The Carolina Panthers, with the No. 1 overall pick, are hours away from being on the clock — which means the 2023 NFL Draft has arrived. There will be a total of 259 selections over a three-day period from Thursday to Saturday.
The big questions heading into the draft: Where do the top quarterbacks go this season and how many will be selected in the top five picks? But there are also many talented playmakers on both sides of the ball who could be top picks.
To get you ready for all the action, here’s a one-stop-shop for everything you need to know about the draft – including times, location, draft order, best odds, ratings, mock drafts, must-know stats, and more. Read about the best draft prospects, the pressing needs of your team, and why there are only 31 first-round draft picks this year. Let’s start with some basics:
ESPN Draft | The best available
Where, when and how to view the draft
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Round 1: Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET (ESPN, ABC, ESPN App, ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes, NFL Network)
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2-3 rounds: Friday at 7 p.m. ET (ESPN, ABC, ESPN App, ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes, NFL Network)
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Rounds 4-7: Saturday noon EST (ESPN with ABC simulcast, ESPN App, ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes, NFL Network)
The 2023 draft is taking place in Kansas City, Missouri – home to the Super Bowl LVII champion Kansas City Chiefs. Among the at least 17 players who will be on site are USC WR Jordan Addison; Alabama OLB Will Anderson Jr. and QB Bryce Young; Georgia DT Jalen Carter; Ohio State’s Parris Johnson Jr. and QBC J Stroud; Kentucky QB Will Leaves; Penn State; CB Joey Porter Jr.; Florida QB Anthony Richardson; and Texas RB Pejan Robinson.
What is a draft order?
There will be 259 draft picks this year, and the Carolina Panthers will have the first overall pick after a successful deal with the Chicago Bears. The Houston Texans and Las Vegas Raiders have the most picks in the entire draft with 12 each, while the Miami Dolphins have the fewest with only four after being stripped of a first-round pick for tampering violations.
Top 10:
1. Carolina Panthers (via CHI)
2. Houston Texans
3. Arizona Cardinals
4. Indianapolis Colts
5. Seattle Seahawks (via DEN)
6. Detroit Lions (via LAR)
7. Las Vegas Raiders
8. Atlanta Falcons
9. Chicago Bears (via CAR)
10. Philadelphia Eagles (via NO)
How are prospects classified in this category?
Scouting Company Top 10 possibilities:
1. Bryce YoungQB, Alabama (highlights)
2. Til RobinsonRB, Texas (highlights)
3. Will Anderson Jr.OLB, Alabama (highlights)
4. Terry WilsonDE, Texas Tech (highlights)
5. CJ StroudQB, Ohio State (highlights)
6. Galen CarterDT, Georgia (highlights)
7. Devon WitherspoonCB, Illinois (highlights)
8. Christian GonzalezCB, Oregon (highlights)
9. Peter SkowronskyOvertime, Northwest (highlights)
10. Anthony RichardsonQB, Florida (highlights)
Scouting Company The best six midfielders:
1. Bryce YoungAlabama
2. CJ StroudOhio State
3. Anthony Richardsonfl
4. Will LevisKentucky
5. Hendon HookerTennessee
6. Jake HanerFresno State
Best overall prospects and best prospects by location:
More about the featured players:
How good is Project 2023?
The 2023 draft class isn’t an overly strong group outside of a few primary positions: quarterback, offensive tackle and cornerback. These three positions are very good in terms of first round talent but lack firepower in the later rounds. When talking with NFL scouts through the process, most expected about 15 true first-round scores, which is on par with previous years. The lack of star power in the wide receiver and defensive tackle affects public perception of this draft, as does the fact that the deeper positions in this draft — running back and tight end — have been greatly devalued in the previous draft’s previous rounds.
In my time covering the draft professionally (2011-present), it’s not the worst draft pick—that honor goes back to 2013. But it’s in the bottom half of my class in terms of first-round talent, rookie-level scores, and talent level seen. in the middle rounds of the draft. – Matt Miller, NFL Draft Analyst
Latest photo drafts
Looking for the latest mock drafts from all of our draft analysts? Well, you found them. See who each analyst will go to for each team in the first round.
You can find all mock draft here.
An initial draft to share
What are our experts hearing in the rumor mill ahead of Thursday’s draft? Does anyone know what Houston would do in second place? Here’s the latest news from ESPN+.
10 things to know from ESPN stats and info
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The No. 1 overall pick was dealt by the Bears to the Panthers. The trade marked the 12th time in NFL history that the No. 1 overall selection was made prior to the draft. A recent example was the Rams trade in 2016 to select quarterback Jared Goff.
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Bryce Young could become the first Alabama player to be selected #1 overall in the Combined Draft era (since 1967).
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The last five #1 picks in the NFL Draft have made the playoffs their first three seasons.
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In the combined draft era, there have been three instances of QBs being selected with each of the first three draft picks. It happened in 2021, 1999 and 1971.
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Since Peyton Manning in 1998, 18 of the 25 total selections have been quarterbacks. Only eight QBs have finished first overall in the first 31 years of the Combined Draft era.
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The Seahawks, Lions, and Eagles finished with a winning record last season and will pick the top ten finishers. If they make those selections, it will be the first year since 1969 when three winning teams made the top 10.
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Over the past four drafts, the first option drafted to a running back was the 24th pick.
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Of active players in the 2022 season, 64% have been drafted after Third round or went undrafted.
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Players selected during Day Three of the 2022 Draft totaled snaps (39,367), games (1,445) and starts (356) of any third-Day rookie since 2010.
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The 2022 draft featured 37 Test Day trades. There were nine deals on the day of the draw during the first round, the most during the first round since 2004 (10).
Highlight the best players in the draft
Football outsiders It uses metrics to predict how good players will be in the NFL’s first five years. Does the 2023 class of quarterbacks have several elite QBs in the mix? How does the fullback stack up behind Bijan Robinson? Which wide receivers will make the most impact? And what passing games should teams not want to face? All of these questions are answered below, via ESPN+.
Midfielders | running backs | wide receptors | Edge rush
Bet on the draft
Planning to place bets on draft day? Our sports betting team is here to help you make the most informed bets possible.
Read about prospects
Who are some of the top prospects in this week’s draft? From a second-generation NFL player to going off to college, here are some of our favorite stories from the class of 2023.
NFL Draft Prediction Day
our Projection day draft is a publicly available tool that uses mock drafts of experts and Scouts Inc. scores. And the team needs to anticipate the picking odds of prospects in the next draft. This means that we can predict when the best players will be picked and their chance of being in certain slots. – Seth Walder, Analytics Writer
What do you expect from draft
The 2023 draft is full of talent at quarterback, tight end and offensive tackle. There are a lot of teams who are particularly enthusiastic about the offensive tackle class, and rightfully so. There can be up to six first-round picks, which would tie into what we’ve seen in 2020. The quarterback is a bit heavy and there can be up to five first-round picks. There is a bit of a backtracking after that point, but there is value to be had in the mid to late rounds. With the recent success of Brock Purdy, teams are likely to draft a late caller signal.
The great part about this defensive end class is that there are so many different types of players that fit different schemes. The same can be said for the cornerback—the depth in this class is noteworthy. While there may be up to five selected in the first round, there are also several position players who can exit the board fairly quickly on Day 2. – Jordan Reed, NFL Draft Analyst