back in this draft after losing Tyler Badie to the Broncos last year. Evans isn’t an especially toolsy back, but he runs with a physicality and violence that will always have a home in Baltimore. My main concern is his inexperience in the passing game, both as a blocker and a receiver, but he’s a high-floor runner with plenty of size and production that’s worth a late Day 2 pick.
I kept working on trading Chuck Clark to the Bills for 3.28, even offering to throw in a future Day 3 pick, but they had already drafted Brandon Joseph and wanted to use another pick. I continued to inquire about trades with other teams, but pretty much every team had their version of a Zach Evans who had fallen this far.
My haul ended up being just Jaxon Smith-Njigba at 1.22 and DJ Turner at 3.23, a somewhat boring and predictable duo but one with which I was very satisfied. I don’t think Turner will have to start in his rookie year, but I could see him contributing as the year goes on, especially as defensive backs pick up those week-to-week injuries that happen every year. And I think my love for JSN is clear.
While both of my picks fill arguably the Ravens’ two biggest needs, I still feel that Smith-Njigba and Turner were the best players available, or at least very close to it. The other thing they have in common is that they are Football Players. Their approach to the game is both instinctive and technically-sound and they play with purpose and intent to win. Baltimore loves those kinds of players; think first-rounders like Kyle Hamilton, Tyler Linderbaum and Day 2 picks like Brandon Stephens and J.K. Dobbins.
This would be an excellent foundation to a draft for the Ravens that would free them up to do whatever they want with their remaining Day 3 selections. A bit boring, sure, but I think The Castle would be celebrating on Friday night after these picks. I call it Occam’s Draft – sometimes, the simplest answer is the best one.
