2023 NFL Draft Winners and Losers: Eagles, Seahawks Get Stronger; Cowboys are overwhelmed

The 2023 NFL Draft is officially in the books. With 259 selections made, teams across the league will soon begin figuring out how to put all of those puzzle pieces together.

Obviously, it will take time to learn exactly how well or how poorly each franchise has performed. But that won’t stop us from considering how things look, at least on paper.

Here’s a rundown of the biggest winners and losers from this year’s draft.

winner

Philly Eagles

GM Howie Roseman seems to have delivered once again, raking in quality pick after quality pick. Roseman devoted much of his team’s drafting resources to refitting a defense that lost a number of key contributors to free hand. Georgia teammates Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith should help bolster an already formidable defensive line, while another product from Bulldog (Kelee Ringo) and Illinois, Sydney Brown, should help shore up a revamped secondary. And to top it off, he struck up a low-cost trade for D’Andre Swift to improve the depth of the rushing attack.

Seattle Seahawks

John Schneider and Pete Carroll continue to position their team for success (and concede the trade to Russell Wilson last offseason) with a 10-pick deep draft class led by cornerback Devon Witherspoon and wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba. From there, the Seahawks added a collection of players who will initially bolster depth and eventually develop into key contributors on both sides of the ball.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Successful teams know the importance of winning in the trenches. The Steelers first added a talented offensive tackle in Broderick Jones and then designed one of the best blocking tight ends in Darnell Washington, both of which will help make Kenny Pickett and Najee Harris more successful. They also acquired parts to improve their defensive line like center back Keeanu Benton and edge rusher Nick Herbig.

Houston Texans

Not only did the Texans get their franchise quarterback in CJ Stroud, considered the top pocket passer in the draft, they also added a potential face to their defense in Alabama pass rusher Will Anderson Jr. Wide receiver Nathaniel Dell should develop into a key red-zone threat.

Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals have done a lot to help themselves this year, landing a Day 1 starter in offensive tackle Paris Johnson Jr. and eight other prospects to add depth on both sides of the ball. But they also made sure they had enough draft assets to continue building into the next offseason (two first-rounds, one second, three third-rounds, two fourth-rounds, two fifths, and one seventh). This is enormous after such ineffective designs in recent years.

Cincinnati Bengal

The mission was clear: upgrade defenses to make life easier for Joe Burrow and harder for Patrick Mahomes. Pass-rusher Myles Murphy, cornerback DJ Turner and safety Jordan Battle should help make that happen.

loser

Cleveland Browns

Mortgaging the future for Deshaun Watson meant the Browns had few resources to significantly improve their roster through the draft. Can their top pick, third-place finisher Cedric Tillman, become a threat? Will the rest of the mid- to late-round picks (including UCLA quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson) be more than deep acquisitions?

Dallas Cowboys

They needed to find support for Dak Prescott and did so to an extent, adding a much-needed tight end in Michigan’s Luke Schoonmaker. But Dallas also needed offensive linemen and didn’t select one until the fifth round. The Cowboys needed impactful talent at wide receiver and didn’t pick one until the seventh round.

Jacksonville Jaguars

After trading down twice in the first round, they faced Anton Harrison in Oklahoma’s offensive tackle, despite having better players available in other positions. They went on to make some headscratcher picks, like linebacker Ventrell Miller and running back tank Bigsby.

Miami Dolphins

A first-round selection would certainly have been nice to help Mike McDaniel’s side take another step forward. But manipulation by Tom Brady made the Dolphins big losers in this year’s draft with just four picks and none short of the No. 51 pick.

Washington commanders

They went into this draft with a pretty shaky quarterback picture and declined to act on it, even though Hendon Hooker and Will Levis were both available for Day 2, and there were better and more well-rounded cornerbacks at No. 16 as well.

(Photo by Jalen Carter and Roger Goodell: David Eulitt/Getty Images)