ESPN unveils 2023 NFL mock draft ahead of college football season

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NFL Thursday Night Football — David Becker / Stringer PhotoG/Getty

ESPN has released a new 2023 NFL mock draft just before the start of the 2022 college football season. That means it’s being done in an extremely predictive way. Players can always have breakout seasons, while others may disappoint and slide. Still, it acts as a good time capsule to see which players are supposed to be great ahead of the season.

An added challenge of completing a pre-season mock draft is knowing what order the NFL teams will be picking in. To figure out the order, ESPN used FPI. However, FPI projections don’t take things like suspensions into account. It’s also worth pointing out that there are only 31 picks in the first round of the next NFL Draft because Miami is being punished for tampering.

ESPN chose to include underclassmen who could come out in their mock draft, as well.

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ESPN’s pre-season mock draft

Here is ESPN’s NFL mock draft before the 2022 season starts. It includes five quarterbacks coming off the board, 12 players from the SEC, and one player from a military academy.

1. New York Jets

Will Anderson, Edge, Alabama

2. Chicago Bears

Jalen Carter, Defensive Line, Georgia

3. Houston Texans

C.J. Stroud, Quarterback, Ohio State

4. Jacksonville Jaguars

Kayshon Boutte, Wide Receiver, LSU

5. Atlanta Falcons

Bryce Young, Quarterback, Alabama

6. Pittsburgh Steelers

Peter Skoronski, Tackle, Northwestern