The number of days until the 2023 NFL Draft can now be counted on one hand. Prospects will realize a lifelong dream and some teams will add key pieces to an eventual Super Bowl roster. In preparation for the big night, CBS Sports has released its final consensus prospect rankings.
Here are the top 150 prospects as Ryan Wilson, Chris Trapasso and I see them going into Thursday night:
| 1. Will Anderson Jr., EDGE, Alabama |
| 2. Bryce Young, QB, Alabama |
| 3. Jalen Carter, DL, Georgia |
| 4. C.J. Stroud, QB, Ohio State |
| 5. Bijan Robinson, RB, Texas |
| 6. Peter Skoronski, OT, Northwestern |
| 7. Christian Gonzalez, CB, Oregon |
| 8. Tyree Wilson, EDGE, Texas Tech |
| 9. Devon Witherspoon, CB, Illinois |
| 10. Deonte Banks, CB, Maryland |
| 11. Anthony Richardson, QB, Florida |
| 12. Joey Porter Jr., CB, Penn State |
| 13. Paris Johnson Jr., OT, Ohio State |
| 14. Jahmyr Gibbs, RB, Alabama |
| 15. Quentin Johnston, WR, TCU |
| 16. Lukas Van Ness, EDGE, Iowa |
| 17. Brian Branch, S, Alabama |
| 18. Will Levis, QB, Kentucky |
| 19. Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Ohio State |
| 20. Myles Murphy, EDGE, Clemson |
| 21. Michael Mayer, TE, Notre Dame |
| 22. Nolan Smith, EDGE, Georgia |
| 23. Broderick Jones, OT, Georgia |
| 24. Zay Flowers, WR, Boston College |
| 25. Jordan Addison, WR, USC |
Alabama will finish with the top two prospects in the 2023 NFL Draft class in CBS Sports' prospect rankings. Young is more likely to go No. 1 overall but Anderson's production in the SEC over the past two years can not be ignored. He may not be the next Myles Garrett or Von Miller, but there is no doubt that his game translates to the next level. Speaking for myself, Carter likely would have been the top overall prospect had it not been hedging a bit for the off-field concerns. He is an impact performer at one of the most difficult positions to find that descriptor.
Stroud checks in as the second-best quarterback, but it may not play out like this on draft night. Robinson finishes as a top five prospect but it will be interesting to see how high a team is willing to take a running back in the first round. Skoronski is the top offensive lineman and Gonzalez is the highest-ranked cornerback with both Witherspoon and Banks also cracking the top-10 overall.
Alabama's Gibbs is the second-highest ranked running back and the No. 14 prospect overall. If he lands in a system that will maximum his skills in the pass game, he could be more productive than Robinson. Richardson is the third-ranked QB at No. 11 overall and Levis is fourth of the bunch at No. 18 overall. Mayer is the top-rated tight end at No. 21 overall. Johnston is the top-rated wide receiver at No. 15 overall.
Edge rusher is the most well-represented position with five. Quarterback, cornerback and wide receiver each had four. One interesting factoid is that only nine players had a first-round grade in our aggregate rankings. In most years, there are at least 15. Teams in that range should get a quality player, but it should open eyes to the level of talent drop off. First-round grades will vary by team and that could spark trade action as teams try to get players they view in that light.
