2023 NFL Draft | Who are the top players for Day 3?
By The Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Day 2 of the NFL draft is a wrap!
There were 16 trades during the second and third rounds, including the Tennessee Titans moving up eight spots to select quarterback Will Levis with the second pick of the day.
Day 3 begins at noon EST on Saturday and will feature the last four rounds. The draft kicked off Thursday with the Carolina Panthers selecting Alabama quarterback Bryce Young first overall.
TOP PICKS ON DAY 2 OF THE NFL DRAFT
– Joey Porter Jr. was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers with the first pick of the second round. The Penn State cornerback is the son of former Steelers linebacker and Super Bowl champion Joey Porter.
-Levis, the biggest name on the board at the start of Day 2, went No. 33 overall to the Titans.
-Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker, another player who was expected to potentially go in the first round, fell to the third round and was selected No. 68 overall by the Detroit Lions.
TOP PLAYERS AVAILABLE FOR DAY 3
Georgia cornerback Kelee Ringo is the highest-rated prospect remaining on NFL.com’s list going into the final day of the draft.
Ringo is rated 47th overall and has watched four of his teammates from the two-time national champions selected ahead of him in the first three rounds.
Alabama leads its Southeastern Conference rivals with eight selections through the first three rounds, including Young at No. 1 overall. Big Ten rivals Ohio State and Michigan had four players apiece taken in the first three rounds.
PANTHERS TRADE UP TO SELECT DJ JOHNSON
The Carolina Panthers traded up 13 spots in the third round to No. 80 to select outside linebacker DJ Johnson from Oregon, who garnered national attention last season when he appeared to punch a fan in the back of the head following a 38-34 loss to rival Oregon State.
Johnson said the issue was handled internally, and he has not been charged with any crime. He said he has learned from the experience.
“You learn how to keep your composure no matter what the situation,” Johnson said.
QB HENDON HOOKER SELECTED IN THIRD ROUND
The Tennessee quarterback had an outside chance of going in the first round, but the second round appeared the likely destination.
Until it wasn’t.
Hooker’s wait finally ended in the third round when the Detroit Lions selected him with the 68th overall pick.
SECOND ROUND ENDS WITH SEVEN TRADES
The trades started early and kept on coming in the second round of the NFL draft.
It started when Tennessee moved up eight spots to the second selection and took Levis off the board.
Other teams moving up were Las Vegas, Atlanta, Detroit, Tampa Bay, Kansas City and Chicago. Green Bay and Indianapolis moved down in the second round twice each.
The Chiefs moved up eight spots to get another target for Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes, taking wide receiver Rashee Rice at No. 55.
NEW RAIDERS TIGHT END HAS GOOD MEMORIES FROM VEGAS
New Las Vegas tight end Michael Mayer has some familiarity with the Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium.
Mayer’s Notre Dame beat BYU 28-20 in a Shamrock Series game there Oct. 8. Mayer starred by catching 11 passes for 118 yards and two TDs.
Mayer, selected No. 35 overall, also starred in a promotional video before the game against BYU. Mayer, defensive lineman Isaiah Foskey and coach Marcus Freeman did a spoof of “The Hangover,” the 2009 comedy of a bachelor party gone wrong in Las Vegas.
“That was cool,” Mayer said. “That was the first time I got to see the city and drive around. I’m looking forward to the fans, the greatest fans in America. I know (the Raiders) have a great fan base. I’m excited to be a part of it.”
FAMILY FIRST FOR WILL LEVIS
Levis left the NFL draft in Kansas City before the second round started Friday night because he and his family needed to get back to their home in Connecticut for a big party planned for Saturday, reports AP Football Writer Teresa Walker.
The Titans ended the QB’s agonizing wait under the glare of TV cameras with the No. 33 overall pick. Levis says they were in a very different atmosphere at home after being in nice suits and dresses Thursday night.
Levis said his fight was delayed, and he arrived home just before the Titans called to tell him they selected him. Levis says he was a “crying mess” and he was “ecstatic to get the call.”
LAST DRAFT ATTENDEES FINALLY OFF THE BOARD
The last two of the 17 players who attended the draft are finally off the board.
Alabama cornerback Brian Branch and Georgia Tech defensive end Keion White have been taken back-to-back picks in the middle of the second round. Branch went 45th overall to Detroit and White was taken at No. 46 by New England.
Branch was the last player in the green room. White left Kansas City before his name was announced and received the news from his home in Atlanta.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Branch said when asked why he decided to stay in Kansas City. “Just wanted to enjoy the moment.”
TOP TIGHT END PROSPECTS GO QUICKLY IN ROUND 2
The top prospects at tight end have gone quickly in the second round of the NFL draft after hanging around longer than expected on opening night.
Detroit has taken Iowa’s Sam LaPorta at No. 34 overall. Michael Mayer of Notre Dame was the next selection to Las Vegas, and Luke Musgrave went No. 42 to the Green Bay Packers. The Raiders traded up four spots with Indianapolis to get Mayer.
LEVIS TAKEN IN SECOND ROUND BY TITANS
The Titans selected Levis with the 33rd overall pick.
The Kentucky QB projected as a first-round pick but wasn’t selected on opening night.
The 6-foot-4 Levis has prototypical size for an NFL quarterback with a strong arm. Accuracy and decision-making have been inconsistent, especially in his final college season.
