2023 Draft: Things I got right/Things I got wrong

CalPolyTechnique

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Now that the 2023 Draft is over, I thought it would be interesting to review and look back at some of my pre-draft hunches to see how they actually played out. Keep in mind, my list doesn't speak to whether I believe the noted player will be a bust or star, but rather where I thought they'd be slotted with the other prospects in the draft.

Things I Got Right
  • I posted about Joey Porter being a bit overrated heading into the draft. I felt the delta between he and Gonzalez (in my opinion the best CB prospect) was big. I thought/think Porter is a raw prospect that struggles with clean technique and ball skills. Porter ended up dropping to the top of R2.
  • There was early talk of Siaki Ika being a potential late first rounder. I never believed it. Ika ended up being taken 98th overall in R3.
  • I always felt the Cowboys were interested in adding a TE with some juice. If you're to believe Todd Archer's report, the Cowboys had Sam LaPorta and Dalton Kincaid ranked #1 and #2 respectively on their board, which I believe supports my contention.
  • I felt folks were way too high on Roschon Johnson around here, with some even thinking he could go as early as the 2nd round. I said he was a Day 3 prospect. Johnson was taken 115th overall in R4.
  • I did not see Darnell Washington as a 1st round prospect. Some believed he was the top TE available. He ended up being selected in R3 with seven other TEs taken in front of him.
  • Said all pre-Draft that Steve Avila > O'Cyrus Torrence. Avila was the first IOL taken off the board and Torrence was the fourth.

Things I Got Wrong
  • Did not believe Mazi Smith was going to go in R1. Low and behold the Cowboys end up taking him in the first round.
  • Felt there was a good chance Calijah Kancey wouldn't go in R1, let alone #19 overall.
  • Wasn't surprised Drew Sanders didn't get selected in R1, but didn't envision him dropping to R3.

List yours....
 

BossRhino

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I wanted Dallas to draft RB Kendre Miller (as I feel he has the skill-set and build to become an all-pro in the NFL), but I knew it was wishful thinking he'd be available at pick #90 in Round 3 for the Cowboys. New Orleans takes him at pick #71 in Round 3.
 

CalPolyTechnique

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I wanted Dallas to draft RB Kendre Miller (as I feel he has the skill-set and build to become an all-pro in the NFL), but I knew it was wishful thinking he'd be available at pick #90 in Round 3 for the Cowboys. New Orleans takes him at pick #71 in Round 3.
Miller was my top realistic target for RB, but I thought he’d be available to us in R3.
 

DanA

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Probably the big whiff I made was buying the hype on Washington. I had a discussion debating taking him at pick 39 and I felt it was justified, clearly wrong as he went late 3rd.

The other one was in my mock I took Noah Sewell 3rd round and he went 5th. I think I’ve got a blind spot for guys that don’t play well but flash traits.

I think I identified our needs pretty well and the order they would be addressed. I was not at all surprised to see us take a 1-tech, TE, LB, 3T, OT/OG, RB and WR. The one that caught me off guard was CB as that room is pretty stacked and I was expecting short-yardage back rather than Deuce.

At CB with Diggs, Gilmore, Bland, Lewis, Scott, Joseph, Wilson, Goodwin (and then Mukuamu has flex) it’s a pretty crowded room. Nine names that could be cut back to six (5 CB’s and an additional gunner/DB)
 

darthseinfeld

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Now that the 2023 Draft is over, I thought it would be interesting to review and look back at some of my pre-draft hunches to see how they actually played out. Keep in mind, my list doesn't speak to whether I believe the noted player will be a bust or star, but rather where I thought they'd be slotted with the other prospects in the draft.

Things I Got Right
  • I posted about Joey Porter being a bit overrated heading into the draft. I felt the delta between he and Gonzalez (in my opinion the best CB prospect) was big. I thought/think Porter is a raw prospect that struggles with clean technique and ball skills. Porter ended up dropping to the top of R2.
  • There was early talk of Siaki Ika being a potential late first rounder. I never believed it. Ika ended up being taken 98th overall in R3.
  • I always felt the Cowboys were interested in adding a TE with some juice. If you're to believe Todd Archer's report, the Cowboys had Sam LaPorta and Dalton Kincaid ranked #1 and #2 respectively on their board, which I believe supports my contention.
  • I felt folks were way too high on Roschon Johnson around here, with some even thinking he could go as early as the 2nd round. I said he was a Day 3 prospect. Johnson was taken 115th overall in R4.
  • I did not see Darnell Washington as a 1st round prospect. Some believed he was the top TE available. He ended up being selected in R3 with seven other TEs taken in front of him.
  • Said all pre-Draft that Steve Avila > O'Cyrus Torrence. Avila was the first IOL taken off the board and Torrence was the fourth.

