NFL Draft 2023 Rounds 4-7 recap (2024)

The 2023 NFL Draft wrapped up Saturday with rounds 4-7 and the last of 259 total picks. In all, there were 11 quarterbacks taken in the first five rounds, the most through five rounds of any draft in the common draft era (since 1967). Check in with The Athletic for all the latest NFL draft news, updates, reaction and analysis.

Helpful links

• Complete list of 2023 NFL Draft picks
• Dane Brugler's best undrafted players
• Pick-by-pick grades for Day 1 (round 1), Day 2 (rounds 2-3) and Day 3 (rounds 4-7)
• "The Beast" NFL Draft guide
• Team-by-team NFL Draft guide: Picks, analysis and grades
• NFL Draft trade tracker

News

• Eagles trade for Lions RB D'Andre Swift
• Grading the Eagles-Lions trade

(Top photo: Getty Images)

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

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

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

After 12 selections across three days — the most-ever for this franchise in the modern era — three of the Colts’ top personnel executives and three of the team’s area scouts spoke extensively on what drew them to the prospects that comprise the team’s 2023 draft class.

In their own words Saturday night, here’s assistant general manager Ed Dodds, chief personnel executive Morocco Brown, assistant director of college scouting Jamie Moore and area scouts Chad Henry, Tyler Hughes and Chris McGaha on the team’s picks.

With his voice cracking, Chris Vaughn tried to get the words out.

“Hey, buddy,” he said. “This is dad. My phone wasn’t working. Look here, man. You want to come to work with me next week?”

The Dallas Cowboys assistant director of college scouting was talking on speaker phone with his son, Kansas State star running back Deuce Vaughn.

“I wouldn’t mind that at all,” Deuce responded.

Chris was standing in the middle of the Cowboys draft room. The entire front office, scouting staff and coaching staff erupted in cheers at Deuce’s response.

The Cowboys selected Deuce in the sixth round, No. 212 overall.

“I’ve never had an experience like that in the draft room,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said.

Read more here.

(Photo: Getty Images)

Fourteen picks later, the Rams’ 2023 draft is complete.

They mulled their options for a trade into the first round — five players (all on the offensive side of the ball) were considered depending on how the picks fell and the cost, according to a person with direct knowledge of the proceedings, and they “knocked on some doors” with teams to see what this would take. But ultimately they stayed at No. 36 and on Friday snagged an offensive lineman who sat at the very top of their board after they reset it ahead of the second round: TCU’s Steve Avila.

General manager Les Snead, head coach Sean McVay and their staff traded back multiple times to add a fourth-rounder (quarterback Stetson Bennett), then traded back a few more times to add picks in the fifth and sixth rounds (plus a late trade up for running back Zach Evans at No. 215). Their final haul skewed pretty evenly, as it should considering the holes on their current roster: seven defensive picks, two of those three in the top 100, six offensive picks and a punter.

Late into Saturday afternoon, some assistant coaches and scouts hung around, wheeling and dealing on the phone as they worked to bring in the rest of their undrafted free-agent class (the Rams usually announce those signings the following Sunday or Monday). IT and operations staff coiled up internet cables and packed away WiFi routers, and disassembled hundreds of other individual pieces required to make the “draft house” function as a crash-proof operation for three long days. Fourteen picks, and it’s over.

Now they get to the football.

Read more here.

The pick was to be determined, but the need was not. The Colts entered the 2023 NFL Draft with one overarching goal: Find their quarterback of the future.

Mission accomplished.

Indianapolis selected Florida’s Anthony Richardson fourth overall Thursday night, marking the first time in general manager Chris Ballard’s seven-year tenure that he chose a QB in the first round. Richardson is the team’s highest pick since Andrew Luck was selected No. 1 in 2012.

The 20-year-old is viewed as the lottery ticket of the NFL Draft because of his otherworldly physical gifts that — with the right development — could turn him into a superstar.

Read more here.

The Bengals stamped their 2023 draft class with speed and freakishly elite athletic scores. There’s second-round cornerback DJ Turner II’s combine-best 40 time. Also, fourth-round receiver/returner Charlie Jones fulfilling special teams coordinator Darrin Simmons’ desire to find someone to put the “fear of God” into the opposing punter. Then there’s fifth-round running back Chase Brown checking the explosiveness box for the ground game. And let’s not forget sixth-round receiver and NCAA track and field record holder Andrei Iosivas.

But perhaps the pick that best defines this draft is the player whose composite explosion score ranked “very low” and whose composite agility grade fell in the “poor” range.

The selection of Alabama safety Jordan Battle in the third round came as a jolt Friday night when it happened, and it still stands as the biggest surprise pick upon the completion of the draft.

At least outside of the Bengals’ war room.

Read more here.

(Photo: Getty Images)

If you’re grading what the Bears did in the NFL Draft and this offseason, start with this question: Have they done enough to help quarterback Justin Fields?

