With just three days until the 2023 NFL Draft, here's 50 facts giving you a comprehensive look at the major storylines for April's event. I've got you covered from the top prospects, quarterbacks, team needs, college and positional trends, even some draft history and anniversaries sprinkled in. Enjoy!
Facts are from myself and CBS sports researcher Ryan Satsky.
1) The 88th annual NFL Draft will be located in Kansas City, Missouri, from April 27-29, home to the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.
2) The Bears traded the first overall pick to the Panthers for two first-round picks, two second-picks and WR D.J. Moore. Carolina can make the first overall pick for the second time in franchise history. They drafted QB Cam Newton with the top pick in 2011.
3) The ramifications of this trade could be felt for years to come. The top pick has been traded 12 previous times in the common draft era (since 1967), most recently when the Rams traded up with the Titans for Jared Goff. Seven of those 12 picks made a Super Bowl with their debut team.
4) Alabama QB Bryce Young is the overwhelming favorite to be the first pick at Caesars Sportsbook (-1600), thanks to a career at Alabama that included winning the Heisman Trophy in 2021. There's a lot to like about Young, including his 79 touchdown passes in the last two seasons, the most in a two-season span in SEC history.
5) The one long-term concern is his size. Young measured at 5-foot-10 and 204 pounds at the 2023 NFL Combine. Kyler Murray, who is recovering from a torn ACL, is the only QB under 6 feet tall drafted in the first round in the common draft era.
6) The top of the draft should be defined by quarterbacks, beginning with Young as the presumptive No. 1 overall pick. Between Young, C.J. Stroud, Anthony Richardson and Will Levis, this could be the second time ever four QBs go in the top 10 (2018: Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, Josh Allen and Josh Rosen). It's even possible QBs could go 1-2-3-4 for the first time ever.
7) Florida QB Anthony Richardson has been climbing up draft boards all offseason. He broke QB records for the vertical jump and broad jump at the combine, while running a 4.43 40-yard dash at 244 pounds.
8) Richardson's sky-high ceiling comes with a concern or two. Richardson threw 24 touchdown passes in his college career, which would be the fewest by a first-round pick QB since Michael Vick in 2001. He would have the lowest completion rate (54.7 percent) by a first-round QB since Jake Locker in 2011 (54.0)
9) C.J. Stroud should also be in the mix at the top. He has the same number of seasons with 40-plus touchdown passes (two) as all other players in Big Ten history combined.
10) Stroud would be the first Big Ten QB drafted in the top 10 since Kerry Collins in 1995 out of Penn State. He was the first pick in Carolina Panthers history (fifth overall).
11) We should see more history at the top of the draft. While Super Bowl LVII was the first matchup between Black starting QBs in Super Bowl history (Patrick Mahomes vs. Jalen Hurts), the 2023 NFL Draft could be the first time Black QBs are the first two overall picks in draft history.
12) Will Levis didn't exactly put up video game numbers at Kentucky with 46 touchdown passes and 25 interceptions. Four QBs have been drafted in the first round since 2000 after having fewer than 50 touchdown passes and 25-plus interceptions in college: Vince Young, Josh Freeman, Christian Ponder and EJ Manuel.
13) The Colts are one team everyone expects to take a QB with the fourth overall pick. They are headed toward a seventh straight season with a different starting QB in Week 1, which will tie the longest streak in NFL history. It is also the 25-year anniversary of the Colts selecting QB Peyton Manning first overall, ahead of Ryan Leaf. Perhaps lightning can strike again.
14) The Panthers (first pick), Texans (second pick) and Colts (fourth pick) are expected to take QBs at the top of the draft, making the third pick owned by the Cardinals a pressure point. Carolina has already moved up for presumably a QB, and don't rule out a second team making a play for Arizona's selection, such as the Seahawks, Lions, Raiders, Falcons, Titans, Commanders, Buccaneers or Vikings. There's been 27 trades up in the first round to take a QB since 2000, which amounts to just over one per draft.
15) Invest wisely. QB is the most important position in sports but has also proved to be the hardest to draft and develop. The success rate of drafting a QB in the first round isn't even a coin-flip proposition. It's more like 37 percent. That's because only 11 of the 30 QBs drafted in the first round in the 2010s signed a second contract with their debut teams.
16) The QB market could shift dramatically if either the Seahawks or Lions throw a curveball with the fifth and sixth overall picks. Both have shown interest in the QB class even with Geno Smith and Jared Goff under contract, and both have the draft capital to take a QB, plus fill other needs. They are the only teams with multiple first- and second-round picks in the draft.
17) The Seahawks have not drafted a QB in the first round since Rick Mirer in 1993. Seattle has the third-longest active drought in the league without taking a QB in the first round behind the Saints (Archie Manning in 1971) and Cowboys (Troy Aikman in 1989).
