Watch all three days of the 2023 NFL Draft live on Sky Sports; the Carolina Panthers selected Alabama quarterback Bryce Young with the first overall pick on the opening night, while the Houston Texans took both QB CJ Stroud and linebacker Will Anderson Jr at picks two and three
Friday 28 April 2023 08:27, UK
The 2023 NFL Draft is here, and you can watch all three days live on Sky Sports. Here is all you need to know about the player-picking spectacular...
Having been staged in Las Vegas in 2022, the Draft is at the home of the Super Bowl champions this year in Kansas City, Missouri.
The Carolina Panthers selected Alabama quarterback Bryce Young with the first overall pick on the opening night of this year's draft, before the Houston Texans then pulled off a stunner to see them take both QB CJ Stroud and linebacker Will Anderson Jr at picks two and three after a trade with the Arizona Cardinals.
But what else do you need to need to know about the 2023 NFL Draft as he head into days two and three and the latter rounds?
The NFL Draft is the annual highlight to the league's offseason calendar as teams seek to strengthen by taking their pick from hundreds of college football's top prospects over seven rounds staged across three days.
Sky Sports will once again be showing all three days of the Draft, with Neil Reynolds and Phoebe Schecter joined by former Minnesota Vikings general manager Rick Spielman on location in Kansas City.
As well as a preview show on opening night, they'll be back at 9pm on Friday to reflect on the events of day one and look ahead to rounds two and three, before the draft concludes on the Saturday with rounds four through to seven.
That's when things tend to get interesting as celebrities and fans are given the opportunity to announce their team's selections over the remaining rounds.
Live on Sky Sports:
As is tradition, the draft order is decided on a worst-to-first basis according to the previous season's standings, with the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs occupying the final pick of the first round after beating the Philadelphia Eagles to lift the Lombardi Trophy in February.
The Chicago Bears had originally owned the first overall pick after compiling a league-worst record of 3-14 in 2022, before trading the selection to the Carolina Panthers, who moved up from ninth overall in order to position themselves to take Young with the first pick.
The Miami Dolphins enter with the fewest selections of any team with just four after they were forced to forfeit a pick as punishment for violations of the league's anti-tampering policy. Meanwhile, the Texans and Las Vegas Raiders both held the most picks entering the draft with 12 apiece.
Four Draft picks will be announced live from various locations across London as teams maximise their presence in the UK as part of the International Home Marketing Areas initiative.
Everybody wants to find their Patrick Mahomes in the Draft, whose extraordinarily high standards have burdened young quarterback prospects with soaring expectations. It is THE defining position in football, arguably the most important position in sport, the position that can set a franchise up for the next decade and yet the position that, if filled incorrectly, can derail progress for seasons on end.
Alabama's Bryce Young landed with Carolina at No 1 overall, thanks to his commanding poise, refined accuracy and off-script outer-pocket playmaking invention. His size has been one of the prominent talking points throughout the entire pre-draft process; Young is on the smaller size at 5'10" and weighed in at 204lbs at the Scouting Combine, meaning he is the first Combine quarterback weighing fewer than 207lbs to be drafted in the first round since 2003. Were he a couple inches taller and a few pounds heavier, Young might be spoken of as one of the top quarterback prospects in recent years far more than has been the case.
Ohio State's CJ Stroud (Houston Texans) and Florida's Anthony Richardson (Indianapolis Colts) were drafted with the second and fourth overall picks, respectively, but rather surprisingly neither Kentucky's Will Levis - boasting booming arm strength, tight window accuracy and a snappy release - nor Tennessee's Hendon Hooker, who brings refined pocket-passer footwork along with dual-threat ability as a runner, went in the first round. Look for both QB prospects to be taken early on day two.
The 2023 Draft boasts a deep pool of defensive talent, headed up by Alabama pass rushing marvel Will Anderson Jr, who makes a case for being the best player of the entire draft. Alongside him sits Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter, whose dominance was unwavering in college by way of phenomenal power, athleticism and versatility as a run-stuffing, quarterback-hunting phenom.
Elsewhere Texas Tech's Tyree Wilson, Georgia's Nolan Smith, Clemson's Myles Murphy and Iowa's Lukas Van Ness also feature among a strong edge rusher class, while Pittsburgh's Calijah Kancey is a standout at defensive tackle.
