Who's the best player in the 2023 NFL Draft?

[The Doctor]

Best player in this draft is Bryce Young, QB Alabama. He was the #2 recruit in his class. Has a Heisman. Is continually showing on the field at the most important position.

Carter vs. Anderson is a toss up. I do think Anderson is the more likely Bears draft pick, because I think the Bears will hammer the DT position in free agency. I'd honestly be surprised if they don't end up with one of the top FA DTs, and at least 1 other guy.

The only thing that concerns me about Young is his height. 6' is pretty short for an NFL QB.

 

[msadows]

Will Anderson Jr.

He has 26 sacks in the last two years going against first round tackle talent.

 

[msadows]

I dont really know anything about high school scouting rankings, but could young have been ranked over them based on positional importance? Or do they take that out of the equation? To me, I'd prefer stroud to young. With Anderson and Carter nobody at their positions is really close to them as a prospect

Shea Patterson was the #3 prospect in the country in 2016.

 

[maxhatter]

Will Anderson.

I don't get the Jalen Carter hype, quite honestly. It sounds a lot like wishful thinking to me that a guy who's never had the kind of sack production you'd like from a 3 technique DT is going to suddenly turn it on in the pros because his pressure percentage is good.

I'm not saying Carter will end up being a bust, but if I'm picking in the top 5, I'm not taking a player based on hope. Give me the guy who actually gets to the quarterback. Will Anderson does that better than anyone.

I think you take the dominant pass rusher over the DT every time. Will Anderson is the best player in the draft in my opinion

 

[Enasic]

Will Anderson.

I don't get the Jalen Carter hype, quite honestly. It sounds a lot like wishful thinking to me that a guy who's never had the kind of sack production you'd like from a 3 technique DT is going to suddenly turn it on in the pros because his pressure percentage is good.

I'm not saying Carter will end up being a bust, but if I'm picking in the top 5, I'm not taking a player based on hope. Give me the guy who actually gets to the quarterback. Will Anderson does that better than anyone.

This. And it’s not just his sack numbers. His overall career numbers are lackluster in TFL and FF too. Go compare his college career numbers to all the proven best pass rushers/dominant DL and they’re not even in the same universe. Like…at all.

 

[rawdawg]

The only thing that concerns me about Young is his height. 6' is pretty short for an NFL QB.

Same height as Drew Brees and Tua. Taller than Russell Wilson and Kyler Murray. If he can play high level QB at 6' in the SEC, he can do it in the NFL. I don't think NFL teams will have any concerns and I think he's the #1 pick in this draft.

 

[TezMaKai]

Will Anderson Jr and it's not close.

He's a Khalil Mack / Von Miller Hybrid.

 

[rawdawg]

In high school. To me carter is clearly the better nfl prospect. I think Carter will be a game wrecker. Breese looks like a solid rotational piece to me. He's a high motor guy, whereas Carter physically dominates people. That's what I see at least. I'm not interested in Breese at all in the top half of round 1

Oh I agree. Bresee, I wouldn't think about drafting until the mid-to-late teens. But to my example, Bresee is an example of a guy that didn't do enough in college to justify his ranking, therefore other guys passed him.

 

[FozzyBear]

Right now it's between Jalen Carter and Will Anderson Jr if Bears are in position to draft either one they should go for it.

Jalen Carter reminds me a lot of Quinnen Williams who's been a beast with the Jets.

Carter has 5 sacks in two years?? Sounds like a cant miss.

 

[HeHateMe]

Carter has 5 sacks in two years?? Sounds like a cant miss.

you see him play this year?

 

[FozzyBear]

you see him play this year?

Who watches games, I just chart plays M8. Gotz a pencil behind my ear and Im always willing to hit the notes hard at a moments notice.

 

[HeHateMe]

Who watches games, I just chart plays M8. Gotz a pencil behind my ear and Im always willing to hit the notes hard at a moments notice.

k

 

[FozzyBear]

k

k

 

[Wild_x_Card]

Anderson. After an awesome last year, he answered his questions around if he can defend against the run.

I’m entirely turned off by Carter right now. He was dominant last year, but this year—when not hurt—he doesn’t look the part, it’s not reflected on his stat sheet, and there’s a credible question to be made that he was a product of Jordan Davis and him overwhelming everybody whereas on his own it’s not there this year.

