The Cardinals added talent in 2023, but this overhaul is too big to complete in just one draft. Fortunately, trading back from No. 3 net the Texans’ first and third-rounders next spring — picks that could be top 10 selections behind a rookie quarterback in a rebuilding situation. Paris Johnson Jr. and BJ Ojulari are nice enough picks, but the real payoff from this year’s haul might not come until 2024.

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If you’re going all-in on a run first offense and don’t care who knows it, why bother engaging in a debate about running back value at the draft? Instead, you can pair the best college tailback since Saquon Barkley with a guy who ran for 711 yards and 5.6 yards per carry over the back half of his rookie season. Arthur Smith is telling the world exactly what he plans to do and is daring the rest of the NFC South to stop him.

Flowers just wins. It doesn’t matter if he’s left on an island with an all-conference corner, doubled over the top or stuck with someone trying to jam him at the line. He creates separation and executes inside and out. That’s exactly what the Ravens need at wideout, where his two accomplices will be Odell Beckham Jr. (on the wrong side of 30 and coming off a significant knee injury) and Rashod Bateman (16 games missed the previous two seasons).

Dalton Kincaid has 1,000-yard upside and will have his exposure limited by Dawson Knox’s presence in the lineup. O’Cyrus Torrence would have been a solid pickup in the first round but Buffalo got him in the second. Both will have a role in taking the pressure from Allen’s broad shoulders and pushing this offense to new heights.

Whether Bryce Young works out or not, he was a gamble the Panthers had to take. Three seasons in which the pinnacle of quarterbacking was Teddy Bridgewater left Carolina grasping at straws and threatening to approximately no one. Young is worthy of building around, and any bright spots as a rookie will provide a greater high than any of the previous three years.

Fields’ 13.7 percent sack rate as a pro is a confluence of two things; a porous offensive line and a receiving corps with limited contributors. Darnell Wright is a plug-and-play right tackle across from 2022 rookie surprise Braxton Jones and Tyler Scott is the kind of deep threat who can create space for everyone else in the passing game — a corps that includes new addition D.J. Moore thanks to Chicago’s trade back from No. 1.

Also coming back in that trade? Future first and second round picks from a team slated to start a rookie quarterback in 2023.

Cincinnati had to replace three starters from the secondary this offseason, but last year’s draft (Daxton Hill, Cam Taylor-Britt) already put those gears into motion. Adding DJ Turner and Jordan Battle brings more reinforcements. And Myles Murphy? That guy just sorta rules in general.

The Browns’ were hamstrung after dealing 2023’s first round pick (and 2022’s, and 2024’s) for Deshaun Watson despite the 20-plus accusations of sexual misconduct and what the league would later describe as “predatory behavior. With seven picks and none before the third round, Cleveland picked up a boatload of well regarded talent.

Dawand Jones, Luke Wypler, Isaiah McGuire and Siaki Ika bring reinforcements on both sides of the line. Cedric Tillman can punch up a listless receiving corps (he already may be the team’s WR2). And Dorian Thompson-Robinson is a worthwhile developmental quarterback in case Watson, who ranked 32nd out of 37 qualified quarterbacks in expected points added (EPA) per play, continues to struggle.

Jerry Jones resisted temptation to trade up or reach for big name playmakers. Instead, Jones plugged gaps in his roster with high-upside defenders (Mazi Smith, DeMarvion Overshown) and a Dalton Schultz replacement (Luke Schoonmaker). It’s not exciting, these are the patches Dallas needs to keep churning toward an NFC title game.

Marvin Mims can be a difference maker in Wilson’s offense, but if he’s not the defense is there to help. Riley Moss was dynamite at Iowa and Drew Sanders is a useful off-ball linebacker who was remarkably successful as a blitzer last year (9.5 sacks!). Granted, this is still the team that would have been 10-2 13 weeks into the season had it simply scored 18 points in regulation every week, so it’s possible a beefed-up defense doesn’t fix much.

