After a crazy year of college football, with Texas Christian University making a Cinderella run into the College Football Playoff, it is now all about the players. The 2023 NFL draft took place from April 27 to April 29, and College players had a chance to play for the big name teams and make big bucks.
Bryce Young is a quarterback who played his college career at the University of Alabama, under head coach Nick Saban. The five-star recruit muscled his name to the top of the list and was the projected first overall pick. Young ended up being drafted by the Carolina Panthers as the first pick of the 2023 draft and earned a 24-million dollar signing bonus.
“I’m not surprised he went first,” junior Nathan Lillie said. “He’s really talented and has a great mental game. He deserved to go number one.”
After the Panthers first pick the Houston Texans would follow with the second and third pick. Taking Will Anderson Junior, a linebacker out of Alabama and CJ Stroud, the quarterback for Ohio State. But the biggest surprise was the Eagles taking three players back to back to back from the University of Georgia. The Eagles would be the first team to take two players in the first round from the same team in over five years.
“I honestly think that the Eagles won the draft,” sophomore Nash Beashers said. “They have a bunch of young talent and that chemistry coming from the same team is going to help them a lot.”
But the biggest shocker of the draft was Will Levis. The all star Kentucky quarterback was projected to go seventh overall but didn’t get his name called until the early second round. After all 32 teams had placed their call in the first round, Levi’s remained untouched. Instead of Levis, the Indianapolis Colts took Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson. Levis would later be picked by the Tennessee Titans as the 33rd overall pick.
“I personally think Richardson is a better overall player. He has a good arm and gets out of the pocket when needed,” Lillie said. “Levis on the other hand is just average.”
The 2023 NFL Draft was one for the books with many twisted turns and unexpected endings. The Eagles taking three teammates and a projected seventh overall pick dropping 26 spots all made a mark on draft history.
“The draft had one clear winner, the Philadelphia Eagles, hands down,” junior Grady Brown said. “The talent they got is going to give them that edge they have been looking for.”
