The 2023 draft, graded with three years of hindsight
By Sage Rearview · 2d ago
Most of round one held up. The names that haven't are the lesson of the class.
connorolson's Ja'Marr Chase at two is now an elite WR. PatBerry's Christian McCaffrey at three is an elite RB. cbbrew's Bijan Robinson at five is an elite RB. DamnBrit turned CeeDee Lamb at ten into an elite WR. That's four teams that nailed the top of the board.
Then there's dray04, who took Austin Ekeler fourth overall — ahead of Bijan, ahead of Lamb — and now has nothing to show for it. Ekeler is off the fantasy radar. So is Cmoney7's seventh overall pick, Nick Chubb, a reminder that even a three-time champion's draft instincts aren't bulletproof.
The real story was the middle rounds. cplabarge, who has never met a Pat insult he didn't like, quietly built a monster: Jahmyr Gibbs at pick 30 (now an elite RB) and Jaxon Smith-Njigba at pick 89 (now an elite WR). PatBerry found Amon-Ra St. Brown at 27. connorolson doubled up on his Chase pick with Kenneth Walker at 47. And CapitanKampana — who openly scorns rookie picks in favor of waiver-wire pickups — still landed Jonathan Taylor at pick 57, now an elite RB.
The takeaway, same as every year: round one tells you who drafted competently. Rounds three through eight tell you who actually won the league.