There are a lot of NFL fans on the Eagle Eye staff this year.  We’ve also got fans of a lot of different NFL teams.

So when the NFL draft occurred last month it was a popular topic of conversation in the Eagle Eye newsroom. We then thought it would be fun to do a draft recap in which every Eagle Eye staffer who has a favorite NFL team rates their team’s draft.

Below are the Eagle Eye staff’s completely biased ratings of their favorite team’s draft class of 2023. Enjoy!

Logan Rumberger- Green Bay Packers

B+

The Packers had a mid-draft. Many professional sports analysts said the Packers had a B+ grade on their draft. I would say the 2023 draft for the Packers was one of the best recently.

The Packers needed offensive weapons and they achieved that by drafting two tight ends and three wide receivers. If the Packer’s offense can get rolling early in the 2023 season, they can be a playoff contender.

They targeted offensive weapons and that’s what the team needed. The only thing that hurt was that I didn’t agree with some of the picks that came after the Jayden Reed pick, but I liked the Packers shot on WR Dontayvion Wicks and QB Sean Clifford. Both are unorthodox players who seem to have a lot of sleeping potential. Sean Clifford hits close to home with attending Penn State, so I can be a little biased about that.

Tony Hughes- Philadelphia Eagles

A

I feel like we had the best draft out of all the teams. Picking up arguably the two best defensive players in the draft Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith, as well as drafting Jordan Davis and Nakobe Dean the year prior.

Our defense will easily be top 3 in the league. Adding depth to our secondary with Kelee Ringo and Sydney Brown, both solid defensive players who will be crucial in building depth at the cornerback and safety positions.

As well as picking up D’andre Swift, who is a great young running back to fill in for the loss of Miles Sanders, the Eagles picked up Swift for practically a bag of chips.

We definitely have another super bowl appearance locked in.

Dravyn Crowell- Carolina Panthers

A-

First, overall, they picked up Alabama star quarterback Bryce Young. Young won the Heisman in 2021 and will be a pretty good fit for the Panthers. After releasing Baker Mayfield, Young will have a pretty good chance of getting on the field and hopefully showing his true potential and skill set.

The second pick the Panthers took in the draft was Ole Miss receiver, Jonathan Mingo. This was a really good pick-up for them due to their lack of receivers. Mingo is a very talented receiver who does all the dirty work that most skilled receivers don’t like to do. His blocking ability and run-after catch will get him on the field almost immediately. This will also give him the chance to become Carolina’s alpha receiver.

The third pick was DJ Johnson, an EDGE from the University of Oregon. I believe this wasn’t such a good pick because, sure he ran a 4.49 40, but he is in his 20s and still learning how to play his position. Credit to the Panthers though because they do have a plan for him. They plan to use him as a run complement to the likes of Brian Burns and Marquis Haynes.

The fourth-round pick was guard, Chandler Zavala of NC State. This could turn out to be a really valuable pick too, as Chandler has experience on both sides of the line. He could really give veteran guard Brady Christesen a run for his money and maybe pull out a starting spot.

The Fifth pick was safety, Jammie Robinson of Florida State. He is the type of back they need to bring into the defensive backroom that already features Jaycee Horn, Donte Johnson, and Xavier Woods. Although he is not the biggest man on the field, he managed to have 7 interceptions, 16 PBU’s, and 3 forced fumbles in his college career. all around, he could play safety, nickel corner, and even slot. This was an overall good pick.

Dylon Brower – New York Giants

A

The G-men had a few glaring needs going into the draft. They needed defensive backs, a star wide receiver, and an interior O-lineman. Giants GM Joe Schoen succeeded in addressing the needs.

In the first round Giants chose Deonte Banks out of Maryland. He fits into the defensive scheme well as a man cornerback and provides a lot of speed on the outside.

In the second the Giants chose the best center in the draft, John Michael-Schmitz from Minnesota. Schmitz has great hand speed off the snap and will immediately make an impact starting on the line.

In the third, the Giants selected Jalin Hyatt from Tennessee. The Giants seem to have a trend in the draft, and it’s speed and athleticism. Hyatt fits the trend, with blazing speed and quickness.

The rest of the draft addressed smaller needs like better run support with a DT out of Oregon, and general depth in DBs with another corner and safety out of Old Dominion and Houston respectively.