If some want to give him a pass for the injury (which is another red flag because it’s rehabbing an MCL injury without surgery and hasn’t looked right) I get it, but still think he really needs to show up rivalry week, conference championship, CF playoff and championship game to get back to this conversation.

Having ‘blue chip status’ from last year I think has given him a pass to many but I don’t think it should. And I would find it quintessentially ‘bears’ to draft a preinjured guy.

Carter has only started in 4 games this year, the injury has definitely played a big role in his off the ball explosion. It's obvious, a big guy with an MCL issue will make any prospect in the trenches not look like themselves.

 

[Wild_x_Card]

As I stated in another thread, Will Anderson is awesome. Tons of production against both the run and the pass. For an edge defender to have 100 tackles in one season is beyond crazy. My only gripe with him is the legitimate lack of ball production. 1 FF in three years for a player who's been around the ball a metric ton.

You either have a nack for separating the QB from the football or you don't. Violent hands don't grow on trees and pretty much all of the greats at the NFL level not only have that nack but also showed it in college.

That's not to say he won't be good at the next level but I don't see him with that game wrecker label.

 

[HeHateMe]

Carter has only started in 4 games this year, the injury has definitely played a big role in his off the ball explosion. It's obvious, a big guy with an MCL issue will make any prospect in the trenches not look like themselves.

That's why I asked @FozzyBear if he's seen him play because most people haven't because he hasn't really been playing a whole lot this season. Now when the Bears draft him @Grimson will have his yearly #calledit about Bears GM's picking pre-injured players, but I think a lot of people will be VERY pleased if Carter is pick #1.

 

[and 69 others]

Who watches games, I just chart plays M8. Gotz a pencil behind my ear and Im always willing to hit the notes hard at a moments notice.

Not sure what this means, but its funny whenever you replace "s" with a "z"...odd defensive mechanism but funny nonetheless

 

[JoJoBoxer]

I know they won't, but getting Hargreaves AND payne would be such a monster interior move. A rotation with watts and Jones behind them would be solid. That'd make things much easier on those edge rushers when those 2 collapse the pocket most plays.

Would it be wise to have so much salary cap locked up on 4 DTs?

 

[JoJoBoxer]

If the Bear stand pat at 2, they will have a tough decision between Anderson and Carter. Depends if the Bears can land Hargraves or Payne. I'd love to go from the worst Dline in the NFL to having a potentially dominant one with either (or maybe even both?) of those big guys, and then have your pick at Anderson or Carter and beef up a pass rush. In turn that could make our secondary that much better. Suddenly Gordon looks like 2018 Kyle Fuller with an actual pass rush to help out. Brisker can continue his ascent as a top 5 safety, and JJ can go back to being JJ.

Chances are that the Bears won't stay at 2. They are at 2 only because they played and lost one more game than the other 3-win teams. When the bye comes along, any of those teams who don't happen to win will immediately jump ahead of the Bears because the Bears have the best strength of schedule among them.

For the Bears to stay at 2, they need to lose out (hard because the Vikes will probably be playing for nothing week 18 and will probably sit their 2nd stringers to rest their 1st and 2nd stringers for the playoffs while the Bears will be trying to start a winning streak to end the season) while also needing all other 3-win teams to win at least one more game.

 

[JoJoBoxer]

Anderson. After an awesome last year, he answered his questions around if he can defend against the run.

I’m entirely turned off by Carter right now. He was dominant last year, but this year—when not hurt—he doesn’t look the part, it’s not reflected on his stat sheet, and there’s a credible question to be made that he was a product of Jordan Davis and him overwhelming everybody whereas on his own it’s not there this year.

If some want to give him a pass for the injury (which is another red flag because it’s rehabbing an MCL injury without surgery and hasn’t looked right) I get it, but still think he really needs to show up rivalry week, conference championship, CF playoff and championship game to get back to this conversation.

Having ‘blue chip status’ from last year I think has given him a pass to many but I don’t think it should. And I would find it quintessentially ‘bears’ to draft a preinjured guy.

How he has played can and should certainly be an issue.

How he rehabbed an MCL injury has nothing to do with anything and has nothing to do with being pre-injured. It is common to not have surgery and rehab it with time and a slow increase in bend allowed as it heals. Surgery would have only been useful to make the rehab time faster, not better. An MCL injury is a whole other animal than an ACL injury. Those require surgery to heal. An MCL doesn't.

I had my MCL torn in two and it healed just fine without surgery. I have never had a problem with it.