Things I Got Wrong
  • Did not believe Mazi Smith was going to go in R1. Low and behold the Cowboys end up taking him in the first round.
  • Felt there was a good chance Calijah Kancey wouldn't go in R1, let alone #19 overall.
  • Wasn't surprised Drew Sanders didn't get selected in R1, but didn't envision him dropping to R3.

List yours....
I thought my bullseyes were
-All the round 1 WR's going before our pick
- Levis falling
- Mingo most likely being gone before our round 2 pick

Those were all pretty easy though

My misses (just some)
-Like you I didnt think Mazi would go first. I actually mocked him to us in the 2nd
- 1 TE in the first. I thought there would be at least 3, maybe 4
- I was wrong about Porter, I didn't think he would even last to our pick
-Was sure Nolan Smith would go top 15
- Thought Stroud would drop almost as much as Levis
 

xwalker

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Now that the 2023 Draft is over, I thought it would be interesting to review and look back at some of my pre-draft hunches to see how they actually played out. Keep in mind, my list doesn't speak to whether I believe the noted player will be a bust or star, but rather where I thought they'd be slotted with the other prospects in the draft.

Things I Got Right
  • I posted about Joey Porter being a bit overrated heading into the draft. I felt the delta between he and Gonzalez (in my opinion the best CB prospect) was big. I thought/think Porter is a raw prospect that struggles with clean technique and ball skills. Porter ended up dropping to the top of R2.
  • There was early talk of Siaki Ika being a potential late first rounder. I never believed it. Ika ended up being taken 98th overall in R3.
  • I always felt the Cowboys were interested in adding a TE with some juice. If you're to believe Todd Archer's report, the Cowboys had Sam LaPorta and Dalton Kincaid ranked #1 and #2 respectively on their board, which I believe supports my contention.
  • I felt folks were way too high on Roschon Johnson around here, with some even thinking he could go as early as the 2nd round. I said he was a Day 3 prospect. Johnson was taken 115th overall in R4.
  • I did not see Darnell Washington as a 1st round prospect. Some believed he was the top TE available. He ended up being selected in R3 with seven other TEs taken in front of him.
  • Said all pre-Draft that Steve Avila > O'Cyrus Torrence. Avila was the first IOL taken off the board and Torrence was the fourth.

Things I Got Wrong
  • Did not believe Mazi Smith was going to go in R1. Low and behold the Cowboys end up taking him in the first round.
  • Felt there was a good chance Calijah Kancey wouldn't go in R1, let alone #19 overall.
  • Wasn't surprised Drew Sanders didn't get selected in R1, but didn't envision him dropping to R3.

List yours....
Things I Got Right

I posted about Joey Porter being a bit overrated heading into the draft. I felt the delta between he and Gonzalez (in my opinion the best CB prospect) was big. I thought/think Porter is a raw prospect that struggles with clean technique and ball skills. Porter ended up dropping to the top of R2.
I thought he would drop to #26. I didn't think the Cowboys would pass on him because he fits their CB requirements better than he fits with most other teams.

There was early talk of Siaki Ika being a potential late first rounder. I never believed it. Ika ended up being taken 98th overall in R3.
By draft time it was obvious that he would be a 3rd round-ish pick.

I always felt the Cowboys were interested in adding a TE with some juice. If you're to believe Todd Archer's report, the Cowboys had Sam LaPorta and Dalton Kincaid ranked #1 and #2 respectively on their board, which I believe supports my contention.
Yes, Archer was the only one that reported Mazi was a target at #26. Having said that, listening to him on sports talk radio he didn't seem 100% certain about Kincaid at their 2nd ranked TE.

I felt folks were way too high on Roschon Johnson around here, with some even thinking he could go as early as the 2nd round. I said he was a Day 3 prospect. Johnson was taken 115th overall in R4.
Most draft media had him in the 4th.

I did not see Darnell Washington as a 1st round prospect. Some believed he was the top TE available. He ended up being selected in R3 with seven other TEs taken in front of him.
Washington dropped due to being red flagged for medical reasons.


Said all pre-Draft that Steve Avila > O'Cyrus Torrence. Avila was the first IOL taken off the board and Torrence was the fourth.
I would have bet significant money that Avila would go before Torrence. Avila is a really good player and was underrated by fans/media.
- I'm not convinced that Torrence is better than the LSU OG that was 3rd or 4th round pick.



Things I Got Wrong

Did not believe Mazi Smith was going to go in R1. Low and behold the Cowboys end up taking him in the first round.
I thought he was a 2nd rounder AND I didn't think the Cowboys would draft a 1tech DT in the 1st.