18) The NFC South is in the midst of a historic QB makeover and there could be more changes coming in the draft. Current QB1 in the division include Kyle Trask (Buccaneers), the No. 1 pick (Panthers), Derek Carr (Saints) and Desmond Ridder (Falcons). This will be the second division in NFL history to feature all different Week 1 starting QBs from one season to the next (1973 AFC West).
19) The Commanders are in desperate need of a franchise QB. Their all-time leader in touchdown passes is Sammy Baugh, who last played in 1952. They've had a QB carousel lately, with an NFL-high 12 different starting QBs since 2018, their first season after Kirk Cousins signed with the Vikings. Sam Howell and Jacoby Brissett are currently on their roster.
20) QBs will be going early and often, but not so much with offensive skill players. There could be zero offensive skill players (RB, WR, TE) drafted in the top 10 for the third time in the common draft era, along with 2002 and 2020.
21) That doesn't mean WRs can't steal the show like in 2022. Last year was the first time six WRs were taken in the top 20, not to mention A.J. Brown and Marquise Brown were traded for first-round picks during the first round.
22) Don't sleep on Jaxon Smith-Njigba. He set Ohio State single-season records for catches (95) and receiving yards (1,606) in 2021, despite sharing the field with Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave, who were drafted 10th and 11th overall in 2022. They were the only rookies with 1,000 receiving yards last season.
23) There may not be a consensus No. 1 WR off the board in 2023, but TCU's Quentin Johnston has a case. He averaged 108 receiving yards per game in his college career against ranked teams, including 163 in a CFP semifinal win against Michigan.
24) The Steelers could continue the trend of pairing college QB/WR duos together in the pros (like Joe Burrow/Ja'Marr Chase, Jalen Hurts/DeVonta Smith, etc.) if they reunite WR prospect Jordan Addison with Kenny Pickett. Addison won the Biletnikoff Award at Pittsburgh in 2021 with Pickett before transferring to USC.
25) The Ravens might need a WR more than any team in the league, and we've been saying this for a while. Their wide receivers have ranked last in receiving yards in three of the last four seasons. And remarkably, the Ravens have never had a WR make a Pro Bowl in their 27-year history. They have the longest active drought in the league without a Pro Bowl WR.
26) The Packers should also be in the market for a pass catcher. They have the longest drought in the common draft era without selecting a RB, WR or TE in the first round. The last time they did was in 2002 (when Aaron Rodgers was in high school) with WR Javon Walker.
27) The Packers have been linked to tight ends like Notre Dame's Michael Mayer. "I think the tight end group is the best I've seen in the last 10 years," NFL Draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah said on a conference call ahead of the combine via SI. Between Mayer, Dalton Kincaid and Darnell Washington, there could be three tight ends taken in the first round for the fourth time in the common draft era, and first time since 2017 (O.J. Howard, David Njoku, Evan Engram).
28) There will be no shortage of quality pass catchers after Round 1, as Green Bay knows well. Six of the NFL's top seven leaders in receiving yards since 2020 were drafted in the second round or later.
29) RB depth is always great after Round 1, too, but if one's going to go in the first round it's Texas' Bijan Robinson. He had 113 tackles avoided last season, the most by any FBS player in the last five seasons. That certainly seems first-round worthy.
30) Don't completely write off drafting a RB early, at least if you're a believer in 2022 results. The top eight rushing yards leaders at RB in 2022 were all first- or second-round picks. All were among the first four off the board at their position in their respective drafts.
31) You'll be hearing from these teams often on Day 1. Four teams -- Texans, Seahawks, Lions and Eagles -- have multiple first-round picks. The Jets set the bar high last year, getting Sauce Gardner and Garrett Wilson in the first round. They became the third team ever to have the Offensive and Defensive Rookies of the Year in the same season (2018 Saints, 1967 Lions).
32) The Seahawks have the fifth and 20th overall picks and are ready to run it back after a monster 2022 draft class which included the NFL rookie leaders in starts (Charles Cross), rush yards (Kenneth Walker III), interceptions (Tariq Woolen) and forced fumbles (Coby Bryant). Seattle had 70 starts by rookies last season, tied for the most by a playoff team in the last 15 seasons (2018 Colts).
33) The Eagles are the first team with a top-10 pick after reaching the Super Bowl since the 2008 Patriots (drafted Jerod Mayo). Philadelphia could be in the mix for Bijan Robinson, but have more pressing needs on defense after the departures of Javon Hargrave, T.J. Edwards, Kyzir White, C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Marcus Epps this offseason. They are also the first Super Bowl team since the 1994 49ers to lose both of their coordinators to NFL head coaching jobs.
