With a month to go until the 2023 NFL Draft boards are being finalised and rankings crystallised. The NFL Draft brings with it a range of views and opinions. The wide variety of analysts gives us different perspectives on the traits and abilities of prospects and other factors such as positional value. Looking across the differing recent boards can we distil it into a coherent Top 50?
What does a Consensus Top 50 look like, taking different Top 50 Boards from various outlets including the likes of NFL.com, PFF, ESPN and our very own Draft & College Football Editor, Owain Jones. The results are based on a combination of frequency of selection in a Top 50 and the position. So, for instance, a player appearing on numerous Top 50 boards but in the 30s will come out higher than another who only appears once or twice but in the 20s. Still with me? Let’s take a look at the results when we put it all together.
Top 10
| 1 | EDGE | Will Anderson JR | Alabama |
| 2 | QB | Bryce Young | Alabama |
| 3 | DT | Jalen Carter | Georgia |
| 4 | QB | CJ Stroud | Ohio State |
| 5 | EDGE | Tyree Wilson | Texas Tech |
| 6 | RB | Bijan Robinson | Texas |
| 7 | CB | Devon Witherspoon | Illinois |
| 8 | QB | Anthony Richardson | Florida |
| 9 | CB | Christian Gonzalez | Oregon |
| 10 | OT | Paris Johnson JR | Ohio State |
Not too many shocks in our consensus Top 10. All of these prospects are regular picks in the elite “Blue Chip” category. There is the slightly skewed positional value for quarterbacks although it is noticeable already that the majority view is Will Levis sits just outside this elite group. Bijan Robinson has the highest range of any player (from 2 to 36) which demonstrates the range of opinion on talent versus the positional value of a running back.
Top 11-20
| 11 | OT | Peter Skoronski | Northwestern |
| 12 | QB | Will Levis | Kentucky |
| 13 | EDGE | Lukas Van Ness | Iowa |
| 14 | EDGE | Miles Murphy | Clemson |
| 15 | CB | Joey Porter JR | Penn State |
| 16 | DB | Brian Branch | Alabama |
| 17 | WR | Quentin Johnston | TCU |
| 18 | WR | Jaxon Smith-Njigba | Ohio State |
| 19 | TE | Dalton Kincaid | Utah |
| 20 | WR | Jordan Addison | USC |
As we move outside the top 10 the premier positions of tackle, edge rusher and cornerback continue to be popular. Brian Branch is another player where analysts have sought to balance his undoubted talent against positional value. He still on average makes the top 20. Our first wide receivers also make an appearance but again they attract a range of opinion (Johnston 10-34, Smith-Njigba 11-31, Addison 10-44).
Top 21-30
| 21 | TE | Michael Mayer | Notre Dame |
| 22 | EDGE | Nolan Smith | Georgia |
| 23 | OT | Broderick Jones | Georgia |
| 24 | DT | Bryan Bresee | Clemson |
| 25 | OT | Darnell Wright | Tennessee |
| 26 | WR | Zay Flowers | Boston College |
| 27 | DT | Calijah Kancey | Pittsburgh |
| 28 | CB | Deonte Banks | Maryland |
| 29 | EDGE | Keion White | Georgia Tech |
| 30 | TE | Darnell Washington | Georgia |
In theory this would complete round one of the Draft (except for the final 31st pick). Do you think these are all potential first-rounders? Tackle Darnell Wright has risen from the 40s into the teens which averages him out at 25. Edge rusher Keion White only appears in around half the board but when he is selected it is almost exclusively top 30. Cornerback Deonte Banks also has momentum, rising up Top 50 rankings to put him solidly in this range. We also have 3 tight-ends with Michael Mayer an ever-present and Darnell Washington ranging from 17-43 but appearing only on half the boards.
Top 31-40
| 31 | OT | Anton Harrison | Oklahoma |
| 32 | RB | Jahymr Gibbs | Alabama |
| 33 | CB | Kelee Ringo | Georgia |
| 34 | EDGE | Will McDonald | Iowa State |
| 35 | IOL | O’Cyrus Torrence | Florida |
| 36 | EDGE | Felix Anudike-Uzomah | Kansas State |
| 37 | CB | Emmanuel Forbes | Mississippi State |
| 38 | LB | Trenton Simpson | Clemson |
| 39 | EDGE | BJ Ojulari | LSU |
| 40 | IOL | John Michael Schmitz | Minnesota |
As we head past potential 1st rounders there is less consensus on the big boards which is to be expected. Names such as Torrence, Ringo, Ojulari and Gibbs still appear in almost every Top 50 but more in the range of 30-50. Anton Harrison is a polarising prospect, appearing in only half the boards. However, where he is selected it is almost exclusively in the 20s. Overall this propels Harrison as high as the 31st spot.
Top 41-50
| 41 | CB | Cam Smith | Sth Carolina |
| 42 | IOL | Joe Tippmann | Wisconsin |
| 43 | WR | Jalin Hyatt | Tennessee |
| 44 | TE | Luke Musgrave | Oregon State |
| 45 | EDGE | Derick Hall | Auburn |
| 46 | EDGE | Isaiah Foskey | Notre Dame |
| 47 | IOL | Steve Avila | TCU |
| 48 | LB | Drew Sanders | Arkansas |
| 49 | S | Antonio Johnson | Texas A&M |
| 50 | WR | Josh Downs | Nth Carolina |
Only 10 spots left and field-stretching wideout Jalin Hyatt appears in half of the board in the range 23-44. Some lower positional value creeps in at the end with more interior offensive lineman (Tippmann and Avila), linebacker Drew Sanders and safety Antonio Johnson making the cut. If you have been keeping track we have only included 2 players at running back (Robinson and Gibbs), linebacker (Simpson and Sanders) and safety (if we count Branch at that position with Johnson). This is in contrast to our EDGE rushers (11) who take up 22% of the list.
Who missed out?
Our near-misses were: OT Cody Mauch, EDGE Tuli Tuipulotu, LB Jack Campbell, DT Mazi Smith and CB Clark Phillips III. In each case they made 3 or 4 of the lists and a range of positions (Campbell as high as 22 and Tuipulotu up at 29) but this was not enough to dislodge any of our Top 50. In total there were 97 players with at least one appearance across the boards considered.
What are your thoughts on this Consensus Top 50? How does it stack up against how you view the top prospects in this year’s NFL Draft? Let us know @ninetynineyards and get in touch via @47yards about any Draft Talk! Also check out our You Tube Channel
(Image: Will Anderson JR courtesy of Alabama Athletics, roll tide.com)
Find more by the same author here.