Felt there was a good chance Calijah Kancey wouldn't go in R1, let alone #19 overall.
I thought he should go in the 2nd, but I figured some team would over-draft him.

Wasn't surprised Drew Sanders didn't get selected in R1, but didn't envision him dropping to R3.
The 1st round talk seemed silly but I'm surprised he didn't get picked in the 2nd.
 

Rockport

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Now that the 2023 Draft is over, I thought it would be interesting to review and look back at some of my pre-draft hunches to see how they actually played out. Keep in mind, my list doesn't speak to whether I believe the noted player will be a bust or star, but rather where I thought they'd be slotted with the other prospects in the draft.

Things I Got Right
  • I posted about Joey Porter being a bit overrated heading into the draft. I felt the delta between he and Gonzalez (in my opinion the best CB prospect) was big. I thought/think Porter is a raw prospect that struggles with clean technique and ball skills. Porter ended up dropping to the top of R2.
  • There was early talk of Siaki Ika being a potential late first rounder. I never believed it. Ika ended up being taken 98th overall in R3.
  • I always felt the Cowboys were interested in adding a TE with some juice. If you're to believe Todd Archer's report, the Cowboys had Sam LaPorta and Dalton Kincaid ranked #1 and #2 respectively on their board, which I believe supports my contention.
  • I felt folks were way too high on Roschon Johnson around here, with some even thinking he could go as early as the 2nd round. I said he was a Day 3 prospect. Johnson was taken 115th overall in R4.
  • I did not see Darnell Washington as a 1st round prospect. Some believed he was the top TE available. He ended up being selected in R3 with seven other TEs taken in front of him.
  • Said all pre-Draft that Steve Avila > O'Cyrus Torrence. Avila was the first IOL taken off the board and Torrence was the fourth.

Things I Got Wrong
  • Did not believe Mazi Smith was going to go in R1. Low and behold the Cowboys end up taking him in the first round.
  • Felt there was a good chance Calijah Kancey wouldn't go in R1, let alone #19 overall.
  • Wasn't surprised Drew Sanders didn't get selected in R1, but didn't envision him dropping to R3.

List yours....
Everyone whiffed including you.
 

gimmesix

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Now that the 2023 Draft is over, I thought it would be interesting to review and look back at some of my pre-draft hunches to see how they actually played out. Keep in mind, my list doesn't speak to whether I believe the noted player will be a bust or star, but rather where I thought they'd be slotted with the other prospects in the draft.

Things I Got Right
  • I posted about Joey Porter being a bit overrated heading into the draft. I felt the delta between he and Gonzalez (in my opinion the best CB prospect) was big. I thought/think Porter is a raw prospect that struggles with clean technique and ball skills. Porter ended up dropping to the top of R2.
  • There was early talk of Siaki Ika being a potential late first rounder. I never believed it. Ika ended up being taken 98th overall in R3.
  • I always felt the Cowboys were interested in adding a TE with some juice. If you're to believe Todd Archer's report, the Cowboys had Sam LaPorta and Dalton Kincaid ranked #1 and #2 respectively on their board, which I believe supports my contention.
  • I felt folks were way too high on Roschon Johnson around here, with some even thinking he could go as early as the 2nd round. I said he was a Day 3 prospect. Johnson was taken 115th overall in R4.
  • I did not see Darnell Washington as a 1st round prospect. Some believed he was the top TE available. He ended up being selected in R3 with seven other TEs taken in front of him.
  • Said all pre-Draft that Steve Avila > O'Cyrus Torrence. Avila was the first IOL taken off the board and Torrence was the fourth.

Things I Got Wrong
  • Did not believe Mazi Smith was going to go in R1. Low and behold the Cowboys end up taking him in the first round.
  • Felt there was a good chance Calijah Kancey wouldn't go in R1, let alone #19 overall.
  • Wasn't surprised Drew Sanders didn't get selected in R1, but didn't envision him dropping to R3.

List yours....
I wanted us to take Kancey and thought he might be there (but that we wouldn't take him anyway). Did not think we'd take a 1-tech in the first, even if he has some 3-tech potential.

Thought we'd take a TE in the first three rounds. But also thought we'd take an OL and/or RB. Didn't think Gibbs would go nearly as early as he did.

I try to not get too locked into names, but more into positions. I felt our first three picks would be some combination of OL-RB-TE. Out of those three, I thought TE was most likely be the one left out of the first three rounds if one was left out.

Thought we'd take a kicker, but the only two worth grabbing went earlier than expected. Thought we'd take a late-round QB.
 