That answer might always be no for general manager Ryan Poles. Supplying your QB with the best help should be a yearly undertaking.

But this offseason was obviously different than last year for the Bears. They simply did more. The Bears offense did get better. Maybe significantly.

“You want to support your quarterback because that’s where it starts, so you want to surround him with talent,” Poles said Saturday night after the draft concluded. “I had to wait a little bit to do it the way I wanted to do it and the way we wanted to do it. I think we found some good opportunities to do that.”

The Bears provided Fields with two new starters on the right side of the offensive line in guard Nate Davis and rookie tackle Darnell Wright, two new receivers/different threats in DJ Moore and rookie Tyler Scott and two new running backs in D’Onta Foreman and rookie Roschon Johnson to keep the Bears’ ground attack humming.

The selection of Scott in the fourth round is an example of matching a receiver’s talents to what your quarterback does well.

Translation: Bombs away.

Read more here.

Before we take a quick look at the Seahawks’ 2023 draft class in totality, this is a good time to put a bow on the Russell Wilson trade from March 2022. Seattle’s first and third picks of this draft were the final two assets acquired in the deal.

Truly assessing the full impact of the Wilson trade requires incorporating the finances — Seattle didn’t net any cap savings in 2022 but gained a great deal in 2023, for instance — so let’s keep it simple and look at what each team gained and lost in terms of picks and players.

In the first post-Aaron Rodgers draft in Green Bay, the Packers took four pass catchers in their first six picks, including three in the first three rounds for the first time since the common draft era began in 1967.

“Hopefully we can surround him with enough people to help him perform at the best of his ability,” head coach Matt LaFleur said of new starting quarterback Jordan Love at the NFL owners’ meetings in March.

The Packers carried through with that plan in adding a couple unproven yet intriguing weapons for Love as he takes over the offense. Sixth-year general manager Brian Gutekunst filled just about every pressing area of need, and at some positions, namely tight end, he did so with players who will see the field right away.

Here’s a rundown of Green Bay’s 13 picks, with thoughts on the best one, the player who will have the biggest immediate impact, the biggest surprise, the biggest question mark, remaining needs and the overarching takeaway from this year’s class.

Cornerback or wide receiver? Wide receiver or cornerback?

For anyone talking about the Giants ahead of the NFL Draft, that was the debate. Which premium position would New York target with its first-round pick.

Those who took the side of cornerback proved victorious, as the Giants moved up in the first round to select Maryland’s Deonte Banks. However, those who hoped the Giants would go with a wide receiver surely couldn’t have been too disappointed after the Giants trade up for Tennessee’s Jalin Hyatt, a pass catcher many believed might go in first round, all the way down at pick No. 73. Oh, and they also filled another glaring need by taking Minnesota center John Michael Schmitz in the second round.

General manager Joe Schoen and coach Brian Daboll weaponized having 10 picks at their disposal going into the draft, wheeling and dealing to move up for the players they wanted. Finding three quality players in a row to fill three big needs doesn’t always happen.

Read more here.

(Photo: USA Today)

A theme emerged as the Chiefs made each selection in the 2023 NFL draft. They selected prospects that were durable in college, had plenty of film to evaluate, have shown positional versatility and possess maturity and leadership traits. Position-wise, they addressed their few major needs on the roster by adding depth or shoring up those spots.

The hope is that these seven players will be ready contributors if the opportunity for more snaps next season is presented. But the Chiefs are even more optimistic that players such as SMU receiver Rashee Rice, Oklahoma tackle Wanya Morris and Texas defensive tackle Keondre Coburn can be even more productive in their second seasons once they become accustomed to playing in the NFL.

Here’s a full breakdown of the Chiefs’ 2023 draft class.

Prior to the 2023 NFL Draft, Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said he wanted his team’s draft to be impactful. The number of picks did not matter in his mind so much as the result of those selections.

Minnesota entered with just five selections and, after multiple deals, exited with six players. A dynamic receiver led off the proceedings. Versatile defenders followed suit along with a developmental quarterback and a high-upside running back.

Altogether, the Vikings added depth to positions that needed it, specifically defensive back and defensive tackle. And by snagging a quarterback late, they maintained their flexibility at the position going forward while also taking a swing on a player they had targeted.

Here are some broad takeaways from the Vikings’ draft.

For much of the past couple of months, the NFL Draft has felt almost like an afterthought for the Ravens because of the ongoing contract stalemate between the team and quarterback Lamar Jackson. So, it was only fitting that about four hours before the start of Thursday’s three-day event, the Ravens and Jackson officially struck a deal.

With a five-year, $260 million extension, the Ravens ended months of uncertainty at the game’s most important position and made Jackson the highest-paid player in the history of the NFL. Anything that happened after that suddenly felt insignificant in comparison.

