NFL Mock Draft 2023: Bears trade No. 1, four QBs go top 10 in pre-combine joint mock

NFL DRAFT ANALYST JOSH EDWARDS: Edwards swung a deal with the Bears to move up to No. 1, sending Chicago Nos. 4, 36 and 80 this year in addition to first- and second-round picks next year. It’s a huge haul, but one Edwards thinks is worth it for Indianapolis. “I always think about trades this way: If it works out, you don’t care about how much you had to give up to move up and get that player because the quarterback is the biggest piece on your roster.”

NFL DRAFT ANALYST RYAN WILSON: Wilson made it two QBs off the board in two picks with Houston taking C.J. Stroud, and Edwards had no issues with the selection — although he is curious about how teams will evaluate Stroud after his dynamic dual-threat performance against Georgia in the College Football Playoff. “It was a very small sample size. Does he not want to be that player moving forward? … Typically we do not evaluate a player off one game, and Stroud is going to be the poster child for that possibility moving forward.”

FORMER VIKINGS GM RICK SPIELMAN: Spielman made Jalen Carter the first defensive player taken due to positional scarcity and his unique skill set. “Some of the movement skills that he shows for his size — not only versus the run but as an in-line pass rusher — if someone can push all the buttons on this kid to go hard down in and down out, they’re going to have a Pro Bowler on their hands.”

EDWARDS: Edwards believes this is the ideal outcome for the Bears, who pick up a bunch of draft capital and still get one of the best defensive prospects in the class in Will Anderson Jr. “He’s been the most productive edge rusher out of any in this class; you’re talking about adding a dynamic piece to that defense and a player you can build around if you’re Chicago.”

WILSON: Wilson feels like this an easy choice to select Tyree Wilson to round out the top five. “I love him as a football player, and he’s one of those guys that … you don’t have to watch a lot of games to figure out that he was dominant and that he has a chance to be really good at the next level.”

SPIELMAN: The Lions go defense with their first of two first-round picks. “He has tremendous upside. He will give them another edge rusher [with Aidan Hutchinson and James Houston]. … You can never have enough pass rushers. And I think with Murphy opposite Hutchinson, that would be a very deadly combination as they continue to grow as pass rushers.”

EDWARDS: Make that three QBs in seven picks with Will Levis going to the Raiders. Here’s his scouting summary of Levis: “Will Levis is a tall quarterback with good mass to take on contact. The Penn State transfer has good mobility and does not shy away from contact. Levis has elite arm strength but often gets stuck on his first read and does not complete full-field progressions. Talent evaluators will have to determine how much of his struggles were related to a weak supporting cast, injury, etc., and what is fixable. He is an intelligent player who will compete through injury.”

WILSON: Joey Porter Jr. becomes the first CB off the board. “He’s big, he’s strong, he’s physical. He’s probably going to run really well next week at the combine. You pair him opposite A.J. Terrell, and that solves another issue on the backend where there are plenty of issues on that defense.”

SPIELMAN: The high-upside Anthony Richardson becomes the fourth QB taken in nine picks. “If you want to resolve the [QB] issue and you see the Cam Newton-type comparisons to him — although I think [Richardson] is a better natural thrower; I just don’t know if he’s as accurate as he needs to be, and I don’t know about his decision-making. I think the biggest question will be as he goes through this process … does he know enough about the game? Is he just an athlete playing quarterback? Or can he actually develop into a quarterback?”

EDWARDS: What Devon Witherspoon lacks in mass, he makes up for with his physicality and aggressiveness on the boundary. “He’s feisty; he’s going to give it as much as he takes it in the backend of that secondary. … You’re talking about a player that has that versatility to play man or zone coverage and is a great fit for not only that defense but the culture in Philadelphia as well.”

WILSON: The Titans find their potential replacement for Taylor Lewan in Peter Skoronski. Here’s our scouting report of Skoronski: “Peter Skoronski is a pass-blocking specialist with an athletic skill set. He needs to add more weight and power to his lower half. He works hard to anchor. He’s noticeably more effective as a pass-blocker than a run-blocker. He has plus recovery skill, big-time grip strength and knows how to reset his hands in pass pro.”

SPIELMAN: C.J. Stroud needs playmakers around him, so Spielman gives him one with Quentin Johnston. “Big, physical receiver, and with Stroud’s arm, it gives him another weapon to throw to. … They have needs everywhere, but if you have an opportunity to get an explosive downfield receiver like him … I think you need to go ahead and take a shot on him.”

EDWARDS: The Jets once again invest draft resources in the offensive line by selecting Paris Johnson Jr. “This is a team that needs to upgrade both offensive tackle positions. … Rather than possibly having to replace both offensive tackles in one offseason, you get a player now and hopefully he develops into something along an offensive line that has had a lot invested into it over the past few years.”

WILSON: Instead of going offensive line, the Patriots get a pass-catcher with Jordan Addison. “Put up huge numbers last year. Put up even better numbers the year before when he was at Pitt with Kenny Pickett. He can line up anywhere. He has return ability. He beats you at all three levels. He plays much bigger than [his size] … and Mac Jones needs some weapons to go along with a new offensive coordinator.”

