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To me, the value of a draft pick is gauged by what you end up getting from a guy relative to his draft position. That value is influenced by a few things, most notably the position the guy plays, the exact spot they are taken in, and the need that pick fills for a team.
While overall draft grades range in 2023, I think every team found at least one guy at a potentially good value. Some of the picks aren’t sexy, or well-heralded, but they do have real potential to make an immediate and lasting impact for their new team.
Here’s my take on the best-value 2023 draft pick for each NFL squad.
Arizona Cardinals – Edge BJ Ojulari, LSU – Pick #10 in the 2nd round – After dropping back to take the draft’s best OT in Round 1, the Cardinals used a 2nd round pick received from TEN to select the #4 ranked OLB, who will add immediate pop to one of the NFL’s weakest pass-rushing units.
Atlanta Falcons – CB Clark Phillips III, Utah – Pick #11 in the 4th round – Entering the draft as the #12 ranked CB, Phillips III fell only because of his short stature (5’9”). That won’t matter in ATL, where his excellent ball skills and great press coverage will cause headaches for NFC South opponents.
Baltimore Ravens – LB Trenton Simpson, Clemson – Pick #23 in the 3rd round – The #1 ranked player at the ILB position fell late into the third. Why? Hype and hierarchy of position types. Simpson has great range and plays very well in space. He will force his way onto the field in Baltimore.
Buffalo Bills – OG O’Cyrus Torrence, Florida – Pick #28 in the 2nd round – The intimidating interior lineman lasted this long because his position is undervalued in the NFL, but not in Buffalo, where Torrence will immediately start for the Bills, who have added a future Pro Bowler in the Florida product.
Carolina Panthers – OG Chandler Zavala, North Carolina State – Pick #12 in the 4th round – The #3 ranked OG coming into the draft, Zavala is an effective pass blocker with the quickness to get to the edge and drive defenders. Great value for the Panthers to add this near-term starter in the fourth.
Chicago Bears – DT Zacch Pickens, South Carolina – Pick #1 in the 3rd round – The #6 ranked interior defensive lineman in the draft, Pickens brings length and explosiveness to the 3-Tech, and chops as both a run defender and pass rusher. He’ll start immediately for the weak Bears front seven.
Cincinnati Bengals – S Jordan Battle, Alabama – Pick #32 in the 3rd round – The #5 ranked Safety coming into the draft, Battle offers ideal size for the position and advanced pedigree with the nation’s top program. He doesn’t need to start for the Bengals to win, but Battle will force the issue in camp.
Cleveland Browns – OT Dawand Jones, Ohio State – Pick #9 in the 4th round – The absolutely massive Jones was just the 11th OT taken in the 2023 Draft. He doesn’t bend very well but once Jones gets his hands on you, it is game over for most defenders. He will be fun to watch against AFC defenses.
Dallas Cowboys – ILB DeMarvion Overshown, Texas – Pick #27 in the 3rd round – Micah Parsons handles range in the Cowboys’ linebacking core. Overshown’s job will be to play the role of off-ball linebacker. His experience as a converted Safety will help him rise up the depth chart quickly.
Denver Broncos – ILB Drew Sanders, Arkansas – Pick #4 in the third round – The versatile Sanders is strong and instinctive against the run, decent in coverage, and can create power rushing the QB. Sanders is a better player than other LBs selected before him, including Iowa’s Jack Campbell (DET).
Detroit Lions – QB Hendon Hooker, Tennessee – Pick #5 in the third round – Jared Goff’s future with the Lions is uncertain at best beyond the 2024 season. In Hooker, the Lions selected a polished passer and legit running threat. He’ll add a new dimension to the Lions O when he gets his chance.
Green Bay Packers – WR Jayden Reed, Michigan State – Pick #19 in the second round – Ranked #6 coming into the draft, the MSU product is an immediate favorite to fill the Slot Receiver role for Green Bay, where his route running and run after the catch skills will add great value for Jordan Love.
