First 2023 Mock - Anthony Richardson Style

Once again it is time for us fans to exercise our fun, but futile efforts to guess what Chris Ballard will do.

In this draft there isn't much out of line in terms of trades or moves. The top 3 stay in place, with Young, Stroud and Anderson going 1, 2, 3. The draft software didn't offer me any good trades, and I could not generate a satisfying one either, so our decision was really made for us, which was to just pick. The important thing to note here is that I did try, or at least hoped to moved down from #4. I am really on the fence with Richardson. He feels like the next Josh Allen to me before we knew what Josh Allen could actually be. Even in Allen's rookie year I am not sure they knew what they had. Anyway, with that said, we did make one small trade back in the 4th round (R4 P4 to the Panthers in exchange for R4 P12 and R4 P30).

Draft Picks

4: R1 P4 QB Anthony Richardson - Florida
35: R2 P4 TE Darnell Washington - Georgia
79: R3 P16 C Joe Tippmann - Wisconsin
114: R4 P12 WR Jayden Reed - Michigan State
132: R4 P30 CB Jaylon Jones - Texas A&M
138: R5 P3 RB Kenny McIntosh - Georgia
162: R5 P27 EDGE Ali Gaye - LSU
176: R5 P41 LB SirVocea Dennis - Pittsburgh
221: R7 P4 G Caleb Chandler - Louisville
236: R7 P19 CB Anthony Johnson - Virginia

What I like about this

I'm willing to use #4 to find out if Richardson is the next Josh Allen or not. I have a decent feeling about him.
Darnell Washington is like a 6th lineman, but has nearly the same skillset as Jelani Woods. This TE twosome would be wicked.
Getting a legit answer for our center for the foreseeable future, plus adding depth to the interior.
Addressing WR early enough with a guy that should replace what Campbell gave us pretty good.
Adding two skilled zone scheme cornerbacks.
Lower picks have ST upside as well.
Got a 3rd down back with some nice size.

What I don't like about this

A lot of risk with AR15, and missed an opportunity to trade back and collect draft capital for maybe an opportunity for a top QB in next year's class.
Didn't really get OL help with OT ability or even versatility. The team's Tackles (including depth) would still be a concern.
Not much done to improve the defensive front four. That group is decent, but not great, and depth is not very good.
Sacrificed addressing a position of need (Cornerback) early. This is a deep class, and we probably could have got a legit CB1 in the 2nd round.

Drop your comments below on what you think, and as always, thanks for reading!

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Stampede Blue's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Stampede Blue's writers or editors.

FanPost