| 26. Darnell Wright, OT, Tennessee |
| 27. Bryan Bresee, DL, Clemson |
| 28. Anton Harrison, OT, Oklahoma |
| 29. Drew Sanders, LB, Arkansas |
| 30. Calijah Kancey, DL, Pittsburgh |
| 31. Dalton Kincaid, TE, Utah |
| 32. Cam Smith, CB, South Carolina |
| 33. O'Cyrus Torrence, IOL, Florida |
| 34. Emmanuel Forbes, CB, Mississippi State |
| 35. Darnell Washington, TE, Georgia |
| 36. Steve Avila, IOL, TCU |
| 37. John Michael Schmitz, IOL, Minnesota |
| 38. Adetomiwa Adebawore, DL, Northwestern |
| 39. Derick Hall, EDGE, Auburn |
| 40. Jack Campbell, LB, Iowa |
| 41. Sam LaPorta, TE, Iowa |
| 42. Keion White, EDGE, Georgia Tech |
| 43. BJ Ojulari, EDGE, LSU |
| 44. Cody Mauch, IOL, North Dakota State |
| 45. Matthew Bergeron, OT, Syracuse |
| 46. Josh Downs, WR, North Carolina |
| 47. Daiyan Henley, LB, Washington State |
| 48. Kelee Ringo, CB, Georgia |
| 49. Felix Anudike-Uzomah, EDGE, Kansas State |
| 50. Mazi Smith, DL, Michigan |
There are seven offensive linemen in the second batch of top prospects. For teams in the market for interior offensive line help, this range is expected to be the sweet spot in this draft. Sanders is the first and one of only three linebackers in the top 50.
Four tight ends are among the top 50 prospects in this year's class. Arizona took the first tight end at No. 55 overall last year. Only one wide receiver is found among this group so perhaps there is reason to believe teams will try to get one of the top players at the position earlier than expected.
| 51. Tyler Scott, WR, Cincinnati |
| 52. Will McDonald IV, EDGE, Iowa State |
| 53. Joe Tippmann, IOL, Wisconsin |
| 54. Jakorian Bennett, CB, Maryland |
| 55. Hendon Hooker, QB, Tennessee |
| 56. Trenton Simpson, LB, Clemson |
| 57. JL Skinner, S, Boise State |
| 58. Luke Musgrave, TE, Oregon State |
| 59. Jalen Redmond, DL, Oklahoma |
| 60. Tuli Tuipulotu, DL, USC |
| 61. Jalin Hyatt, WR, Tennessee |
| 62. Isaiah Foskey, EDGE, Notre Dame |
| 63. Jartavius Martin, S, Illinois |
| 64. DJ Turner, CB, Michigan |
| 65. Julius Brents, CB, Kansas State |
| 66. Blake Freeland, OT, BYU |
| 67. Karl Brooks, DL, Bowling Green |
| 68. Andre Carter II, EDGE, Army |
| 69. Gervon Dexter Sr., DL, Florida |
| 70. Antonio Johnson, S, Texas A&M |
| 71. Byron Young, EDGE, Tennessee |
| 72. Jayden Reed, WR, Michigan State |
| 73. Marte Mapu, S, Sacramento State |
| 74. Rashee Rice, WR, SMU |
| 75. Byron Young, DL, Alabama |
| 76. Marvin Mims, WR, Oklahoma |
| 77. Cedric Tillman, WR, Tennessee |
| 78. Zacch Pickens, DL, South Carolina |
| 79. Roschon Johnson, RB, Texas |
| 80. Nick Saldiveri, IOL, Old Dominion |
| 81. Moro Ojomo, DL, Texas |
| 82. Clark Phillips III, CB, Utah |
| 83. Ji'Ayir Brown, CB, Penn State |
| 84. Darius Rush, CB, South Carolina |
| 85. Cory Trice, CB, Purdue |
| 86. Devon Achane, RB, Texas A&M |
| 87. Keeanu Benton, DL, Wisconsin |
| 88. Chandler Zavala, IOL, NC State |
| 89. Dawand Jones, OT, Ohio State |
| 90. Tyjae Spears, RB, Tulane |
| 91. Sydney Brown, S, Illinois |
| 92. Yaya Diaby, EDGE, Louisville |
| 93. Eli Ricks, CB, Alabama |
| 94. Zach Harrison, EDGE, Ohio State |
| 95. Jordan Battle, S, Alabama |
| 96. Colby Wooden, DL, Auburn |
| 97. Parker Washington, WR, Penn State |
| 98. Tucker Kraft, TE, South Dakota State |
| 99. Nathaniel Dell, WR, Houston |
| 100. Jaquelin Roy, DL, LSU |
Eight cornerbacks are found in this range. It is interesting because certain teams could look to that depth and take another position of need in the first round. After the first four quarterbacks, Hooker is the next off the board at No. 55 overall. Interest in Hooker is likely to begin much earlier, however, because of the perceived drop off in talent. The next quarterback among our top 150 is found at No. 144 overall.