Houston Texans – ILB Henry To’oTo’o, Alabama – Pick #33 in the fifth round – This pick is just great value for the Texans, who were already having a pretty good draft. The #5 ranked ILB coming in, To’oTo’o is a sure tackler and instinctive pass rusher from the nation’s top college program.
Indianapolis Colts – DE Adetomiwa Adebawore, Northwestern – Pick #8 in the fourth round – I legit had Adebawore going as early as the end of the first round; he’s that good, on tape and at the combine. Whether he lines up as a DE, an OLB, or a hellaciously fast 3-Tech, he is going to wreak some havoc.
Jacksonville Jaguars – OLB Yasir Abdullah, Louisville – Pick #1 in the fifth round – Abdullah is a standup OLB likely to move to an off-ball role due to his size. I think Abdullah will prove to be the better player over similarly-sized ILB Ventrell Miller from Florida, whom the Jaguars selected a round earlier.
Kansas City Chiefs – Edge Felix Anudike-Uzomah, Kansas State – Pick #31 in the first round – The #4 ranked DE coming into the draft, Anudike-Uzomah relentlessly pursues the QB and ball carrier. He is a bit light to take on the run when O-linemen are pulling, but still offers great value for the end of Day 1.
Los Angeles Chargers – WR Derius Davis, TCU – Pick #23 in the fourth round – Chargers fans, meet your new KR/PR, brought in specifically to replace the departed DeAndre Carter. On paper, Davis is a diminutive Slot with a limited catch radius. In reality, he’s a threat whenever he touches the ball.
Los Angeles Rams – DE Byron Young, Tennessee – Pick #14 in the third round – I wanted to go Georgia QB Stetson Bennett here, but the fourth was too early for him. Needing value out of their limited picks in ‘23, the Rams grabbed the #8 ranked DE to try and replace the newly departed Leonard Floyd.
Las Vegas Raiders – TE Michael Mayer, Notre Dame – Pick #4 in the second round – Mayer was easily good enough to go in the first round and may turn out to be the best TE in this year’s draft. He finds soft spots in coverage, blocks very well, and doesn’t lose many jump balls. Great add here for LV.
Miami Dolphins – OT Ryan Hayes, Michigan – Pick #21 in the seventh round – Hayes was a two-year starter at left tackle for a Wolverines unit that won consecutive Joe Moore Awards for the best OL in the nation. He slipped only because of his shorter arms, meaning he’ll switch to OG in the NFL.
Minnesota Vikings – S Jay Ward, LSU – Pick #32 in the fourth round – Ward is a smart, versatile, and aggressive defensive back who excels in the press technique. He’ll provide immediate help to a Vikings secondary and special teams unit that was underwhelming in 2022.
New England Patriots – OG Sidy Sow, Eastern Michigan – Pick #15 in the fourth round – This wasn’t a position of need for the Patriots, but Bill Belichick knows you can never have too many big guys. The #5 ranked OG coming in, Sow has good speed for his size, though his NFL pass sets will need work.
New Orleans Saints – RB Kendre Miller, TCU – Pick #8 in the third round – Alvina Kamara’s tenure in NO is winding down and Jamaal Williams is not a long-term solution. In Miller, the Saints get an elusive ball carrier with great balance, though he will need work to become an efficient receiver from the backfield.
New York Giants – WR Jalin Hyatt, Tennessee – Pick #10 in the third round – A true field stretcher, Hyatt’s rare ability as a vertical threat will make it much harder for opposing defenses to double-up on fellow Giants WR Darius Slayton, or stack the line against the running game, bringing immediate value.
New York Jets – C Joe Tippmann, Wisconsin – Pick #12 in the second round – Picking up the drafts’ #1 ranked true Center at this pick was a masterful bit of drafting by the Jets. Tippmann will immediately take over as a starter and provide stalwart pass protection for newly-acquired QB Aaron Rodgers.
Philadelphia Eagles – S Sydney Brown, Illinois – Pick #3 in the third round – The #3 ranked Safety in the draft, Philly had to be thrilled when Brown dropped to them. The Canadian-born product can line up deep or in the slot but is at his best playing in the box. Great value here in a position of need for PHI.