Devon Witherspoon of Illinois and Oregon's Christian Gonzalez lead a deep cornerback class. Also among them are Penn State's Joey Porter Jr, Maryland's Deonte Banks and South Carolina's Cam Smith. A slim safety class is led by Alabama's Brian Branch, who meets the prototypical modern do-it-all mould with the flexibility to play in the slot, as a box tackler, in deep coverage and even on the perimeter.
Texas sensation Bijan Robinson is in a league of his own as far as this year's running backs are concerned; Ohio State's Jaxon Smith-Njigba, USC's Jordan Addison, Boston College's Zay Flowers and TCU's Quentin Johnston top the wide receiver options.
Northwestern's Peter Skoronski, Ohio State's Paris Johnson Jr, Tennessee's Darnell Wright and Georgia's Broderick Jones spearhead the offensive tackle grouop; Notre Dame's Michael Mayer, Utah's Dalton Kincaid, Georgia's Darnell Washington and Iowa's Sam LaPorta represent the lead pack of tight ends.
Allow history to be a warning not to overlook days two and three in the NFL Draft, because a star might just be unearthed.
Take Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce for example, a 2013 third-round pick that is building a case as the greatest player to play his position as a two-time Super Bowl champion. Speaking of tight ends, the San Francisco 49ers snagged a certain George Kittle - another superstar at the position - with the 146th pick at the 2017 Draft.
Jason Kelce has meanwhile developed into one of the best centers in the NFL after being drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in round six in 2011.
The Dallas Cowboys became advocates for late-round joy in 2016 when they drafted franchise quarterback Dak Prescott at No 135 in the fourth round. And do not forget Dolphins star receiver Tyreek Hill, the 165th overall pick for the Chiefs in 2016 that has so far run and caught his way to seven Pro Bowl selections and a Super Bowl ring as one of the NFL's most explosive wide receivers.
Rewind all the way back to 2010 and the Seahawks had already uncovered a Legion of Boom member in safety Kam Chancellor, who retired in 2018 a Super Bowl champion and four-time Pro Bowler.
Also, there's the case of the most famous late-round gem in NFL history, with a certain recently-retired, seven-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback named Tom Brady taken with the 199th pick (in the sixth round!) of the 2000 Draft.
In other words - the NFL Draft is about far more than just day one!
This is where it gets really fun - the trades!
Teams have the opportunity to offer up picks to other teams should they wish to move up the board in a bid to land a player of interest.
The Bears traded away a third-round pick, a fourth-round pick and a 2018 third-round pick to move from No 3 overall to No 2 overall and draft quarterback Mitchell Trubisky in 2017, overlooking the Chiefs' two-time Super Bowl champion Mahomes in the process. Four years later they traded the 20th overall pick for the New York Giants' 11th overall pick to move up and select quarterback Justin Fields. Did they find their man? Time will tell.
The 49ers famously sent second and third-round picks to the New England Patriots in 1985 to move up from the 28th pick to No 16 and draft wide receiver Jerry Rice, who would go on to become a three-time Super Bowl champion and 13-time Pro Bowl selection.
And in one of the most famous mid-Draft trades in history, the then-San Diego Chargers agreed to swap their 2004 No 1 overall pick Eli Manning for the Giants' No 4 pick Philip Rivers after Manning refused to play for the team. Manning went on to lead the Giants to two Super Bowl victories.
In a more recent case, the 2022 NFL Draft saw the Eagles give up the 18th overall pick as part of a deal to acquire Tennessee Titans wide receiver AJ Brown, who later played a starring role in Philly's road to the Super Bowl.
For all the endless scouting and analytics, the Draft is by no means an exact science, Brady being the most obvious example as the New England Patriots saw the talent there that so many others missed.
Some stories are less successful than others. In the 1998 Draft, the Indianapolis Colts selected Peyton Manning with the No 1 overall pick, the future Hall of Fame quarterback going on to win two Super Bowl rings and five MVP awards in his glistening career. In contrast, the Charges selected Ryan Leaf with the No 2 overall pick, the quarterback suffering a shoulder injury that would see him miss the 1999 campaign before later retiring after the 2001 season.
Draft night can also produce shock player slides. Aaron Rodgers was famously projected to become the No 1 overall pick to the 49ers at the 2005 Draft, before slipping all the way to 24th as Alex Smith was instead chosen first.
Texans offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil, a prospective No 1 pick in 2016, also fell to the Dolphins at No 13 after a video emerged 10 minutes before the draft of him apparently inhaling marijuana. Literally anything can happen.
Watch all three days of the 2023 NFL Draft live on Sky Sports from Thursday April 27-Saturday April 29.