34) Five teams -- Dolphins, 49ers, Broncos, Browns and Rams -- do not have a first-round selection in 2023. Miami was stripped of its 2023 first-round pick in August, when a league investigation revealed tampering with Tom Brady and Sean Payton in 2019.
35) This could be the seventh and final year of the Rams' first-round pick drought. They haven't had a first-round pick from 2017-23, but own their top selection in 2024. Unless they make a deal to move into the first round, they will become the first team to go seven straight years without a first-round pick since Washington from 1984-90.
36) Silver lining for the Rams and the other franchises without a first-round pick: There's plenty of talent later in the draft (and after). Nearly 50 percent of all snaps played last year were by Day 3 picks (rounds four through seven) and undrafted players.
37) Don't sleep on any pick. Not even the last! Brock Purdy was drafted with the last pick (262nd) in 2022. He became the fifth rookie QB to start a conference championship game.
38) The Chiefs may not have been Super Bowl champions without a productive 2022 draft class that included CB Trent McDuffie, WR Skyy Moore, CB Jaylen Watson and RB Isiah Pacheco, among others. Their 161 games played by first-year players in 2022 were the most by a Super Bowl champion since the 1981 49ers (a class that included Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott).
39) From the Super Bowl champs to the back-to-back national champs, the spotlight will be on the Georgia Bulldogs, after they produced a seven-round-record 15 picks in 2022. They need 10 picks in 2023 to break the record for most picks from one school in a two-year span in the common draft era. They can also become the first school to produce five first-round picks in back-to-back drafts with Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith, Broderick Jones, Darnell Washington and Kelee Ringo all in the mix.
40) Georgia edge rusher Nolan Smith turned some heads at the 2023 NFL Combine. He became the heaviest player (238 pounds) with a 40-inch vertical jump and sub-4.4 40 time at the combine since at least 2003. The previous mark was held by Seahawks WR DK Metcalf (228 pounds)
41) Alabama can make draft history in its own right. The Crimson Tide have produced a first-round pick in 14 straight years dating to 2009, tied with Miami (1995-2008) for the longest streak in draft history.
42) One thing Alabama has never done in the common draft era is produce the first overall pick. That's expected to change on Thursday with Bryce Young. Their 66 first-round picks are by far the most of any team that has never produced a first overall pick in the common draft era (since 1967).
43) Bryce Young will keep Alabama's QB factory going. It'll be the third time in the last four years an Alabama QB is drafted in the first round after it happened once (Richard Todd in 1976) in the first 53 drafts in the modern era.
44) Bryce Young will be among the NFL QBs who can break the Heisman curse. The last Heisman-winning QB to win a Super Bowl for his draft team was Roger Staubach in the 1977 season. When Young is drafted there will actually be more Heisman-winning QBs in the league (seven) than Super Bowl-winning QBs (six).
45) The Tide can also produce the first offensive (Bryce Young) and defensive player (Will Anderson Jr.) off the board. The last school to produce the first offensive and defensive player picked in the same draft was Michigan State in 1967 (DE Bubba Smith and RB Clint Jones).
46) Alabama defensive back Brian Branch could be a standout among the 2023 class. He made 90 tackles and missed just three tackles in 2022. It was the lowest missed tackle rate (3.2%) among 250 FBS players with 75-plus tackles last season.
47) Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker is an intriguing prospect who could crack the first round. He had 58 touchdown passes and five interceptions in his last two seasons in the SEC, along with over 1,000 rushing yards. He's also coming off a torn ACL and is 25 years old. The only QBs drafted at age 25 or older to be taken in the first five rounds are Chris Weinke (2001), John Beck (2007) and Brandon Weeden (2012). Hooker is older than Jalen Hurts, Justin Herbert, Justin Fields, Tua Tagovailoa and Trevor Lawrence.
48) If you're looking for the next Sauce Gardner, look no further than Illinois CB Devon Witherspoon. He allowed zero touchdown passes and had three interceptions last season, and allowed an FBS-low 3.0 yards per attempt as the primary defender in coverage. Gardner allowed zero touchdowns and 3.1 yards per attempt in his final season at Cincinnati. Like Witherspoon, he also intercepted three passes.
49) Army prospect Andre Carter II will be the first service academy player selected in the first three rounds in the common draft era, thanks to a recent bill passed allowing service academy players to defer their active-duty service. Carter had 15.5 sacks in 2021, second in the FBS between Will Anderson Jr. and Aidan Hutchinson.
50) Northwestern edge rusher Adetomiwa Adebawore ran a 4.49 40-yard dash at the 2023 NFL Combine despite weighing 282 pounds. He passed last year's top pick Travon Walker for the fastest 40 time among players weighing 270 pounds at the combine since 2003.
