Seen 'em all – 132 FBS teams in action. Two newest to be added. All divisions: 681 games since 1979! Get my new book now available on Amazon.com in Kindle and in Paperback: Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun and the Ugly! Featuring essays: "Vision of the Future" and "For the Love of the Game."
After the first three rounds, we can say that seeing many of The Top 25 in action last season that we saw many talented performers in action taken as 2023 draft selections in the first three rounds. Trouble is though that we saw a few teams among the best play, like Ohio State, camera problems prevented us from getting any good action photos. On the other hand, we captured some draft choices in action over the past few years playing outside the Top 25 like North Dakota State and Western Kentucky who the pros thought just as highly about. You never know. Check out the collection of photos below showing who we saw and some of our humble thoughts for what they are worth.
If we were selecting a QB as our first 2023 draft choice, It would definitely be Bryce Young (9) of Alabama. The Carolina Panthers thought as much, too. Despite the concern about his size, we think he’ll be big in the pros. Seen here engineering a 55-0 win over Utah State early in 2022.We also saw CJ Stroud of Ohio State play. Went to Texans on next pick.Will Anderson Jr (31), seen here in action taking on the challenge of Utah State in Bama’s 55-0 onslaught. No doubt to go as the premier LB in the 2023 NFL draft. Texans traded up to take him third overall. Great move on their part.Texas RB Bijan Robinson (5) should be the first running back selected in the draft shown here vs. Baylor. We were correct, but no one expected a RB to be taken at No. 8 in first round by Falcons. He’ll join Tyler Allgeier in Atlanta who we liked the previously year when we saw him have two big games for BYU. Falcons should have great one-two punch running attack now.Georgia DT Jalen Carter (88) leads Dawgs against Kentucky for short gain. Though his value may have dropped due to legal consequences, he will go in the first found. Went to the Eagles at No. 9. After that, the Eagles continued to load up on the Junkyard Dawgs. Do they know something nobody else does?Tennessee OT Darnell Wright (58) opens a hole against Purdue in the 2021 Music City Bowl. Selected at No. 10 among the 2023 draft selections, he’ll be creating seams for fellow Chicago Bears to run through next season. Alabama Running back Jahmyr Gibbs (1) on the run versus Utah State. The transfer from Georgia Tech averaged 5.5 yards per run and 11.7 yards on catches out of the backfield. Diverse weapon for any pro-style offense. Another RB went surprisingly in the first round of 2023 draft selections. The Detroit Lions took him at No. 12.Iowa DE Lukas Van Ness (91) and team shut out Kentucky in 2022 Music City Bowl. Van Ness projected to go in Round 2-3 of 2023 NFL Draft. Surprise! The Green Bay Packers selected him at No. 13 in Round 1 among 2023 draft selections. The pros love Iowa Defenders and Tight Ends.At No. 14, the Steelers selected UGA G Broderick Jones. He chose jersey No. 77 in honor of his deceased Bulldog teammate Devin Willock who he played along side, shown up to his right, to dedicate his pro career to his memory. Speaking of Iowa defenders, here’s another. LB Jack Campbell (31) shows leverage here against Kentucky in the Music City. He went at No. 18 to the Detroit Lions. In hindsight, some analysts say the Lions could have gotten better at this position. Sometimes, the lower rated draftees turn out to be the best picks. On the other hand, this is Detroit. Boston College WR Zay Flowers (4) shown here in action vs Wake Forest in 2021. The Ravens drafted him at No. 22 to give QB Lamar Jackson “another weapon”. Does that mean Jackson will run less? Hard to envision.First Round selections OSU OT Paris Johnson and WR Jaxon Smith Njiba, UGA LB Nolan Smith, and Clemson DE Myles Murphy and DT Bryan Bressee also played in games I attended, but I didn’t get good photos of them. Instead, I got some good cheerleader photos like this one.
Round Two of 2023 draft selections
Standout Penn State DB Joey Porter, Jr. (9) got selected first in Round 2 by the same team his father played for, the Pittsburgh Steelers. Shown here an action this past season against Auburn.Kentucky QB Will Levis dropped into Round Two to the Tennessee Titans. Despite what Mel Kiper thinks, I say he should have gone much lower. Kiper loved Jake Locker and Malik Willis. For Titans – strike 3! Levis could not start at Penn State, was inaccurate under no pressure vs UGA, had no QB comp at U of K, and lost at home to Vanderbilt, 17-14. Over-rated. Back to Iowa. This time another TE. Looking for another George Kittle. No. 84 Sam LaPorta displays downfield blocking tenacity against Kentucky secondary. He was selected at No. 34 overall by the Detroit Lions.Hopefully unlike Iowa, the Lions will have someone to throw him the ball once in a while.Auburn DE Derick Hall (29) was picked 37th overall among 2023 draft selections by the Seattle Seahawks. Shown here against Penn State in 2022.In 2019 action against Delaware, Soph OT Cody Mauch (88) of North Dakota State blocks for the FCS national champ FG unit. Tampa Bay selected him No. 48. Can’t tell if he’s got a mouth piece or had teeth in this pic.Penn State TE Brenton Strange (86) charges down field for gain against Auburn. The Jacksonville Jaguars got themselves a good bargain at No. 61 overall. Good hands, speed, and tough runner with the ball.Another Penn Stater got selected among the 2023 draft selections right after Brenton Strange. When you hear of a football player named “Juice”, he’s usually a slick RB. In this case, the Texans took Juice Scruggs (70), a center shown here providing QB protection against Purdue.Among second round players seen in action that we neglected to get on camera, we saw DB Brian Branch of Alabama, DB Cam Smith of South Carolina, and WR Rashee Rice of SMU against Navy in 2019. However, we got great seats to photograph South Carolina cheerleaders at their game against Kentucky.
Round Three of 2023 selections
When the Philadelphia Eagles go tired of bolstering their defense, they bulked up their offensive line with Alabama’s No. 54 Tyler Steen. Shown here in lower center in The Tide’s opener against Utah State, Steen landed at No. 65 in the draft.Evidently the Detroit Lions followed us closely! They selected Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker (5) as their fifth player at No. 65. We got their first six selections in action on camera. Wait until you see where the next one came from!
For more of the third round and beyond, link here!
