# Ryan Fowler: Fowler offers six bold 2023 NFL Draft predictions: a team trades up for Bijan Robinson, Jaxon Smith-Njigba is the lone first-round wide receiver, seven cornerbacks go in Round 1, BJ Ojulari is picked on Night 1, multiple kickers are drafted, and five quarterbacks go in Round 1 with Hendon Hooker joining the top four. **Claimed:** Apr 3, 2023 **Pundit:** Ryan Fowler — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/pundits/ryan-fowler **Outlet:** The Draft Network — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/outlets/the-draft-network **How it reached us:** published in writing **Original:** https://thedraftnetwork.com/6-bold-predictions-2023-nfl-draft/ 4 checkable claims — 4 mock draft picks — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet. It names 4 players and teams, each linked to their own record. 2 of 4 have settled so far, averaging 42.5 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess at the same calls. > In a talent pool that touts a ton of WR2s and WR3s, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s just the former Buckeye who hears his name called on night one before a run on wideouts starts early on day two. *(their words, quoted for attribution)* ## The claims - **Hendon Hooker to be picked “First round” (picks 1–31)** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Hendon Hooker - Verdict: scored 20.13 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess - **BJ Ojulari to be picked “Night 1 (first round)” (picks 1–31)** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: BJ Ojulari - Verdict: scored 64.84 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess - **Bijan Robinson to be picked “A team trades up to draft him”** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Bijan Robinson - Verdict: not settled yet - **Jaxon Smith-Njigba to be picked “Only WR selected in Round 1”** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Jaxon Smith-Njigba - Verdict: not settled yet ## Who this take is about - Hendon Hooker — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/hendon-hooker - BJ Ojulari — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/bj-ojulari - Bijan Robinson — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/bijan-robinson - Jaxon Smith-Njigba — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/jaxon-smith-njigba ## What others said about the same people - Ryan Wormeli on Bijan Robinson: Warmley expects Derrick Henry to post another huge rushing season in Baltimore, sees real upside in Brian Robinson Jr. as Washington's lead back, and calls Javonte Williams, Justice Hill, Jordan Mason and Bijan Robinson values at their current costs. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/7e39aa08-50b4-4e2a-a7d1-da0572181aa9 (scored 100) - Chris Brockman on Jaxon Smith-Njigba: Brockman argued Jaxon Smith-Njigba is already the best receiver in the NFL and deserves to be the highest paid, called his shot that three quarterbacks (Mendoza, Ty Simpson, Carson Beck) go in the first round with Mendoza first overall, and suggested New England is headed for a 7-10 season. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/c47d130c-5598-4cd0-b546-1121046b9166 (scored 100) - Danny Parkins on Jaxon Smith-Njigba: Parkins picked Seattle to win 27-16 with Jaxon Smith-Njigba as Super Bowl MVP. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/3667c28e-88b0-4d8e-bebd-6ef088550e4f (scored 0) - Pat Gustavson on Bijan Robinson: Gustafson picks the Patriots, Bills, Seahawks and Bears in the divisional round with a Seahawks-Patriots Super Bowl, predicts Mike Tomlin and Matt LaFleur stay, Aaron Rodgers returns to Pittsburgh, and lays out his own coaching landing spots. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/06884586-5b21-40c8-9439-e303a3e8a806 (scored 75) - JP Acosta on Bijan Robinson: JP picked the Eagles to beat the 49ers in a low-scoring game and the Jaguars to beat the Bills, called Bijan Robinson the best running back in the league, and named his own first-team All-Pro roster. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/660e3494-2b0b-415e-beb7-9e3bf3464e30 (scored 75) - Brandon Carney on Jaxon Smith-Njigba: Carney made a full playoff bracket, picking the Bears, Niners, Rams, Patriots, Jaguars and Texans in the wild card round, then Seahawks and Rams in the NFC divisional, Broncos and Patriots in the AFC, with the Rams beating the Patriots in the Super Bowl. He also gave award picks including Stafford for MVP and Vrabel for Coach of the Year. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/88101820-7344-4240-93f1-caa15fe95de9 (scored 100) ## More mock draft picks The same kind of call, about other players and teams. - Lance Zierlein on Jeremiyah Love: Zierlein laid out his final mock draft: Jeremiah Love at No. 3 to Arizona, Sonny Styles at No. 4 to Robert Saleh's team, and Caleb Downs to the Giants at No. 5. He also called Styles the only first-round linebacker in the class and said Ty Simpson is a lock to be a first-round pick, most likely to Arizona. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/cf600df8-87eb-492b-9d91-f7a2b39104ac (scored 100) - Nick Shook on Max Iheanachor: Shook walks through his full first-round mock draft, assigning a prospect to every pick from No. 1 to No. 32, headlined by Fernando Mendoza to the Raiders, David Bailey to the Jets and Jeremiah Love to the Cardinals in the top three. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/7d4209aa-2e2d-47a2-b6e5-791d16d209cb (scored 87.81) - Gregg Rosenthal on K.C. Concepcion: Rosenthal disagrees most with Casey Concepcion being left out of the first round, arguing he could go as high as the top 15 and certainly won't last past receiver-needy teams in the late twenties. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/8fae9a3a-7fd8-454c-99cc-0a8400c35d7d (scored 67.71) - Daniel Jeremiah on Keyron Crawford: In discussing teams without first-round picks, Jeremiah projected specific Day 2 picks: Clemson WR Antonio Williams to the Falcons at 48, Texas Tech LB Jacob Rodriguez to the Colts in the second round, Oklahoma edge R Mason Thomas to the Packers at 52, and Auburn edge Keiroon Crawford to the Broncos at 62. He also expects Riley Leonard to open as the Colts' starting QB and Travis Hunter to play cornerback full time in Jacksonville. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/f60c916c-1b5f-4252-8733-1770c7809577 (scored 80.52) - Daniel Jeremiah on Carnell Tate: Jeremiah says Denver, not Kansas City, will be the clear favorite in the AFC West this season; he also puts Carnell Tate sixth and Monroe Freeling twentieth on his prospect board, mocks Tate to Cleveland at No. 6, and expects Georgia receiver Branch to be a Day 2 pick after a strong pro day. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/48a1d189-dc0f-4250-aa3b-0e27119c733a (scored 91.7) - Bucky Brooks on Carnell Tate: In a mock draft covering the first 14 picks, Brooks made the odd-numbered selections: Fernando Mendoza to the Raiders at No. 1, a Miami offensive lineman to Arizona at No. 3, Caleb Downs to the Giants at No. 5, Ohio State's Arvell Reese to Washington at No. 7, Carnell Tate to Kansas City at No. 9, tight end Kenyon Sadiq to Miami at No. 11, and Spencer Fano to the Rams at No. 13. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/677f566f-9e38-4dd7-b312-0baad54b440e (scored 80.52) --- Accuracy is 0-100 against what actually happened. The naive guess is what a strategy requiring no knowledge would have scored on the same call — the difference is the skill, and it is what the MissedTakes Score averages. Full method: https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/methodology We summarize what a pundit said and quote a short span for attribution; we never republish their article. If this is wrong, tell us: https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/corrections?pundit=ryan-fowler