2023 NFL Draft: Round One’s Three Biggest Losers
The 2023 NFL Draft is fully underway and to say the first round was interesting would be an understatement. We saw trades that could potentially shift a franchise in the right direction and some questionable moves as well. That being said, we are here to discuss the three biggest losers from round one of the 2023 NFL Draft, shall we?
Will Levis
As card after card was read, Will Levis waited in the green room for his name to be called. Unfortunately, Levis’s name was not called on night one and now he must wait another day to see if he gets drafted. At one point he was rumored to be going number one overall at least in Vegas betting odds. Most NFL fans probably had him dropping no further than the tenth overall pick but this was obviously not the end result of round one for Levis.
This situation reminds me of Lamar Jackson sitting and waiting for pick after pick and not hearing his name. Levis will get picked up by someone but man it has to sting not going in round one after so much hype around him being a potential top-ten pick. Something that should comfort him in this whole process is that Tom Brady went in the sixth round of his draft and now he is considered the GOAT. Stay humble Mr.Levis, your time will come.
The Detroit Lions began the evening with the sixth overall pick. By the time the pick rolled around, they traded back to pick 12. Trading the sixth overall pick to Arizona gave the Lions a promising set of picks for the remainder of the evening. They had the 12th overall and 18th overall pick. This should have set up a solid first round for Detroit.
Pick 12
However, the Lions decided to shock the NFL world by drafting running back Jahmyr Gibbs out of Alabama. Gibbs on most draft boards was slated as a second-round pick. What makes this first one even more surprising is that the Lions signed former Bears star David Montgomery this offseason and oh yeah they still have Deandre Swift. Gibbs is made for the NFL but this pick made sense, at least in round one.
Pick 18
The Lions final pick of the evening turned out to be just as big of a surprise when they turned in the card for linebacker Jack Campbell out of Iowa. Once again, a very talented player who would easily go in round two but not 18th overall right? Detroit must have seen something on tape that suggests he’s a high-value pick at 18. The Campbell pick is a head-scratcher considering four receiver picks in a row happened about ten minutes later. Detroit could have made a big splash but clearly, they are going for something different and that is why I am not an NFL GM or coach.
Miami Dolphins
Our last and final loser, the Miami Dolphins. How can a team who did not draft on day one be a loser? By not drafting that’s how. The Dolphins lost their first-round pick due to the “tampering” incident where they spoke with Sean Payton and Tom Brady about coming to Miami. They went 0/2 in both of those conversations and lost a draft pick because of it, that has to make them the biggest loser right?
Losing that pick forced the NFL to put in a bunch of fluff coverage and stall for 15 minutes to fill the time in which the Dolphins would’ve been drafting later that evening. It is difficult to find losers in an evening of 32 draft picks but when you manage to lose that pick, delay the draft and not get anything you wanted out of it? You managed to become the biggest loser much faster than normal. Hopefully, the Dolphins learned their lesson but by the looks of it, the acquisition of Jalen Ramsey says the Dolphins were just fine not drafting on day one and moved on to greener pastures or sunnier beaches I guess for Miami.