How Each Big Ten 1st-Round Pick Fits With Their New Team
The Big Ten and SEC were tied for the most players taken from a conference in the 2023 NFL Draft with nine players each. The Big Ten had five defensive players and four offensive players picked on Thursday. We walk through each pick and analyze how they will fit in with their new teams in 2023.
Ohio State QB CJ Stroud – Houston Texans
CJ Stroud became the highest-drafted Buckeye QB ever when the Texans selected him #2 overall. It was objectively the right pick for a team that has been offensively starved since saying goodbye to Deshaun Watson. CJ’s pocket poise and ball placement make him a day-1 starter and franchise altering QB.
Fit-wise, it certainly helps that CJ will have Laremy Tunsil protecting him. Although he will probably never live up to everything Houston traded to get him, Tunsil is still one of the best tackles in the NFL. 2022 first-rounder Kenyon Green is on the opposite side and should offer Stroud a fairly clean pocket to operate from. That’s great news for a quarterback who likes to stay in the pocket and is not one to improvise when not necessary.
CJ’s biggest strength is perhaps his accuracy and ball placement. He is exceptional at layering the football between two levels of the defense and can also push the ball downfield in a place where only his receiver can get to it.
Unfortunately, the Texans’ best receivers (as it stands after the 1st round of the NFL Draft) are Noah Brown and Robert Woods. These are not necessarily explosive receivers who are able to beat the top cornerbacks in the league and make highly-contested catches. Houston needs to invest in some more offensive weapons if they hope to see CJ succeed in 2023.
The Texans made what might be a franchise-altering pick with CJ Stroud. But as far as Stroud’s fit with the 2023 Houston Texans, the offense may struggle to consistently move the ball yet again.
Illinois CB Devon Witherspoon – Seattle Seahawks
In what might have been an attempt to recreate the “Legion of Boom”, the Seahawks took the standout Illinois CB with the 5th pick. Witherspoon was the top CB in the draft and should immediately help a defense that was 25th in points allowed and 26th in yards allowed last year.
Some Seahawk fans might be disappointed they didn’t make a heavier investment into their defensive front after getting pushed around far too often at the point of attack. They finished 30th in rush yards allowed and 26th in yards per carry. That weakness was put on display in their playoff loss to the 49ers.
But what makes Witherspoon such a great player is not just his adept coverage, but his ability in run support. His size, speed, and tackling made room for plenty of highlight hits and TFLs in 2022. Of course, Devon Witherspoon should also develop into an elite lockdown corner at the next level. His ball skills should help generate far from turnovers for the Seattle defense.
The pick of Devon Witherspoon addresses an immediate need for a Seahawks team that is in win-now mode. Witherspoon will fit perfectly next to Tariq Woolen at CB and should make Seattle a better defense in 2023.
Ohio State T Paris Johnson Jr – Arizona Cardinals
The All-American tackle was the first offensive lineman taken in the 2023 Draft when the Cardinals took him with the 6th pick. The picks fits the Cardinal’s 2023 plans and beyond as they hope to keep Kyler Murray upright.
Murray tore his ACL in December and is expected to miss at least the start of the 2023 season. The Cardinals hope this is the first and final major injury Murray sustains, so they rightfully made a big upgrade to their offensive line with the addition of Paris Johnson.
Personnel-wise, the Cardinals have DJ Humphries at LT. He missed a lot of last season with injury, but should be able to help secure the right side of the line. Paris will likely fit in on the right side – a position they desperately needed to fill.
The selection of Paris Johnson also fits Kyler Murray’s improvisational play perfectly. Murray is known for his scrambling ability and his tendency to extend plays to almost nauseating lengths. Paris Johnson is note only a behemoth of a human being at 6’6″ 311 pounds, but he is also ultra athletic. He’ll be able to run sideline to sideline and up the field in order to help Murray extend plays while remaining upright.
Northwestern T Peter Skoronski – Tennessee Titans
Despite some rumors about them looking to move on from Derrick Henry, the Tennessee Titans proved they are still operating under the same formula by picking the Northwestern tackle with the 11th pick in the NFL Draft. Although Skoronski played tackle in college, his shorter arms and size at 6’4″ likely translates to guard in the NFL.
Skoronski is a strong, physical, and fundamentally-sound offensive lineman. He should immediately contend for Pro Bowls and All-Pro selections. By drafting Skoronski, the Titans immediately made a huge upgrade along their line.
The Titans certainly have a lot of holes on their offense and could use upgrades at virtually every single skill position – especially wide receiver. But at the same time, this offense is a little more than just a Jaxon Smith-Njigba away from becoming a complete team. Adding Skoronski is a high-floor move that can help elevate both the run and pass game.
Iowa DE Lukas Van Ness – Green Bay Packers
Lukas Van Ness was the second edge rusher taken in the Draft when the Packers took him with the 13th pick. The Packers have stuck to the same game plan they have followed in just about every draft by continuing to invest in it’s defense.
Van Ness is a beast at 6’5″ 265lbs and is extremely versatile. He should be able to line up all across the line for the Packers and should help a team that finished 28th in the NFL with just 34 sacks.