Sure, the draft position for each of the Lions’ first two picks was curious. After debating how high a running back should be drafted in a league that’s devalued the position, Detroit took one at No. 12 — and it wasn’t even the best tailback in the class. It was a similar tale at No. 18 at off-ball linebacker.

But Gibbs is a monster who explodes through holes and brings high value in the passing game in a way D’Andre Swift couldn’t (at least consistently). Campbell was 2022’s best college linebacker and showcased NFL athleticism at the combine. They’ll both slide into starting roles next fall for the presumptive NFC North favorites. The value may have been questionable, but the talent is not.

Christian Watson put together a 1,000-yard pace over the last half of his rookie season. Now he’s joined by Jaylen Reed, Dontayvion Wicks, Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft. The Packers took a shotgun blast approach to its receiving and tight end corps and came away with a load of young talent. If even half of it pans out, it’ll help push Love toward his potential as an NFL starting quarterback.

CJ Stroud was my top quarterback. Will Anderson Jr. was my top defensive player. Both are Texans, and their powers combined could lead to as many wins in 2023 as Houston had the previous two seasons combined. That’s only seven, but still — each is capable of having an instant impact and the Nathaniel Dell/Henry To’oot’o additions in the middle rounds could propel this draft class from good to great.

General Manager Chris Ballard pulled out an all-Crunchberries mix of players. Anthony Richardson is a risk, but one with the highest potential of any quarterback in the draft and, importantly, one he didn’t have to trade up to get. Julius Brents and Darius Rush could be lockdown corners in Indianapolis for the next four years.

Absurd athletes dotted the middle rounds of the draft and give new head coach Shane Steichen incredible flexibility as he oversees a rebuild. The Colts finally bottomed out to get out of no-man’s land in the NFL rankings. Their draft went as well as anyone could have hoped.

Anton Harrison can fill in for Cam Robison should he miss time for a reported PED suspension. Brenton Strange may not have been the highest rated tight end still on the board, but he’s got a year to learn the ropes before Evan Engram can potentially leave as a free agent. Tank Bigsby is Travis Etienne insurance and safety Antonio Johnson is a high-upside fifth rounder who fills a need. With the rest of the AFC South looking up at them, the Jags could afford to go low-key and reinforce their castle.

Veach didn’t reach for high-upside, low-floor players. He wanted proven commodities at reasonable draft slots and got them. He may not have a surefire Pro Bowler in this year’s crop, but if he can wring three starters from his seven picks he’ll keep the Chiefs churning at a championship pace.

Wilson climbed into the top five in several day-of mock drafts leading up to the draft; the Raiders got him at seventh overall. Michael Mayer was long considered a first round talent; Las Vegas picked him up early in the second. Wilson will shrink pockets and push Maxx Crosby to greater heights (and maybe even help revive Chandler Jones). Mayer can be Jimmy Garoppolo’s new George Kittle. Two picks, two perfect — and undervalued — selections.

Adding Quentin Johnston to a Keenan Allen-Mike Williams receiving corps could make Justin Herbert a borderline superhero. Getting Tuli Tuipulotu and Daiyan Henley on Day 3 filled defensive needs with stud players. Toss in Derius Davis as a special teams Swiss Army knife and the Chargers are going to be one of the most watched teams on Sunday Ticket.

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14 draft picks! At least a few of them are going to be good. A bunch will wind up in significant roles, especially for a defense that only returns two full-time starters. And Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson might be the steal of the draft!

Smith is a high-level cornerback who would have gone in the top 20 had he been eligible for the 2022 Draft. Achane has world class speed to bring to Mike McDaniel’s game-breaking offense. Granted, that’s half Miami’s draft class, but that’s still pretty good.

Hendon Hooker as a 25-year-old developmental prospect behind Cousins was always a stretch — Kirk’s contract may lock him into Minnesota through 2024 (he’s got void years, but he’s going to count at least $10 million against the team’s cap no matter what). Instead, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah played it safe and took the best available players at positions of need.