ThreeandOut

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I posted about Joey Porter being a bit overrated heading into the draft. I felt the delta between he and Gonzalez (in my opinion the best CB prospect) was big. I thought/think Porter is a raw prospect that struggles with clean technique and ball skills. Porter ended up dropping to the top of R2.
I thought he would drop to #26. I didn't think the Cowboys would pass on him because he fits their CB requirements better than he fits with most other teams.
It's one thing to use a 3rd or 4th round pick on a very scheme specific player. I's another thing to do it with your first round pick. If Quinn leaves for a head coaching job next year, we may be running a different style of defense.
 

speedkilz88

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It's one thing to use a 3rd or 4th round pick on a very scheme specific player. I's another thing to do it with your first round pick. If Quinn leaves for a head coaching job next year, we may be running a different style of defense.
Mazi can play 1T or NT and if he can get better at pass rushing he could see time as a 3T. A lot 3-4 teams are even using mobile NT types at end. There really shouldn't be a defense out there that couldn't use his skillset. (Assuming that he is the really good player they think he is) If he's a bust it doesn't matter period. If he's just a two down player he would still be a two down player in any defense just not worth a big 2nd contract.
 

Pass2Run

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Chances are . . . highly in favor of you getting it wrong.
 

ThreeandOut

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Mazi can play 1T or NT and if he can get better at pass rushing he could see time as a 3T. A lot 3-4 teams are even using mobile NT types at end. There really shouldn't be a defense out there that couldn't use his skillset. (Assuming that he is the really good player they think he is) If he's a bust it doesn't matter period. If he's just a two down player he would still be a two down player in any defense just not worth a big 2nd contract.

My comment was about Porter not Mazi.
 

cowboyec

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things i got right:
dallas did draft a te...a rb...an ol...a wr.

things i got wrong:
a dt in rd1.
no michael mayer.
no jarrett patterson.
no kendre miller.
no qb.

love mazi.
still wish we had moved up in rd2 to get mayer....or stay and pick torrence instead.
love deuce vaughn.
 

beware_d-ware

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Got it right:
  • Jack Campbell went top 20.
  • Dalton Kincaid and Sam LaPorta were both drafted before Mayer.
  • All the big-name LTs went top 15. Some media guys claimed a deep class would push them down.... sorry, good tackle prospects always go early.
  • Will Levis dropped big time. He never had any business being a top 5 pick, but even then, I'm shocked he didn't go somewhere in round 1.
  • Jalin Hyatt fell a mile.
  • Josh Downs went round 3. I thought he was a round 4 guy, the media thought he was top 50, and real life kind of split the difference.

Got it wrong:
  • Bijan and Gibbs were both picked top 12. I thought the league would fade both of those guys pretty hard.
  • Nolan Smith fell to #30... how in the hell. He's too talented and too clean of an evaluation to fall that far.
  • Torrance went bottom of round 2. I thought he was a borderline round 1 guy.
  • Dawand Jones fell to round 4... I thought he was a top 50 player pretty easily.
  • Drew Sanders went in the 3rd.
  • Izzy Abikanada went in the freaking 5th.

I'm going to put an asterisk by Darnell Washington, because it sounds like he had some more concerning medicals than fans knew about.
 

cnuball21

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Right:
- Forbes wouldn’t slide due to size
- McDonald would go higher than mocks
- WRs would fly off the bird despite it being a “bad class”
- A top Edge would fall to 26 and the Cowboys would make a need pick instead of BPA
- Mayer was overrated
- Musgraves / Washington would be available at our 2nd pick

Wrong:
- Sanders was LB1
- Kancey was not a 1st rounder
- Hooker would go round 1
- Gibbs could slide out of 1st round
 

Beaker42

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Probably the big whiff I made was buying the hype on Washington. I had a discussion debating taking him at pick 39 and I felt it was justified, clearly wrong as he went late 3rd.

The other one was in my mock I took Noah Sewell 3rd round and he went 5th. I think I’ve got a blind spot for guys that don’t play well but flash traits.

I think I identified our needs pretty well and the order they would be addressed. I was not at all surprised to see us take a 1-tech, TE, LB, 3T, OT/OG, RB and WR. The one that caught me off guard was CB as that room is pretty stacked and I was expecting short-yardage back rather than Deuce.

At CB with Diggs, Gilmore, Bland, Lewis, Scott, Joseph, Wilson, Goodwin (and then Mukuamu has flex) it’s a pretty crowded room. Nine names that could be cut back to six (5 CB’s and an additional gunner/DB)
Sewell’s grit and toughness aren’t the issue - he’s slow as hell.
 
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