Lukas Van Ness does not have quite the polished set of pass-rush moves you would love to see in a top-15 pick. He’s gotten a lot of the 13 career sacks by simply overpowering offensive linemen or chasing down QBs with incredible effort on extended plays. Van Ness might be a little bit more of a project when it comes to his pass-rush technique.
Of course, JJ Watt was a late draft pick for very similar reasons. Van Ness is one of the freakiest athletes in the entire NFL Draft and could very well develop into a similar kind of impact player.
Although Packer fans may have wanted to see a their new starting QB Jordan Love get some more help around him, you can’t go wrong by investing in your defensive line when you’re in a division with Justin Fields, Dalvin Cook, and the Lions’ offensive line.
Iowa LB Jack Campbell – Detroit Lions
The Lions took one of the best linebackers in Iowa football history when they took Jack Campbell with the 18th pick. Campbell accumulated 265 tackles, 12.5 TFLs, 10 pass breakups, and 5 INTs over the past two seasons.
This pick is an absolute slam dunk for a Lions defense that was porous to say the least. Detroit was dead last in the NFL in yards allowed and 30th in points allowed in 2022. They added Aidan Hutchinson in the 2022 Draft to bolster their pass-rush, but the Lions were in desperate need of help in the back-seven.
Jack Campbell is big size for a middle linebacker at 6’5″ 245 lbs but he also has good speed and a great motor. He can navigate the entire field and chase down quarterbacks, while also being able to drop back in coverage and make plays with his hands.
Campbell is the complete package as a linebacker. Paired with Big Ten-mate Hutchinson, the Lions now have a perfect duo to build a contending defense around.
Ohio State WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba – Seattle Seahawks
Despite missing most of 2022 due to injury, the Seahawks made Jaxon Smith-Njigba the first wide receiver taken in the 2023 Draft with the 20th pick. After bolstering their weak secondary with Devon Witherspoon, Seattle decided to give Geno Smith an embarrassment of riches on offense.
Njigba will line up with DK Metkalf – one of the most physical receivers in the NFL – and Tyler Lockett – one of the NFL’s best route-runners. Not to mention, they have one of last year’s most electrifying rookies in running back Kenneth Walker (another former Big Ten player).
The offensive minds in Seattle must be salivating at all the matchup nightmares they can create by adding Jaxon Smith-Njigba to the mix. Njigba has a great set of hands as well as elite quickness – evidenced by his Draft-best 3-cone time.
Jaxon is also the best route-runner of the Draft and has an incredibly deep route tree. This will allow the Seahawks to line him up all over the field – slot, outside, and even in the backfield.
With the addition of Jaxon Smith-Njigba and a healthy Kenneth Walker, the Seahawks all of a sudden have one of the most dangerous offenses in the NFL.
Maryland CB Deonte Banks – New York Giants
With the 24th pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Giants addressed the massive hole they have in their secondary by drafting Terps cornerback Deonte Banks. Outside of Adoree Jackson, New York’s secondary had some major question marks which should now be helped by Banks’ arrival.
Banks has a good combination of size and speed at 6’0″ 200lbs and a 4.35 40 time. The Giants desperately need a physical, ball-hawking CB to matchup with some of the elite receivers in their division like AJ Brown, Terry McLaurin, and CeeDee Lamb.
The only problem Giants fans might have with this pick is that cornerback was historically deep in this year’s draft. New York very well could have waited and gotten a fairly comparable corner in day 2 of the Draft. The Giants have other needs that really need to be addressed such as wide receiver, center, and edge rusher. In an ideal world, it would have been nice to see the Giants trade back and get a few more picks to more effectively address those needs.
However, a trade back may not have been on the table for the Giants. They certainly did not go wrong by drafting one of the five best corners in the 2023 Draft. Banks’ elite athleticism will be allow him to press opposing receivers and disrupt routes.
Deonte needs a little refinement as far as anticipating routes and breaking on balls in man to man coverage. But he showed the propensity to improve throughout his career at Maryland and that trend should continue in the NFL.
Michigan DT Mazi Smith – Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys raised some eyebrows when they took Mazi Smith with the 26th pick. It seemed apparent the Cowboys were trying to trade their pick, as they took every second they had to make the pick.
It was good to see the Cowboys trying to trade back, but it appears that just wasn’t in the cards for the Cowboys. Instead, they addressed a position of need by bringing in Mazi Smith to plug up the middle of their defensive line. Smith should be a day-one starter for Dallas.
Smith is incredibly difficult to move at 325lbs and also possesses quickness which is rare for someone his size. However, he needs to display a little bit more consistency in order to live up to his 1st round selection. His motor tends to burn out when tempo is used which has resulted in him only making a handful of plays behind the line of scrimmage.
Mazi Smith is the kind of guy who will eat up blocks at the next level. However, you’d ideally like to get a more versatile DT if you are spending a 1s round pick. He may not be much of a factor in pass-rush situations and he needs to improve his conditioning in order to stay on the field for an entire drive.
Although this pick addresses an immediate need for the Cowboys, Mazi Smith seemed more like a day 2 pick than a 1st rounder. Dallas might have been better off selecting a more versatile DT like Clemson’s Bryan Breese. It’ll be interesting to see how Mazi Smith fits in with the Dallas defense in 2023.