There were a few surprises among this grouping, including Army's Carter, Maryland's Bennett and Oklahoma's Redmond. Those would probably be outliers against the mock draft community's consensus board, but big individual grades on each propped them up when the margins are very narrow.
| 101. Jaelyn Duncan, OT, Maryland |
| 102. Zach Charbonnet, RB, UCLA |
| 103. Jaylon Jones, CB, Texas A&M |
| 104. Terell Smith, CB, Minnesota |
| 105. Anthony Bradford, IOL, LSU |
| 106. Tyrique Stevenson, CB, Miami |
| 107. Brandon Joseph, S, Notre Dame |
| 108. Siaki Ika, DL, Baylor |
| 109. Daniel Scott, S, California |
| 110. Dorian Williams, LB, Tulane |
| 111. Nick Herbig, EDGE, Wisconsin |
| 112. Jammie Robinson, S, Florida State |
| 113. Kaevon Merriweather, S, Iowa |
| 114. Garrett Williams, CB, Syracuse |
| 115. Isaiah McGuire, DL, Missouri |
| 116. Tank Bigsby, RB, Auburn |
| 117. Andrew Vorhees, IOL, USC |
| 118. Starling Thomas V, CB, UAB |
| 119. Andrei Iosivas, WR, Princeton |
| 120. AT Perry, WR, Wake Forest |
| 121. Kei'Trel Clark, CB, Louisville |
| 122. Kayshon Boutte, WR, LSU |
| 123. Luke Wypler, IOL, Ohio State |
| 124. Jonathan Mingo, WR, Ole Miss |
| 125. Wanya Morris, OT, Oklahoma |
| 126. Richard Gouraige, OT, Florida |
| 127. Sidy Sow, IOL, Eastern Michigan |
| 128. Kyu Blu Kelly, CB, Stanford |
| 129. Will Mallory, TE, Miami |
| 130. Viliami Fehoko, EDGE, San Jose State |
| 131. Zach Evans, RB, Ole Miss |
| 132. Henry Bainivalu, IOL, Washington |
| 133. Braeden Daniels, OT, Utah |
| 134. Warren McClendon, OT, Georgia |
| 135. DeMario Douglas, WR, Liberty |
| 136. Trey Palmer, WR, Nebraska |
| 137. Myles Brooks, CB, Louisiana Tech |
| 138. Tre Tucker, WR, Cincinnati |
| 139. Brenton Strange, TE, Penn State |
| 140. Gervarrius Owens, S, Houston |
| 141. Jay Ward, CB, LSU |
| 142. Henry To'oTo'o, LB, Alabama |
| 143. Owen Pappoe, LB, Auburn |
| 144. Jake Haener, QB, Fresno State |
| 145. Dante Stills, DL, West Virginia |
| 146. Nick Broeker, OT, Ole Miss |
| 147. Riley Moss, CB, Iowa |
| 148. Quindell Johnson, S, Memphis |
| 149. DJ Johnson, EDGE, Oregon |
| 150. Darrell Luter Jr, CB, South Alabama |
Once Day 3 begins, fans will see different strategic approaches from teams. Some may be more willing to take a chance on the athletic potential of a player in the hopes that they one day develop into a starter. Others may target consistent performers at the collegiate level with the idea that their floor suggests they will be contributors, to some degree, at the next level.
Buzz suggests that a few players from this list will be taken much higher -- most notably Ole Miss wide receiver Jonathan Mingo, Iowa cornerback Riley Moss and Penn State tight end Brenton Strange -- but this is a general look at how we see players and not necessarily where they will be picked later this week.
The 2023 NFL Draft will take place from April 27-29 in Kansas City, Missouri.
