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Charlie Campbell, Senior Draft Analyst
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2021 NFL MOCK DRAFT - WALT'S | CHARLIE'S ROUND: 1

2023 NFL Draft Week Rumors Thursday

Updated April 27, 2023
By Charlie Campbell. Follow Charlie on Twitter @draftcampbell.

The 2023 NFL Draft is finally here! With the draft just hours away, here is some of the chatter that WalterFootball.com is hearing from team sources.

One player who has gone under-hyped during the 2023 NFL Draft process is Alabama running back Jahmyr Gibbs. Many teams use a color-based grade scale, with Blue signifying an elite starter, Red/Warm marking a good starter, Red indicating a solid starter, and below that are backup quality players. The 2023 NFL Draft is not especially strong, and Gibbs is one of the few players who received a blue grade. Multiple team sources feel Gibbs could be an Alvin Kamara- or Jamaal Charles-type running back in the NFL. The other consensus blue players in the 2023 NFL Draft are Bijan Robinson, Will Anderson, Tyree Wilson and Jalen Carter. Some teams gave blue grades to Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud and Devon Witherspoon. Some teams, meanwhile, did not have Anderson and Wilson with blue grades and had them as red/warm.

With Gibbs being one of the only consensus blue prospects in the 2023 NFL Draft, in all likelihood he is going to go much higher than expected tonight. Team sources told WalterFootball.com that they think Gibbs could go as a top-20 selection in the 2023 NFL Draft. Along with being an ultra-fast running back, Gibbs is a phenomenal receiving weapon who can be used out of the slot like Kamara. Gibbs also can serve as a kick returner. He is tough, strong, fast, and has great character on and off the field. There are a lot of teams that are interested in Gibbs. While he might be a surprise top-20 pick to the media and fans, it won't be a surprise to teams if Gibbs goes that high.

Late in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft, a team that could go a lot of different directions are the New Orleans Saints. Even though they took Chris Olave in Round 1 last year, they could consider wide receiver again if a good fell to them at No. 29. They also will have to think hard about line talent on both sides of the ball. From speaking with sources, it sounds like the Saints would like to add some size to their defensive front. New Orleans seems to really like Clemson defensive end Myles Murphy but believes he won't get to No. 29. Overall though, the Saints would consider a variety of options and might go with the best player available regardless of position.

Last weekend, the betting odd shot up for the Texans taking Kentucky quarterback Will Levis. Sources from around the NFL told WalterFootball.com that there is mixed feedback on Houston taking Levis. On the plus side, Levis fits a lot of the organization's parameters for character, work ethic, leadership, and physical talent. However on the down side, Levis did not have impressive tape and the scouting side of the team is not keen on Levis. It sounds like Levis might be more of a candidate for Houston's No. 12 pick rather than going No. 2 overall in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Based on what I am hearing from team sources, I do not believe the hype of Levis being a top candidate for the Colts at selection No. 4. Indianapolis has a talented front office with some of the top scouting minds in the NFL. It would be very out of character for the them to take a player with bad tape, much less with the fourth-overall pick. The Levis hype reminds me of two years ago when there was a lot of media saying the 49ers were targeting Mac Jones with the third-overall pick. From what I'm hearing and in listening to my gut, I think the Colts will take C.J. Stroud, although Anthony Richardson could be their Plan B.

The Detroit Lions will be one of the power players of the 2023 NFL Draft thanks to having five top-81 picks. The team could be very active as well. The 18th is a good spot to potentially trade down from, and don't be surprised if the Lions package some of their second-day picks to move back into the very end of the first round and end up selecting three players in Round 1 of the 2023 NFL Draft. The Jets did that last year, and the Lions could follow suit with their extra draft capital from Round 2 of the 2023 NFL Draft.

A shocking late development this week was that some recent medical reports changed the draft status of Texas Tech defensive end Tyree Wilson. One top-10 team that could take a defensive lineman tpld WalterFootball.com that they had dropped Wilson off their draft board. The reason why is that the team feels Wilson's foot injury was not addressed successfully.

"I looked at the X-ray of his foot, and it looks like Frankenstein. It's all mangled," said a director of player personnel. "We dropped him off our board. Our doctors think they're going to have to re-do it. You have to ask, 'How soon are you getting what you think you are getting?' Whatever they did to his foot, it's not right. He could go out and practice and his his foot will start hurting, and then he'll get shut down and they will have to re-do it."

As a result of the injury, that team thinks Wilson could have slide in the top 10. They do not believe Wilson will go as a top-five pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.

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