Colton Veres – Seattle Seahawks

A

With a phenomenal draft class in the 2022 season, the Seattle Seahawks have succeeded with another A grade in the 2023 draft.

The two first picks for this year’s Seahawks were Devon Witherspoon, CB, Illinois to help the strong secondary with the run support along with his lockdown tendencies.

The second was Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Ohio State, a shifty wide receiver in the slot to help complete the big trio with Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf.

On the defensive side, some notable names to help with the weak run defense are Derick Hall, EDGE, Auburn, Cameron Young, DL, Mississippi State, Mike Morris, EDGE, Michigan. The hope is to fill these gaps and enforce the defensive line with these picks.

The last a key draft pick for the backfield is Zach Charbonnet, RB, UCLA as this will help Kenneth Walker’s workload with another strong running back.

Klayten Moore- Tennessee Titans

B-

Even though the 2023 draft was deep with a lot of good players, I think that the Tennessee Titans only secured a B-.

The first problem is that the Titans failed to fix their wide receiver situation. In the first round, Tennessee had the 11th pick and they took offensive tackle Peter Soronski. Soronski is a good pick because the Titans were ranked 6th in sacks allowed in 2022, but I still think the Titans could really have used that pick to help their receiving corps.

In the second round, with the 33rd pick the Titans took quarterback Will Levis.  Levis’s drop to the second round was one of the draft’s biggest stories, but I think he is a risky pick because he needs time to develop his play before he enters a starting job. With this pick, they now have two young quarterbacks in Will Levis and Milik Willis. How this will play out is anyone’s guess.

In Round 3, with pick 81 the Titans took running back Tyjae Spears. The Titans really need a solid WR1 but taking an RB was still solid. Derek Henry is reaching the end of his career because RBs don’t tend to last long in the NFL.

The Titans did not have a round 4 pick so in round 5 pick 147 they took tight end Josh Whyle. Josh Whyle is a very solid blocking tight end and fits perfectly in the offense.

In round 6 they took another OL, Jaylen Duncan who is a good pick. In the last round pick 228, the Titans took WR Colton Dowell. I feel they should have taken a wide receiver much earlier. I don’t know how Colton Dowell will play, he might go off, but taking a position in need that late doesn’t usually end well.

Elijah Knarr – Pittsburgh Steelers

A

Going into the 2023 draft, the Steelers needed an offensive tackle, cornerback, defensive lineman, and an edge rusher. For the first time in many years, the Steelers have drafted a borderline perfect draft, filling every spot that they needed.

Perhaps one of the best picks in the entire draft was the Steeler’s first pick in the second round, when the Steelers did what almost everyone in Pittsburgh was hoping they would do, drafting PSU cornerback Joey Porter Jr, who is one of the best Cornerbacks in the nation. Joey’s dad played for the Steelers between the years 1999-2006.

The Steeler’s first pick in the 2023 draft was Broderick Jones, an OT out of Georgia. A very young draftee, he is only 21 years old, and a two-time national champion with the Bulldogs.

The Steelers also drafted Keeanu Benton, a DT out of Wisconsin. He had an outstanding performance in the 2022 season, with 36 tackles, 10 tackles for a loss, and 4.5 sacks.

Another powerhouse in the draft class of 2023 is tight end Darnell Washington from Georgia. He is a very good blocker and receives a lot of yards after contact. Side by side with Pat Frieumtuh, the two will be a great duo this year.

In round 4 the Steelers picked up an Edge from Wisconsin, and in round 7, the Steelers picked another cornerback and an offensive tackle. With the necessary spots filled, especially on defense, the Steelers will look to greatly improve from last season.

Overall Grade: A

Braden Ewing – Minnesota Vikings

B

The Vikings’ top needs before the draft were corner, receiver, defensive tackle, offensive guard, and future QB.

The Vikings are known for their good late-round draft choices over the past couple of years. They have managed to draft people in rounds 4-7 and turn them into valuable starters.

With that being said, last year they drafted safety Lewis Cine in the first round and only got two snaps out of him all year. This year, however, they went offense in the first round in order to find a number two receiver alongside OPOY Justin Jefferson. This number two turned out to be Jordan Addison, a receiver from USC. Addison will complement Jettas perfectly, as he can line up in the slot, split out, or even in the backfield. He is a dynamic playmaker who will help draw attention away from Jettas.