Jordan Addison comes in for Adam Thielen. Mekhi Blackmon takes a crack at upgrading a deficient cornerback room. Jay Ward gets the chance to learn from Harrison Smith. That’s all enough to keep the Vikings in playoff contention next fall.

Gonzalez was exactly the time of cornerback the Patriots lacked; a big-bodied outside defender who can press at the line of scrimmage or turn and run with deep threats. He was supposed to be off the board long before the Pats’ 14th overall pick — but the fates let him slip all the way to 17th, where Bill Belichick snapped him up. Getting Keion White and beefing up the offensive line in later rounds was icing on that cake.

New Orleans thinks there’s an opportunity to win a weak division and threw nine figures at Derek Carr to take advantage of it. Drafting high-floor, potentially lower-ceiling college veterans like Bryan Bresee, Isaiah Foskey and Kendre Miller adds immediate contributors who can push them toward that goal. And sixth-rounder A.T. Perry could wind up being valuable insurance for Michael Thomas’s annual lower-body injury.

A late first-round run on wideouts kept the Giants from a Day 1 wideout. No matter, they got an absurd athlete and potential sideline-sealing cornerback in Deonte Banks instead. Then they got a Day 1 WR talent anyway in round three by trading up to snag Jalin Hyatt, the reigning Biletnikoff Award winner. New York filled some glaring holes this spring to build on last season’s surprising playoff run.

Granted, it wasn’t a first round tackle, but New York insulated Rodgers’ declining scrambling skills (he’s 40, so … yeah) by adding Joe Tippmann and Carter Warren to beef up his offensive line. Tippman in particular will have a noticeable impact this fall — particularly clearing space for Breece Hall and fifth-round pick Israel Abanikanda, who is awesome.

There are worst blueprints to follow than “track down one of the greatest college defenses of all time, then draft all its genetic freaks.” If you’re going to be loaded with players from one program, it might as well be the back-to-back national champions.

The Steelers needed better blocking for Kenny Pickett and Najee Harris, so they traded up for Broderick Jones (see above and the UGA of it all). They needed a youth infusion on the defensive line so they drafted Wisconsin rolling boulder Keeanu Benton. They didn’t need another tight end so much, but Darnell Washington in the third round was too good a value to pass up. Oh, and they replenished the secondary with Joey Porter’s kid. A+ stuff.

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San Francisco’s premier picks were shipped out in deals for Trey Lance and Christian McCaffrey, but a seven-selection compensatory pick haul kept GM John Lynch busy from pick 99 onward. Lynch has been exceptional turning Day 3 picks into contributors; now he’s got a crop of six new players taken in the fifth round or later to turn into unexpected stars.

Smith earned a modest contract extension for a starting quarterback, but his true reward came when the Seahawks added Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Zach Charbonnet (61 catches in two seasons at UCLA) to his arsenal. Smith hit a wall toward the end of the season and failed to live up to his early autumn efficiency. Smith-Njigba and Charbonnet will help prevent that from happening again.

The Bucs shouldn’t be concerned about winning in 2023; with Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask at quarterback there’s a wonderful opportunity to stink their way to Caleb Williams and 2024’s top overall pick. Adding Calijah Kancey, Cody Mauch and YaYa Diaby brings three frontline, high-ceiling players who fill staple positions and could develop into All-Pro players — though maybe not in 2023, which is kind of the point.

Levis had an up-and-down 2022 season and a downright bizarre pre-draft process, but there’s no denying his traits as an NFL quarterback. He’s got a big arm, stays composed in the pocket and can track in senior year struggles to a limited cast of playmakers and blockers at Kentucky and the nagging injuries that plagued him from midseason on. He’s got to prove he’s more than just bluegrass Drew Lock at this point, but he’s got time to learn in Tennessee.

Washington ranked 13th in passing defense last season and, without a clear quarterback exit strategy, opted to beef that side of the defense up in hopes of making life easier for Jacoby Brissett and Sam Howell. Emmanuel Forbes is a pick-six machine and Jartavius Martin can play safety or cornerback as one of the most athletic guys on the field at any given time.