NFL Mock Draft 2023, Botch Job: Every team screws up its first-round pick

NFL Mock Draft 2023: Every team screws up its first-round pick

For so long, the Baltimore Ravens defense was just something that you could set your watch to. They consistently hit on high draft picks, found value late in the draft, signed smart free agents, and made teams hate facing them. That was decisively not the case in the 2022 season, however, and now the unit is in clear need of some help.

Perhaps the only area where the Ravens defense doesn’t require some upgrades is at pass rusher. But with the way the board looks, this should be a pick to help that side of the ball.

Instead, as the team very clearly remains desperate (rightfully so, for what it’s worth) to not lose Lamar Jackson, this is a classic spot for Baltimore to try and make the quarterback happy with an undersized and under-athletic receiver who was productive in college like Jordan Addison.

Look, Lamar! They got you another weapon — just don’t worry about the defense allowing 30 points per game.

Much of the 2023 offseason for the Vikings has been centered upon reshaping a defense that has wildly underperformed for some time now. It was needed, but it’s also a process that’s not done. As things currently stand, Danielle Hunter is holding out on offseason workouts and could be moved while Za’Darius Smith requested a trade or his release back in March and that is assumedly still the case with him as well.

That puts a premium on getting an edge rusher and there are lot of fans of Myles Murphy. While I would love him as a Top 50 pick early in the second round, I can’t justify using a first-rounder on him. He has athleticism and physical tools for days, but when you have that in the tool chest and only produce 6.5 sacks in the ACC last season, that worries me a great deal. He’s not the pass-rushing force that the Vikings need right away and this pick would be better used on a number of other players in the front seven at this spot.