Pittsburgh Steelers – DT Keeanu Benton, Wisconsin – Pick #18 in the second round – Benton will almost certainly immediately take the starting NT job from Montravius Adams to work with Cam Heyward and Larry Ogunjobi, giving the Steelers an outstanding defensive line to start the 2023 season.
Seattle Seahawks – C Olusegun Oluwatimi, Michigan – Pick #20 in the fifth round – The Seahawks desperately needed a reliable Center and they may have found one in Oluwatimi, an instinctive player with strong hands and above-average pass-blocking skills, for the interior offensive line.
San Francisco 49ers – WR Ronnie Bell, Michigan – Pick #36 in the seventh round – This is a sneaky good pick by the 49ers. Bell’s exceptional route running and ball skills are his calling card. That will add value to a San Fransisco wide receiver room that will go through a big transition over the next two seasons.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers – OT Cody Mauch, North Dakota State – #17 pick in the second round – Mauch is a straight mauler on the interior offensive line and Tampa Bay desperately needed one. A mid-second rounder is an excellent value for a guy that has the potential to anchor your line.
Tennessee Titans – QB Will Levis, Kentucky – Pick #2 in the second round – Up until draft day, there was buzz that Levis could go in the Top-5. That didn’t materialize, so the Titans got their QB of the future on the cheap. Don’t expect Year 1 fireworks, but this was a great value pick for TEN in the second round.
Washington Commanders – OG Braeden Daniels, Utah – Pick #16 in the fourth round – Daniels was one of my sleepers heading into the draft, going right about where I thought he would. The #4 ranked OG in 2023, Daniels has rare speed and the agility to perform very well in a zone-blocking system.
NFL FAQs
How do you play football survival pool?
Players pick one team each week they think will win the game outright. They may only pick a team ONCE per season, meaning you can't pick the same team twice in one season. If their pick is correct, the player survives another week and continues to play. An incorrect pick eliminates the player from the contest entirely. This is sometimes called an elimination or suicide pool. The last person standing wins.
How to make a football pool?
A football pool generally requires the creation of a shareable spreadsheet (like Google Sheets) so that members may pick teams. Then depending on the game type, creators must use several kinds of formulas (e.g. CountIF), data validation, and conditional formatting. Or, you can just use football pool hosting service like RunYourPool where we do all the work for you!
How to run a weekly football pool?
In order to run a football pool, you must first crown yourself as Pool Commissioner. Begin by picking a game type like Survivor or Pick'Em. You'll want to establish rules before inviting friends, family, and colleagues to join. As commissioner, you make the rules and also need to enforce them equally and fairly.
What is a football survivor pool?
In a Football Survivor Pool, players choose one team weekly they think will win. Usually, a team can be picked one time per season. Picks are made "straight up," no spreads necessary. If a pick is correct, members survive another week. An incorrect pick eliminates the player, unless a mulligan is used.
How does a football pool work?
Football pools are games of skill played among a group of people. There are a variety of pool types to fit every players needs, from casual to competitive. Pool commissioners can set up pools manually, or use a hosting service like RunYourPool whiel still customizing your own settings. Some examples include NFL Squares, NFL Survivor, NFL Pick 'Em, and Playoff Brackets.
What is an NFL pickem pool?
In an NFL pick’em pool, simply pick the outcome of each NFL game throughout the season. You can pick straight up winners or losers, or pick each game against the spread.
How to play a football pool?
The way one plays a football pool varies on the game type. For example, in Survivor, you pick one team to win each week and can't pick that team again. Guess wrong and you lose. Another example is Pick'em Pools in which you simply pick every game each week.
How does a fantasy football pool work?
Fantasy football pools don’t involve a traditional fantasy football draft. You can have as many members in your pool as you’d like, meaning no more 12 or 14 team limits! You pick a new lineup of players each week, and once you use a player once, you can’t use them again for the rest of the season.
What is a fantasy football pool?
A fantasy football pool is similar to a traditional fantasy football league but without the draft. Pick a new lineup each week, and once you use a player, you can’t use them for the rest of the season. Your players will receive points based on their in-game stats, and the member with the most points at the end of the season is the winner.