Their third-round pick, corner Mekhi Blackmon also out of USC will likely have snaps available to him, as Minnesota has a weak defensive secondary, especially after losing number one corner Patrick Peterson.

Overall, Minnesota’s draft class was very small with only six selections (partly because of the trade with the Lions which gave them T.J. Hockenson for a second-rounder), but even with this small class, the Vikings were successful.

Caleb McKinney – Baltimore Ravens

B

This year the Baltimore Ravens had a total of six draft picks. Midway through last season, the Ravens traded their second and fifth-round draft picks to acquire Chicago Bears All-Pro inside linebacker Roquan Smith.

In the first round, the Baltimore Ravens came into the draft with the twenty-second pick. The team needs were: wide receivers because the wide receiver room was riddled with injuries this past season, but when healthy still barely produced anything. Also, cornerbacks because with the potential loss of Marcus Peters the team needs another corner to fill his shoes and be on the other side of Marlon Humphrey. Another big need was offensive linemen with the loss of Ben Powers and the consistent need to protect Lamar especially now since he is on a five-year 185 million dollars.

With their first pick, the Ravens General Manager Eric Decosta chose one of the top receivers in the draft Xavin “Zay” Flowers out of Boston College. Coming out of college, one of his comparisons was Steve Smith Sr. who was a former Baltimore receiver who was one of the best in the league in his day. Zay Flowers is a fast, explosive, and crisp receiver, who will compliment Mark Andrews, and new addition Odell Beckham Jr. Flowers is also a great YAC receiver, he is slippery and very hard to tackle. He will add to the weapons that the new and improved Baltimore Ravens offense has needed. Coming out of college the 5 ’10 177 lbs receiver produced 200 receptions, resulting in 3056 receiving yards, 29 touchdowns, and over 3401 total yards from the line of scrimmage and 31 total touchdowns.

The next pick the Ravens had was the 83rd pick in the third round and they selected Trent Simpson, a linebacker out of Clemson. Coming out of college he had 187 solo tackles, 22.5 tackles for loss, 12.5 sacks, 6 pass breakups, and 3 forced fumbles. This was not a real surprise of a pick, but also a surprise at the same time because they had a great linebacker combination of new addition Roquan Smith and Patrick Queen. Queen has been declined his fifth-year option which is probably why they chose Trent Simpson, but there is talk of a trade with the Arizona Cardinals which sends Patrick Queen and a number of picks to receive All-Pro receiver DeAndre Hopkins.

The Ravens got a steal with this pick because Simpson was ranked the third-best linebacker in the draft and to get him in the third round is a great pickup if the Ravens choose to move on from linebacker Patrick Queen.

In the fourth round of the draft, the Ravens selected Tavius, an edge rusher out of Ole Miss. This was not a good pick because of the young and upcoming talent that the Ravens already have with Tyus Bowser, Odafe Oweh, and a second-round pick from last year David Ojabo. Also with now free agent Justin Houston, who had a monster season for the Ravens, is very hopeful to resign there but there is just no room for a late-round rookie to get actual playing time.

In the fifth round picked 157th, the Baltimore Ravens selected Kyu Blu Kelly cornerback from Stanford. This is a solid late-round pick, definitely not a day-one starter just because of the new and recent signing of Rock Ya-Sins, but Kelly should definitely bring depth to the cornerback room.

The last two picks of the Ravens had definitely addressed the offensive line needs by drafting Malaesala Aumava-Laula to tackle out of Oregon and with the final pick they selected Andrew Vorhees guard out of USC. These picks will hopefully be good developing players at least to start as a backup except maybe Vorhees only because with the loss of the best-rated pass protector out of all the guards in the NFL according to PFF Ben Powers there will be an open spot available that will need to be filled. With Ronnie Stanley coming back Aumava-Laula will have a great teacher, but also with the aging tackle Morgan Moses even though he came off a great season, time is not on his side. The offensive line in the past had some struggles with injuries and allowing pressure, but this last year they were one of the best-rated lines in the NFL, but this line isn’t getting any younger so with these picks they can hopefully teach these rookies up to step up when these vets retire.

