Back in January, NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah named the Georgia defender as his top pick. However, Carter was arrested and released on March 1 on misdemeanor charges of reckless driving and racing related to an investigation into a fatal crash, which hurt his draft stock. DJ ranked him as his No. 6 overall prospect going into Round 1. The Eagles moved up with the Bears to get him at No. 9, which was the ninth pick.
The NGS overall draft score placed Carter as the best defensive tackle. He has the game tape (86 production score) and movement skills at 314 pounds (83 estimated athleticism score) to become one of the best defensive tackles in the NFL. The Eagles picked a defensive tackle from Georgia in the first round for the second year in a row. This time, the player they picked was Jordan Davis, whose total draft score of 84 made him the best defensive tackle in the 2022 class.
The New England Patriots got the No. 3 “can’t-miss prospect” from Next Gen Stats and the 10th-ranked player on Daniel Jeremiah’s big board, even though the front office moved down three spots to get him (from No. 14 to No. 17). The NGS Draft Model says Gonzalez is one of the best-rounded cornerbacks in this year’s class because of his great 2022 season at Oregon (85 production score) and great performance at the combine (88 athleticism score), along with his perfect size and length. In Indianapolis, the former track star showed off his amazing speed with a lightning-fast 4.38-second 40-yard dash and a huge 41.5-inch vertical jump. The model says that Gonzalez is the only cornerback prospect in the 2023 class to get an 85 or higher on both athleticism and performance.
Banks (6 feet, 197 pounds) had one of the best NGS athleticism scores (98) of all the players who will be working out at the 2023 combine. He did a 4.35-second 40-yard dash, an 11-foot-4 broad jump, and a 42-inch vertical jump. His score is the fourth-best of all CB prospects from the last ten years. That Banks is both big and fast makes him even more important in the NFC East, where players like A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Terry McLaurin, and CeeDee Lamb play. PFF says that Banks played press on 53% of his coverage snaps last season. He fits in well with defensive coordinator Wink Martindale’s press-heavy system.
The ninth-ranked prospect by Daniel Jeremiah is going to Buffalo. Josh Allen and the Bills’ attack will depend on him to catch passes. In a deal with the Jaguars, general manager Brandon Beane moved up two places to get the very good prospect, from No. 27 to No. 25. In two years, Kincaid caught eight touchdowns and became an important part of Utah’s offense that put on a show against USC for the Pac-12 title. Kennedy caught 16 passes for 234 yards against the Trojans. Kincaid had the highest NGS production score of any tight end in the draft class, which was known for having a lot of ability.
A lot of people thought that Eagles GM Howie Roseman could get a steal at the end of the first round when he picked up a talent at No. 10 overall. Smith is a lot like Haason Reddick and can play different defensive front spots for the Eagles. He ran the second-fastest 40-yard dash (4.39 seconds) of any edge defender at the NFL Scouting Combine since 2003. He also had the best 10-yard split (1.52 seconds), broad jump (10 feet 8 inches), and vertical jump (41.5 inches) times for his position group. Roseman adds two top-front-seven possibilities from one of the best defenses in college football for the second year in a row.
2023 Nfl Draft Eagles Select Two Georgia Players In Jalen Carter And Nolan Smith In Round 1 What To Know
