• A new quarterback for the Houston Texans: Even after losing two receivers drafted in the top 50 and a left tackle drafted in the top 10, Bryce Young’s performance has barely taken a hit. He's earned an 89.7 overall grade through Week 11, sixth among 76 Power Five quarterbacks.
• RB Devon Achane would add even more speed to the Miami Dolphins offense: Achane has a personal best of 10.02 seconds in the 100m, and it shows in pads, as he’s averaged 6.4 yards per carry across 331 attempts over his career.
• WR Jalin Hyatt would give Justin Herbert a boost: The man with one of the strongest arms in the NFL has been relegated to the third-lowest average depth of target in the league this season. A better downfield threat would change that.
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Sometimes, NFL draft selections just make sense. Take Sauce Gardner to the New York Jets, Kyle Hamilton to the Baltimore Ravens or George Pickens to the Pittsburgh Steelers last year — they just fit their franchise's positional mold and schemes too perfectly.
These are the 2023 draft prospects who already fit what certain NFL franchises are looking for.
QB Bryce Young, Alabama to the Houston Texans
On the football field, there are many similarities between Young and former Texan Deshaun Watson — the Alabama quarterback just possesses the kind of uncoachable playmaking ability and unshakable mentality you'd want to build a franchise around.
Even after losing two receivers drafted in the top 50 and a left tackle drafted in the top 10, Young’s performance has barely taken a hit. He's earned an 89.7 overall grade through Week 11, sixth among 76 Power Five quarterbacks.
RB DEVON ACHANE, TEXAS A&M to the Miami Dolphins
In case you’ve been living under a rock, the Miami Dolphins are fast. In fact, they could well be the fastest offense in NFL history, with Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle and Raheem Mostert all having decorated track backgrounds. Add Achane to that mix, and there’s no debate about the fastest offense in NFL history.
Achane has a personal best of 10.02 seconds in the 100m, and it shows in pads, as he’s averaged 6.4 yards per carry across 331 attempts over his career.
RB BIJAN ROBINSON, TEXAS to the Atlanta Falcons
No team runs the ball more than the Atlanta Falcons, who have done so on 51.5% of their snaps. And that’s with a 4-6 record — imagine how run-heavy they’ll be when they lead more often.
When a team commits as heavily to the run as Arthur Smith has, it tips the value scales back toward the importance of the running back position. And if that’s the case, Bijan Robinson is the man you'd want in your offense.
The Texas back's 77 forced missed tackles lead college football through Week 11, and he's done that on only 203 carries. At 6-foot, 220 pounds, he is also talented enough to split out wide and play receiver if you want him to.
As a receiver, he’s averaged 16.5 yards per reception, having picked up 314 yards on 29 catches. That’s the kind of player who can be the focal point of your offense and change the arithmetic for opposing defenses.
WR QUENTIN JOHNSTON, TCU to the Jacksonville Jaguars
Although the Jaguars receiving corps has improved, the team still very much needs a consistent vertical threat on the outside. Remember, Trevor Lawrence was one of the best go-ball and back-shoulder throwers in recent college football history at Clemson with Tee Higgins and Justyn Ross.
At 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, Johnston is firmly in that mold and has some of the best explosion at the receiver position in the draft class. He’s also a Mack Truck after the catch, as he has broken 42 tackles on 100 receptions in his career.
WR JALIN HYATT, TENNESSEE to the Los Angeles Chargers
In case you’ve never seen Hyatt play football before, I’ll let you in on a little secret: He is fast. Like a Power Five-leading 12 deep receptions and 15 scores fast.
His 19.2 yards per catch average and likely low-4.3 speed is something the Chargers' offense is desperately missing, and they need it to unlock QB Justin Herbert’s full potential. The man with one of the strongest arms in the NFL has been relegated to the third-lowest average depth of target in the league this season (6.7 yards). A better downfield threat would change that.
TE DARNELL WASHINGTON, GEORGIA to the Green Bay Packers
Every receiver is a blocker first in the Packers offense. They covet blocking so much that they’re still trotting out 38-year-old Marcedes Lewis as a glorified offensive tackle for around 25 snaps a game.
Well, Washington's skill set is about as close as we've seen to Lewis' since the former UCLA Bruin was taken in the first round back in 2006.
Washington is a 6-foot-7, 270-pound behemoth who has earned the sixth-highest run-blocking grade among starting tight ends in the country (81.3) and is much sprier than Lewis at this point in his career, with 392 yards on 24 catches (that's 16.3 yards per catch).
DI JALEN CARTER, GEORGIA to the Chicago Bears
Matt Eberflus’ defense is still in desperate need of a 3-technique, and there’s a very real chance Carter ends up as the best 3-technique prospect in our nine years of college grading.
The 6-foot-3, 300-pounder led Georgia’s defensive line with a 90.0 pass-rushing grade last year as a true sophomore, and after an early-season injury, he has returned an even more complete defensive tackle than we saw in 2021.
He’s earned an 87.6 run-defense grade and 87.9 pass-rushing grade on 172 snaps this season. Carter is the 3-technique you want in Chicago.
EDGE JARED VERSE, FLORIDA STATE to the Dallas Cowboys
Verse lining up opposite Micah Parsons in pass-rushing situations would be a nightmare for opposing offenses. The Florida State edge rusher's juice is as good as it gets in this draft class, and he can easily track down ball carriers in space. It would give that Cowboys defensive line so much speed to play with in pass-rushing situations that offensive coordinators' heads would spin.
CB KELEE RINGO, GEORGIA to the Seattle Seahawks
Currently slated to make the playoffs, the Seahawks may not be in a position to draft the highly-touted Ringo with their first overall selection. The good news is that the first-round pick they received from the Denver Broncos almost certainly will be. Ringo checked in at 15th on the latest PFF draft board, and the pick from Denver is currently No. 7.
Pete Carroll loves nothing more than size and length in his cornerbacks, and that wholesale describes the 6-foot-2, 210-pound Ringo. The Georgia corner also possesses low 4.3-second speed at that size.
He’d give Seattle one freakish duo on the outside with the 6-foot-4, 205-pound Tariq Woolen already making a name for himself as a rookie.
CB TRE'VIUS HODGES-TOMLINSON, TCU to the Los Angeles Rams
The Rams are often left out of most draft discussions because of their propensity to trade away picks, but this season they at least have a second-rounder.
They could very well use that or their third-round pick on Hodges-Tomlinson, who can be a Darious Williams clone in their defense. The TCU corner is only 5-foot-9 and 180 pounds, but he’s played far bigger than that over his career and has the kind of athleticism to stick in the league. He’s broken up 24 passes and picked off five more in three seasons as a starter while allowing a sub-40% completion percentage.
© 2024 PFF - all rights reserved.