SPIELMAN: The Packers beef up their secondary with the versatile Brian Branch. “I think this kid has the flexibility to fit in that scheme to play free safety, but also if you do get stuck in a pinch, I think he is athletic enough and big enough to go inside and play some nickel for you as well.”

EDWARDS: Edwards was pleasantly surprised that Christian Gonzalez lasted until pick 16. “He’s a player who had a pretty high profile at Colorado — I think he still would have been a high draft pick — but obviously elevating that national profile going to [Oregon] and having tremendous ball production this year, a step up from what we saw in [Colorado].”

WILSON: Wilson was actually going to take Christian Gonzalez, but with him off the board, he went with Broderick Jones. “Good athlete. Needs to get better in terms of his footwork — and I think that’s something that can certainly happen. … I think he gives that offense some much-needed stability and depth along the offensive line to help Kenny Pickett as he goes into Year 2.”

SPIELMAN: Make that two first-round defenders for the Lions — first Myles Murphy and now Deonte Banks. “His size, his athletic movement skills, his speed. He showed some ball awareness and ball skills. He needs, technically, to get cleaned up a little bit, but when he is in press coverage and jams a receiver, that receiver does not move. This guy has huge upside.”

EDWARDS: The Buccaneers have a lot of needs. They fill one by drafting Cam Smith. “He’s a player I really came around to this year. I thought you saw improved instincts, better man coverage skills. I’m pretty high on him at this point — I think he’s kind of a volatile player when you look at draft media right now — but as the decision-maker for the Buccaneers in this situation, I’m happy with Cam Smith.”

WILSON: After addressing defense with the No. 5 pick, the Seahawks bolster their offensive line by adding O’Cyrus Torrence. “He was great in the fall, he was great late in the season, he was great at the Senior Bowl — and I expect he’ll be great next year as well.”

SPIELMAN: Another draft, another investment in protecting Justin Herbert with the selection of Darnell Wright. “He had a very good Senior Bowl. From his junior to senior year, he may have made the biggest jump out of any of the offensive linemen that I have evaluated. You have to protect your quarterback, and I think this kid has an opportunity to come in as a rookie and be a Day 1 starter for them at right tackle.”

EDWARDS: Edwards knows the Ravens have bigger needs, but adding Bijan Robinson would take a lot of pressure off Lamar Jackson. Here’s our scouting report on him: “Bijan Robinson is a well-rounded running back with ideal size to be an every-down contributor in the NFL. He excels as a runner, pass-catcher and blocker but has received the lion’s share of touches in Austin over the past two seasons.”

WILSON: Wilson drafts Kelee Ringo to replace Patrick Peterson. “He’s big, he’s strong — we’ll see how fast he is — he does a lot of things well that you want these cornerbacks to do, but he has also struggled at times in coverage. And that’s what we have to figure out. But I think with the Vikings, he fills a need there, and the upside is certainly such that it gets your attention late in Round 1.

SPIELMAN: Spielman chooses the massive Dawand Jones to replace impending free agent Jawaan Taylor. “He would fill a huge void on the right side of the offensive line. … You have to protect that quarterback because he’s your franchise quarterback in Trevor Lawrence.”

EDWARDS: Daniel Jones needs more weapons to be properly evaluated, so the Giants get him Jalin Hyatt. “He can extend the field with his speed, which will allow underneath opportunities for Wan’Dale Robinson, your second-round pick last year, as well as Daniel Bellinger, the tight end, who I thought played really well when he was available last year. Hyatt is still raw as a route-runner, but certainly he’s a player who has a very specific skill set that will force defenses to be honest and allow those players to be productive underneath.”

WILSON: The Cowboys get another versatile player for that defense, and Spielman likes the pick. “Love him. He’s a multi-position player that not only can play the run, he has excellent range, he can cover, and I don’t think he gets his due with how you can create mismatches with him as a pass rusher.”

SPIELMAN: Josh Allen gets another weapon in Jaxon Smith-Njigba. “This is the next-best playmaker for me that fills a need for the Buffalo Bills. … If he runs well [at the combine], this would be an excellent pick for the Bills.”

EDWARDS: The rich get richer with Joe Burrow getting an all-around tight end in Michael Mayer. “He’s a pretty good blocker, he can move the chains, he’s got good physicality down the field, he’s physical through contact — all the stuff you look for from a consistent producer at the tight end position.”

WILSON: The Saints use the first-round pick they got from the Sean Payton trade to select Keion White. Here’s our scouting report for White: “Keion White, the former Old Dominion transfer, had a dominant season for Georgia Tech in 2022. Huge by traditional edge rush standards — he was 6-foot-4, 280 pounds at the Senior Bowl — White plays with heavy hands, a high motor, and consistently shows the ability to collapse the pocket.

SPIELMAN: First the Eagles replace James Bradberry, and now they replace Miles Sanders with Jahmyr Gibbs. “I think Jahmyr Gibbs from Alabama fits the ideal type running back for this RPO system, gives them another explosive playmaker, gives them another playmaker around Jalen Hurts. And if you add him to the mix with the playmakers they have on offense, to me this was a no-brainer.”

EDWARDS: Edwards caps the first round by giving the Super Bowl champions Nolan Smith. “We didn’t get to see him all season because of his injury, but he’s a player who is really dynamic off the edge. He’s a little bit on the thinner side, but a player that I think is a great compliment to the other pass-rushing options on their roster.”