Based on this draft the overall grade is a B because with these draft picks they definitely could have chosen better and chosen the positions that the team needed more than others, but all the picks were solid so only time will tell if these picks were worth it.

Brayden Sloss – Seattle Seahawks

A-

The Seattle Seahawks had a special and unique opportunity to really make a splash this draft with 2 first and 2 second-round picks. Seattle received the 5th and 37th overall picks from the Denver Broncos as a part of the blockbuster Russell Wilson trade on March 8th, 2022. The Broncos 1st round pick was projected to fall somewhere in between 20 and 32, assuming that they would have a productive season and make the playoffs with their new head coach and new star quarterback. This did not go at all to plan with the team being one of the worst in the league and only winning 5 games.

On the other side of the trade, the Seahawks shocked the league by not only winning more than the projected 2 games they were said to be on track for but also going 9-8 and making the playoffs. Alongside this, their quarterback Geno Smith won Comeback Player of The Year, along with their rookie running back and cornerback Kenneth Walker and Tariq Woolen being up for Rookie of the Year on their sides of the ball. Seattle had the 20th and 52nd pick as well from their own record.

With the 5th pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks selected cornerback Devon Witherspoon. Who, paired with DROY candidate Tariq Woolen, can be an elite corner for the Hawks and improve their young and dangerous secondary. He played for Illinois and was regarded by many as the hardest-hitting player in the draft which fits perfectly into the Seahawk’s “Legion of Boom” style defense. He is also a ball hawk which will go nicely with Tariq Woolen’s 2022-23 NFL interception leader title. Many fans wanted Jalen Carter who has been said to be the most talented player in this draft but after his legal troubles this year and a bad visit with Seattle, it makes much more sense to select Devon Witherspoon at 5.

With the 20th pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks selected wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba from Ohio State. He is considered to be the best receiver in the draft almost unanimously by fans and analysts. Jaxon missed most of his final season at Ohio State but in 2021 he had one of the greatest wide receiver seasons in college football history going for 95 catches, 1,606 yards, and 9 touchdowns in 13 games. Also, against Utah in the Rose Bowl, he recorded 346 receiving yards, 15 catches, and 3 touchdowns. This is the 5th most yards in a college football game ever. Overall, Njigba is an elite pairing with Seahawks receivers DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett and it will not be surprising if they are the best wide receiver trio in the league. Also adding this trio along with OROY candidate Kenneth Walker and CPOY Geno Smith gives the Seahawks a great chance to be an elite offensive and highly competitive.

With the 37th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks selected Derick Hall, an outside linebacker from Auburn. Hall is a great young addition to the Seahawk’s linebacker core with the departure of Cody Barton. Also with Seattle bringing back Seahawks legend Bobby Wagner, Hall can be coached into our next key player. With the 52nd pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks selected Zach Charbonnet from UCLA. Zach is a very good running back who should help take some of the workloads off of Kenneth Walker’s shoulders and create depth at the running back position after the departure of Rashaad Penny and Travis Homer.

The rest of the Seahawk’s picks addressed various depth needs such as defensive line, offensive line, and safety. Along with adding Georgia running back Kenny McIntosh who finished off the trio of talented young Seahawks running backs. Overall, the Seahawks made all the right moves to improve the team and put them on the path to a playoff berth and maybe even a shot at winning the division.

This lands the Seahawks at an A- rating on the grade scale.

Brady Ronan – Cincinnati Bengals 

B

Cincinnati came into the draft looking for a new secondary, after losing several key players to free agency.

In the first round Cincy took Myles Murphy, a defensive end out of Clemson with the 28th pick. I feel like they reached a little for this pick. Needing a tight end or more depth to the offensive line, I don’t necessarily love this pick.

Looking to fill the roles of Jessie Bates III and Von Bell, and they did so by drafting DJ Turner II, who was the fasted player in the draft, in the second round, and Jordan Battle in the third round, getting two of the top DBs in all of college football.

Also looking for a running back after Joe Mixon has many allegations against him, the Bengals snagged Chase Brown in the fifth, a short, shifty running back out of the University of Illinois.

The Bengals had a decent draft all around for how late they were in the draft.