What is a football pool?
"Football Pool" is a broad term for a group of people competitively guessing the outcome of one or more football games. There are many types of formats, each assigning winners differently. They can be played informally between friends or through a more formalized system. They are often considered a great alternative to fantasy football given the ease of playing, although there are fantasy football pools as well.
How do football pool squares work?
There are different kinds of football square pools. Most have a 10x10 grid with one team for the rows and columns. In an attempt to win, participants select a square where they believe the last digit number of each team's score will intersect at the end of each quarter, and the game's end.
How do you play football squares pools?
To play a football squares pool, you're going to want to pick the squares with the best odds. As winners are determined by the point totals at the end of each quarter, try to consider options where scores are most common. Some of the most popular squares include 7-3, 7-0, 7-7, and 0-0. Numbers divisible by seven are good starting points.
How many squares in a football pool?
In a traditional football squares pool, a grid is sectioned off into 100 squares with 10 columns and 10 rows. This accounts for a direct relationship between each possible digit from 0 to 9 on both the X and Y axis. For smaller square grids like 5x5, multiple numbers can be assigned to each column and row.
How to play squares football pools?
Football squares are played by creating a grid, in which Team 1 takes the column and Team 2 the rows. In some cases, participants may claim as many squares as they like. In others, commissioners limit them to one. At the quarter times and end of the game, the winner is decided at the point the scores final digit intersect.
What is a football squares pool?
Also called Grid, Block, or Box Pools, Football Squares Pools can be played with any single game, but are most popular during the Super Bowl. Pool members claim squares on a 25, 50, or 100-square grid by putting their information in the square. Game scores are matched to the winning square(s), usually with winners being determined every quarter.
How to read a football pool sheet?
In Squares formats, football pool sheets include a grid, where one team is the column and one is the row. Winners are determined at the end of each quarter when the last number in the team’s score (on each side) is matched to the numbers on the grid, and the intersecting square wins.
How do you play football credits pool?
In the credits format, all players start with the same number of credits. Players make picks each week by risking a certain number of credits on games, assigning more credits to the picks with a higher confidence level. Members receive double the credits risked for each win. The member with the most credits at the end of the season wins.
What is a football credits pool?
In Football Credits Pools, players start with the same number of credits. They then make picks each week by risking a number of credits on games, assigning more to the picks they have more confidence in getting right. Members double credits risked for each win. The member with the highest credits at the end of the season wins.
How to run a football pool?
How you decide to run a football pool varies greatly depending on the game type. In each case, however, you'll want to determine the rules and settings before you begin inviting members to join you. You'll want to clearly establish how score will be kept, how tiebreakers work, and how winners are decided before anything else.
How do you play football confidence pool?
A football confidence pool is played straight up, not with a point spread. Not only do members pick the winning teams, they must back up their picks by giving them a relative confidence ranking. Your score reflects the number of confidence points given to winning teams. So if your confidence for a team winning is '1', then you can only win one point at most. If your confidence for a team winning is '5', then you can win five points for a win. The member with the most credits at the end wins.
What is a football confidence pool?
"Football Confidence Pool" refers to how you rank the teams that you think will win each week. For example, in the NFL, there are often 16 games weekly. In this scenario, you would rank each game from 16 to 1, based on the your confidence in that team winning.
How do you play football margin pool?
Margin pools are an NFL pool format that rewards members for picking a winning team each week. Pool commissioners can decide whether they award points equal to a winning teams margin of victory or the point spread for that game. When a commissioner chooses the point spread option, this format is often referred to as an NFL Underdog Pool.
What is a football margin pool?
In a Football Margin Pool, you are awarded points for picking a winning team. Pool commissioners get to decide whether they award points equal to a winning teams margin of victory or the point spread for that game. The player with the most points at the end of the season wins.
How do you play football 33 point pool?
The football 33 pool format is a casual pool where members are each assigned an NFL team (these pools are 32 members max, as there are 32 NFL teams). Members win when their team scores 33 points. Options for changing the target score, or having the closest to the target win each week is also available.
What is a football 33 point pool?
