2023 NFL Draft: Notable nuggets and notes to know for Round 1 on Thursday

The 2023 NFL Draft kicks off Thursday night in Kansas City. To set the table on what might happen and what it could mean, here’s a rundown of notes and nuggets to know before Day 1 unfolds. 

COULD ALABAMA GO 1-2?

Alabama quarterback Bryce Young is the prohibitive Vegas favorite to go No. 1 overall to the Carolina Panthers. Young’s film is easily the best of any of the 2023 quarterbacks, as the Crimson Tide signal caller won the Heisman Trophy in 2021 and carried an otherwise underwhelming Alabama offense last fall. But at 5-10, 204-pounds, Young is an all-time outlier size-wise at the position. The last quarterback taken in the first round under 6-foot was Kyler Murray. And at 204 point, Young stands to be the lightest quarterback ever taken in Round 1, per NFL Combine data.

Young seems like a safe bet to go to Carolina, but it’s anyone’s guess at what Houston plans to do at No. 2. As many as five players have been linked to the Texas, including Alabama pass rusher Will Anderson. 

If Young and Anderson go 1-2 Thursday, they’ll be the first college teammates to be the first two players selected from the same school in 23 years when  Penn State’s Courtney Brown and LaVar Arrington went back-to-back. 

TEXAS TO SNAP ITS UGLY STREAK?

Texas tailback Bijan Robinson is arguably a Top 5 talent in the draft, but with the running position devalued in the pros, the All-American is unlikely to hear his name called until the teens tonight. Still, Robinson stands to snap an ugly streak for the Longhorns, becoming the school’s first offensive player selected in Round 1 since Vince Young went No. 3 overall to Tennessee in 2006. If Robinson does sneak into the Top 1o (Welcome to Atlanta?), then he’d become the first running back selected that high since Saquon Barkley in 2018. 

HOW HIGH CAN WILL LEVIS GO?

Kentucky quarterback Will Levis briefly broke the Internet earlier this week when an anonymous Reddit thread claimed that the Wildcats’ quarterback would go No. 1 overall to Carolina. While that report seems farfetched, Levis is unlikely to slip outside the Top 5. So while Kentucky fans won’t get another Tim Couch moment, Levis stands to be the program’s second-highest-drafted quarterback of all time.

WILL GEORGIA’S RECENT NFL DRAFT DOMINANCE CONTINUE?

Georgia dominated the 2022 NFL Draft, with a record five first round picks and a historic 15 overall selections. The Bulldogs don’t project to have quite as dominant a showing Thursday, but they technically could still hit a Royal Flush two years in a row. 

Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith, Broderick Jones, Darnell Washington and Kylee Ringo are all consensus Top 50 prospects. The first three prospects are shoe-ins to hear their name called Thursday night, and Washington has been consistently mocked in the first round by multiple draft gurus, too. Ringo seems the least likely to get picked before Friday, but he can’t be ruled out to sneak into the latter half of Round 1 to some cornerback needy teams. 

WHICH PROGRAMS WILL HAVE MULTIPLE PICKS IN ROUND 1?

Per consensus mock drafts, schools projected to have multiple Round 1 picks Thursday — Georgia, the reigning two-time national champs, Alabama and Clemson. Florida has a chance to join the list if guard O’Cyrus Torrence sneaks into Day 1 with quarterback Anthony Richardson. Same for Tennessee, which has tackle Darnell Wright, a sure-fire selection tonight, along with wideout Jalin Hyatt and quarterback Hendon Hooker.

HOW STACKED IS THE 2023 TIGHT END CLASS?

The tight end talent is stacked in 2023, with a crop of prospects that has close to a dozen guys with Top 100 projections. Although NFL teams typically don’t take tight ends in Round 1 — just nine total in the last dozen drafts — multiple tight ends are expected to come off the board tonight. Notre Dame’s Michael Mayer and Utah’s Dalton Kincaid are both potential Top 20 picks, while Washington could go late in the first, too. Oregon State’s Luke Musgrave has also received some Round 1 buzz. 

CAN THE SEC THREATEN ITS ROUND 1 RECORD?

The NFL Draft has become an infomercial for the SEC for nearly two decades now, as the league has had the most players selected for 16 straight years. In 2022, the conference had 65 players picked — tying an all-time record. A dozen SEC players went in the 1st Round, tied for second-most all-time. Expect similar results tonight. In Daniel Jeremiah’s last mock draft, he had 11 SEC players coming off the board Thursday night. 

A ROUND 1 SIZE OUTLIER NOT NAMED BRYCE YOUNG

Bryce Young isn’t the only size outlier in the draft, as Mississippi State cornerback Emmanuel Forbes weighed in at 166 pounds at the Combine, making him the lightest DB ever tracked, per NFL.com. Forbes holds the FBS record with six pick-sixes and has been routinely mocked inside the Top 25.