Sure, it is easy to list winners and losers after the NFL Draft has come and gone. Just wait until you read the unconventional list below. Anyone can write about Bryce Young and Anthony Richardson being draft day winners and Will Levis possibly being a draft day loser, but nobody will give you the type of insight you will read below. So, let me put all of my best draft day jewelry, yes @Razzball has its own jewelry division, so all of the writers/bloggers stay icy and get to it!
@BobbyLaMarco will be chatting about his more conventional draft day winners on the Razzball YouTube channel. Tune in and be a part of the discussion with your questions and comments. Who do you think won/lost and even throw in which dudes came dressed correctly and which looked like trash? As always, if you want to discuss anything in this article, feel free to drop notes at the bottom of this thread.
WINNER: IGGLES Fans – Bookmark this now…place your three-bet parlay as fast as possible for the Philadelphia Eagles to win the NFC East (running away), NFC, and Super Bowl. The Philly front office absolutely stole the NFL Draft on night one by solidifying their defense and by placing the D’Andre Swift is washed bug in the ear of the Detroit front office after the curious selection of RB Jahmyr Gibbs out of Alabama. When the Eagles traded up in Round 1 to select Jalen Carter, they added the best overall player in this draft class. Now, Carter comes with some significant off-the-field baggage and for all concerned, I hope it works out for him. I will not get into the legal side of Carter, but the selection and my analysis would not be complete without a mention of the looming issue. Enough about that. All things being equal, Carter was the 1.01 in my book. Add to Carter Nolan Smith, Carter’s Georgia Bulldog teammate at the LB position. Many draft ‘experts’ had Philadelphia taking Carter at 1.10, and none had the player dropping to 1.30. The Eagles must have been amazed and ecstatic to see Smith lingering at the bottom of the first round, and they pounced on the freakish athlete; the first-ever Edge/LB to clock a sub-4.4 at the combine.Â
LOSER: Detroit Lions – Now, take those two A grades and add D’Andre Swift via trade, and I think the IGGLES fans just won the NFL Draft as Howie Roseman put together what will go down as this best draft ever.  The Lions, who were on the come up last season, allowed Jamaal Williams to walk (abysmal move), gave up on and traded Swift (bad move), reached for Gibbs (see a pattern?), passed on Nolan Smith (for milquetoast Jack Campbell) and top my list for losers in the 2023 draft.
WINNER: Bijan Robinson, Drake London, Kyle Pitts – What a spot for Robinson, an absolute stud RB, to land in Atlanta. Even Tyler Allgeier (now in the Loser column) was somewhat successful on a pretty bad Falcons offense in 2022. HC Arthur Smith is known to have a better offensive than defensive mind, so he will find a way for Robinson to get most of the offensive touches in 2023. You draft an RB at 1.09 means you better run the offense through him. Now, mix in London and Pitts, who will be beneficiaries of defenses keying on Robinson first. If the Falcons can find any semblance of decent/solid QB play from Desmond Ridder and/or Taylor Heinicke in 2023, I look for London to make the next step and for Pitts to make the leap after a brutal 2022 campaign. Â
LOSER: Running Backs Who Have Injury Issues – Both Kenneth Walker III and Travis Etienne are entrenched on dynasty rosters, and for a good reason. Both have proven to be studs when healthy. Did you see that? Did you catch it? ‘When healthy’ is the key to both players’ success. The Seattle and Jacksonville front offices decided to provide each some help by adding Zach Charbonnet (SEA) and Tank Bigsby (JAX). This means those two veteran RBs will now (possibly) be in a committee, not to mention Etienne probably losing many of the goal-line touches to the bigger, stronger Bigsby.
WINNER: Kirk Cousins, Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison – Did Kirk Cousins become the best QB in the NFC North with the departure of Aaron Rodgers? I think he did because I feel as if Justin Fields is not quite there as a passing QB yet. He can get there, and his legs make him a sexy target in redraft leagues. Today, for me, it is Cousins at the top of the NFC North QB mountain with Justin Jefferson being the best WR in football, T.J. Hockenson (add him to the ever-growing list of loser Lions moves), and the newest addition Jordan Addison who the Vikings selected at 1.23 all poised to return big stats in 2023.
LOSER: K.J. Osborn, Dalvin Cook, Alexander Mattison – Once Adam Thielen was let go, Osborn must have been pumped to play opposite Jefferson. Well, that excitement was short-lived as the Vikings added their WR2 in Addison, highlighting their thoughts on where Osborn belongs…as WR3. Add in the mix the constant chatter about the Vikings moving Cook during the draft after resigning Mattison for two years, and now you have both with sizable contracts and neither quite knowing their role. Was Mattison resigned to usurp Cook or simply take over RB1 once Cook was dealt? With little to no interest in Cook on the trade front, apparently, now what do the Vikings do with their two-headed RB monster? I believe they continue to attract a suitor for Cook. If they find one, then I move Mattison to the winner side of the ledger. If they do not find a trade partner for Cook, then both RBs stay attached to the loser side.
Thank you for coming back to read our stuff and be a part of the podcast by listening and commenting. We are here for you! We will come in the next few weeks to discuss other NFL tidbits.
-Mitch-
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