In the football 33 pool format, each member is assigned a unique NFL team (32 members max). A member will win when their team scores 33 points. This is a casual pool where you can change the target score or the option to have the closest to the target that week win.
How to run a weekly football pool?
In order to run a football pool, you must first crown yourself as Pool Commissioner. Begin by picking a game type like Survivor or Pick'Em. You'll want to establish rules before inviting friends, family, and colleagues to join. As commissioner, you make the rules and also need to enforce them equally and fairly.
What is an NFL Playoff bracket pool?
NFL Playoff Bracket pools are simple NFL pool formats where members pick every round of the playoffs before they start in an attempt to predict every match up correctly. It's optional to configure a multiplier for each round, or add a tiebreaker option of total points in the Super Bowl.
How to make a football pool?
A football pool generally requires the creation of a shareable spreadsheet (like Google Sheets) so that members may pick teams. Then depending on the game type, creators must use several kinds of formulas (e.g. CountIF), data validation, and conditional formatting. Or, you can just use football pool hosting service like RunYourPool where we do all the work for you!
How to set up a football pool?
To set up a football pool, you'll need to first choose a pool type like Survivor or Pick'em. Then, you'll need to set the ground rules. As pool commissioner, you'll enforce these rules and make sure the game runs smoothly throughout the season. Many commissioners use pool hosting sites like RunYourPool to make it easier and more engaging.
What is a football power ranking playoff pool?
In a power ranking playoff pool, members rank all 12 NFL teams competing in the playoffs from strongest (12 points) to weakest (1 point). Picks are made only ONCE before any games begin. Members are awarded the number of points assigned to a team when they win. Commissioners can optionally set up a point multiplier for each playoff round.
What is a football confidence pool?
"Football Confidence Pool" refers to how you rank the teams that you think will win each week. For example, in the NFL, there are often 16 games weekly. In this scenario, you would rank each game from 16 to 1, based on the your confidence in that team winning. This is similar to the Playoff Pool Power Ranking, just less teams.
How to run a football pool?
How you decide to run a football pool varies greatly depending on the game type. In each case, however, you'll want to determine the rules and settings before you begin inviting members to join you. You'll want to clearly establish how score will be kept, how tiebreakers work, and how winners are decided before anything else.
What is a football playoff precision pool?
In a playoff precision pool, members attempt to pick the winner of every playoff game each week. You can decide if it’s straight up or on a point spread picks, but point totals are also added. Points are awarded for correct picks AND for how close to the correct combined point total they were.
How to read a football pool sheet?
In Squares formats, football pool sheets include a grid, where one team is the column and one is the row. Winners are determined at the end of each quarter when the last number in the team’s score (on each side) is matched to the numbers on the grid, and the intersecting square wins.
What is a Super Bowl Prop Bets Pool?
A Super Bowl Prop Bet Pool is a fun and thrilling way to compete against friends and family during the big game! It's a simple questionaire of prop betting questions revolving around the Super Bowl, and whoever earns the most points based off correct answers wins!
How does a Super Bowl Prop Bets Pool work?
Pool members simply fill out a wide range of prop questions, each question worth a different value. Commissioners decide on the point value for each question, along with the amount of questions. Whichever member earns the most points based on corret answers wins the pool.
What is a football Super Bowl Squares pool?
Also called Grid, Block, or Box Pools, Football Squares Pools can be played with any single game, but are most popular during the Super Bowl. Pool members claim squares on a 25, 50, or 100-square grid by putting their information in the square. Game scores are matched to the winning square(s), usually with winners being determined every quarter.
What is a prop bet?
Prop bets are any sort of pick or wager on a game that has nothing to do with the score or the final score outcome. Props can range from game types, to team types and even player types - such as who will score the game's first and last touchdowns? Other props, such as novelty or exotic, feature bets on things such as the coin flip or the Super Bowl Halftime Show.
How to read a football pool sheet?
In Squares formats, football pool sheets include a grid, where one team is the column and one is the row. Winners are determined at the end of each quarter when the last number in the team’s score (on each side) is matched to the numbers on the grid, and the intersecting square wins.
