Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud was one of the big winners of the first round of the NFL draft. (USA Today)
Ravens resolve Lamar Jackson impasse with record contract and then draft receiver Zay Flowers to join Odell Beckham Jr.
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
Takeaways from the first round of NFL draft …
1. The Baltimore Ravens offense won the day. Before the draft started came the news that they signed franchise quarterback Lamar Jackson to a five-year contract for $260 million, including $185 million in guarantees. The new contract given Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts this week seemed to be the catalyst to unlocking this impasse. So Jackson didn’t get 100 percent of the contract guaranteed (like Deshaun Watson) but he did get 71 percent guaranteed. Then with the 22nd pick, the Ravens selected Boston College receiver Zay Flowers (5-9 ¼, 182 pounds). So after finishing last in the NFL last year with fewer than 1,500 yards from wide receivers, the Ravens punctuated a firm commitment to upgrading their passing game. It started with the addition of Georgia offensive coordinator Todd Monken and the additions of receivers Odell Beckham Jr. and Nelson Agholor. Ultimately, a complete revamping of the Ravens offense.
2. First winner of the draft was Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud. Subjected to a smear campaign in the days leading up to the draft, Stroud reacted with grace as results of his low score on the S2 test (which has replaced the Wonderlic for measuring an athlete’s cognitive abilities) made the media rounds and threatened to sink him lower in the first round. The day before the draft, Stroud shrugged, “I’m a quarterback … I’m not a S2 taker.” It was a perfectly great comment. The Houston Texans didn’t even use their full allotted 10 minutes when selecting Stroud with the second overall pick. At the beginning of the draft season, I thought the Texans would be happy with Bryce Young or Stroud. It proved to be true.
3. The second winner of the draft was the Texans. After selecting Stroud to be their new franchise quarterback, GM Nick Caserio, the Cleveland native and John Carroll product, aggressively traded up from No. 12 – the original Browns’ pick acquired in the epic Watson trade – and took Alabama defensive end Will Anderson. Caserio paid a high price for probably the best player in the draft who doesn’t play quarterback. To move up 10 notches, the Texans gave the Arizona Cardinals the 12th and 33rd picks in this draft, plus their 2024 first- and third-round picks.
4. I’m going to nominate the Atlanta Falcons as a team to watch in 2023. For the third year in a row, they used their first pick on an offensive playmaker. They took Texas running back Bijan Robinson with the No. 9 pick after collecting receiver Drake London in 2022 and tight end Kyle Pitts in 2021. The Falcons were super-aggressive on defense in free agency this year, adding defensive linemen Calais Campbell and David Oneymata, and safety Jessie Bates, and trading for cornerback Jeff Okudah. Now, they just have to be right about turning over the quarterback reins to 2022 second-round pick Desmond Ridder.
5. Philadelphia moving up one spot to select disgraced Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter is such a classic GM Howie Roseman move. the Eagles reunited Carter with Georgia teammate Jordan Davis, whom they selected in Round 1 last year, to mitigate the free agent loss of Javon Hargrave. The Eagles owned the 30th pick also and used it on edge rusher Nolan Smith, another Georgia defensive lineman. This, after re-signing veteran end Brandon Graham and tackle Fletcher Cox. It doesn’t seem fair. The Eagles may be the runaway pick to defending their NFC title and return to the Super Bowl.
6. I thought the first head-scratcher of the first round was the Jets taking Iowa State linebacker Will McDonald at No. 15. Dane Brugler of The Athletic had McDonald graded as a second-rounder and projected him as a sub-package edge rusher. Jets fans were expecting an offensive tackle.
7. New England coach Bill Belichick traded down three spots to No. 17 and still came up with the best cornerback in the draft, in my opinion, in Christian Gonzalez of Oregon.
8. Times are changing in Pittsburgh with new GM Omar Kahn. The Steelers traded up three spots with New England to take 311-pound Georgia offensive tackle Broderick Jones. Jones is the first offensive lineman taken in the first round by the Steelers in 20 years. The Steelers gave up pick No. 120 in the fourth round for the move.
9. Ohio State’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba was the first receiver off the board at No. 20 by the Seattle Seahawks. He followed fellow Buckeyes Stroud (No. 2) and offensive tackle Paris Johnson, taken by the Detroit Lions at No. 6, for another impressive showing by Ohio State in the first round of the draft.
10. The Cincinnati Bengals chose Clemson defensive end Myles Murphy at No. 28. I was surprised – no, shocked – they didn’t take Notre Dame’s Michael Mayer, the consensus No. 1-ranked tight end.
11. Kentucky’s Will Levis assumed the role of “over-hyped quarterback who fell down the draft board.” There was actually talk this week of Levis going No. 1 or No. 2 in the draft. Levis’ was not taken in the first round and could extend his draft slide well into the second round.