PICK OFF THE OLD BLOCK: STEELERS GET JOEY PORTER JR.
The Pittsburgh Steelers drafted the Penn State cornerback with the first pick in the second round.
Porter is the son of former Pittsburgh linebacker Joey Porter. The elder Porter was a four-time Pro Bowler who won a Super Bowl with the Steelers.
The younger Porter was projected as a first-round pick but didn’t get selected on opening night. Steelers fans at the draft in Kansas City were chanting, “Jo-ey, Jo-ey” when the Steelers were on the clock.
LEVIS LEAVES KANSAS CITY
Levis didn’t stick around to hear his name called with the 33rd overall pick by the Titans.
He was expected to go in the top 15 with some draft analysts projecting him among the top five. Levis sat uncomfortably in the green room, sometimes squirming in front of the TV cameras, as he watched three quarterbacks picked in the first four selections: Young to the Panthers, Stroud to the Texans and Anthony Richardson to the Indianapolis Colts.
CHIEFS OWNER SAYS NFL DRAFT IS A SHOWCASE FOR KC
The owner of the Kansas City Chiefs believes the NFL Draft has been a spectacular showcase for their hometown.
Clark Hunt, the son of Chiefs founder Lamar Hunt, added Friday that he’s “heard nothing but compliments from league personnel about the job the city has done,” AP’s Dave Skretta reports.
The draft is being held at Union Station, where the Chiefs celebrated their latest Super Bowl triumph in February. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce began the draft Thursday night by bringing the Lombardi Trophy onto the stage to hype up a crowd of about 125,000.
MAHOMES TO RAIDERS PICK: TAKE IT EASY ON ME
Mahomes tweeted at new Las Vegas pass rusher Tyree Wilson to “take it easy on me” when the Raiders play the Chiefs this season.
The Raiders drafted Wilson seventh overall Thursday out of Texas Tech, where Mahomes starred before leading the Chiefs to two Supers Bowl titles.
“Pat is from the same area I’m from,” Wilson said Friday at the Raiders’ facility in Henderson, Nevada. “I know his family, and it’s ironic that me and him both went to Texas Tech, and now we’re in the same division. So it’s going to be a lot of competition and excitement for Texas Tech and East Texas.”
RAIN DAMPENS NFL DRAFT
Showers started in the Kansas City area with the second and third rounds of the NFL Draft approaching, dampening the festive spirit that came with Thursday’s first round at Union Station.
Still, thousands of fans descended on the downtown area for the second straight night to take in the scene. Many headed for the NFL Draft Experience and the little cover it provided in an otherwise open expanse of grass.
The stage erected in front of the train station is covered, as are the seats immediately in front of it. But most of the crowd, which figures to be far less than on opening night, will have to deal with the intermittent rain expected throughout the second and third rounds.
LEVIS TO THE COLTS?
Colts owner Jim Irsay raised eyebrows on Twitter hours before the start of the second round of the NFL draft by asking fans if the team should take Levis for a Joe Montana-Steve Young QB combo.
Irsay asked the question after Indianapolis took Richardson with the fourth overall pick. The Colts had the fourth pick in the second round, the 35th overall.
Montana and Young are both Pro Football Hall of Famers who won Super Bowls in San Francisco. Young was Montana’s backup before replacing him.
Levis was selected No. 33 overall by the Titans.
FIRST ROUND DRAFT PICKS
AP College Football Writer Ralph Russo breaks down all 31 first-round picks.
Young, Stroud, Alabama linebacker Will Anderson Jr. (Texans), Richardson and Illinois cornerback Devon Witherspoon (Seattle Seahawks) were the top five selections, while Kansas State defensive end Felix Anudike-Uzomah was the last player picked in the first round by the Super Bowl champions Kansas City Chiefs.
BIJAN ROBINSON, BACK WHERE HE STARTED
Robinson knew all about the Atlanta Falcons – and their Dirty Birds nickname – long before there was any hint he might one day be picked by the team in the first round of the NFL draft.
Robinson, a native of Tucson, Arizona, played for the Tucson Falcons as his first team in youth football. He posted photos on his Twitter account of him holding his No. 1 Falcons jersey on Thursday night and wearing his No. 8 Tuscon Falcons jersey.
“We stole every slogan from the Falcons. We were the Dirty Birds,” Robinson said during first news conference at the Falcons’ practice facility on Friday. “That was my first team. It’s just crazy that now we’re here because I wore No. 8 the first year and wore No. 1 the year after.”
STELLERS FIRST ROUNDER HONORS GEORGIA TEAMMATE
Steelers first-round pick Broderick Jones began his NFL career by honoring former Georgia teammate Devin Willock.
Jones, a 6-foot-3, 310-pound offensive tackle taken 14th overall by the Steelers, will wear No. 77 in Pittsburgh. That’s the number Willock wore during his time with the Bulldogs.
“I just wanted to show my respects by taking that number and letting (Willock) live through me,” Jones said.
Willock and Georgia recruiting staffer Chandler LeCroy died in a car accident in January, shortly after the Bulldogs won their second straight national title. Willock started every game at right guard for Georgia last season. Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter, taken ninth overall by the Eagles on Thursday, pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of reckless driving and racing related to the wreck.
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