That’s probably unfair to the Ravens’ first-round pick, Boston College wide receiver Zay Flowers, and the rest of the Ravens’ six-man draft class. Still, once the excitement of the Jackson deal tempered, the Ravens’ activity in the draft was relatively uneventful — and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Read more here.

(Photo: Getty Images)

Robert Saleh heard the question, smiled, stood up and wrapped his arms around Joe Douglas, nuzzling his head against Douglas’ chest. It was a moment of love between two men who have done their best to transform the fortunes of one of the NFL’s misfortune-filled franchises into a bona fide Super Bowl contender.

In past years, the Jets felt like they changed the trajectory of things on draft night, often with an early first-round pick. But it was for different reasons this year. It’s not hard to figure out why: A few days before the draft, the Jets traded for quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who might be the most talented quarterback to ever walk through Florham Park. By Thursday, he was practicing with his new Jets teammates. Then, they added seven more rookies this weekend to a roster Douglas and Saleh are hoping is good enough to launch the Jets back into the playoffs.

Saleh’s week started by getting Rodgers, and then came the draft — which included another pass-rushing toy for him to use in first-round pick Will McDonald. He hugged Douglas after he was asked how it felt at the end of a week that started by trading for a Hall of Fame quarterback.

“It’s been a fun week,” Saleh said, still smiling.

Was the draft itself as fun for the Jets?

Here’s a full analysis of the Jets’ haul — best pick, surprise pick, biggest questions and much more.

The 2023 NFL Draft had 259 slots, but the talent pool reaches much deeper. A seven-round event leaves plenty of options available, and history has shown that some will become stars, like Kurt Warner, James Harrison, Tony Romo, Jason Peters, Antonio Gates, Wes Welker and many more.

The numbers below reflect a player’s ranking on Dane Brugler’s final top 300 big board. Their pre-draft round projection also is included.

As the draft ended and negotiations for undrafted free agent agreements commenced, here were the top players available.

(Photo: USA Today)

Like every team in the NFL, Atlanta was delighted with its 2023 draft. Falcons head coach Arthur Smith even joked about every team’s propensity to leave the annual event all smiles.

“You expect somebody to come up here and say, ‘We feel awful’?” Smith quipped Saturday night.

The Falcons added six players in the draft and felt — or at least were convincing in saying they felt — that all six would improve their team in some way.

“From the first pick, No. 8 overall, to the eighth pick in the seventh round, the theme has been smart, tough, highly competitive players that fit what we’re about, fit our makeup,” general manager Terry Fontenot said. “Versatile, smart football players. Very excited about the outcome of this draft.”

Atlanta will never compromise on toughness and physicality in its additions, Smith said.

“It’s pretty simple. Mean what you say and say what you mean and have the discipline to do it,” he said. “We’re not perfect, don’t think we’re anything special, but when we say we want to do something, we want to execute it. When you start making exceptions over and over again, you don’t really stand for anything.”

Read more here.

Alabama and Georgia tied with 10 picks each in the 2023 NFL Draft, leading all other schools. Here’s what you need to know:

• Michigan was next in line with nine picks and TCU was third with eight.
• In 2022, Georgia broke an NFL Draft record with 15 players selected, the most since the seven-round format began. LSU (10), Cincinnati (9), Penn State (8) and Alabama (7) closed out last year’s top five.

Read more here.

If day one of the NFL draft is about stars and day two is about starters, day three is about depth and competition. Drafts — and ultimately teams — are made by what happens in rounds 4-7.

From the Saints trading up to take Old Dominion tackle Nick Saldiveri with Saturday’s first pick to the Rams choosing Toledo defensive tackle Desjuan Johnson as Mr. Irrelevant, the day was filled with interesting moments and important selections. Let’s take a look at how teams performed strictly on the draft’s final day (not overall).

(Illustration by The Athletic; photos by Getty Images)

Lions GM Brad Holmes entered the weekend with a single objective. It’s one he told anyone who’d listen, whenever asked, time and time again this offseason.

Holmes’ Lions have become a bit of a trendy pick as a team capable of doing damage in the NFC. They finished the 2022 season winning eight of their final 10 games, looking like a squad nobody wanted to face in January. They have a young core that continues to grow and develop and mature in this league. But what’s often a footnote when discussing the Lions is that this team, at 9-8, missed the playoffs.

That’s not lost on Holmes. It has been at the forefront of every move since the season ended.

Especially this weekend.

“We don’t want to take a step back and we don’t want to stay stagnant,” Holmes told local reporters Saturday, putting a bow on the 2023 NFL Draft. “We appreciate and we are extremely proud of the success that we had last year, but we didn’t make the playoffs, you know? We didn’t make the playoffs and that’s not good enough. So, we gotta get to the point — as a football team — where we can put ourselves in a position where we can get in the postseason and hopefully make some noise.”

Holmes believes this draft will help the Lions get there.