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Writer's pictureAnthony Pagnotta

Heel Tough Blog: Five Tar Heels Hoping to Hear Their Names Called This Weekend

Thursday was the first day of the 2023 NFL Draft as 31 college players had their dreams of reaching the highest level of the sport recognized as part of the three day extravaganza in Kansas City. Five Tar Heels will be amongst those hoping to hear his name called in the final two days, which will get underway tonight at 7:00 PM EST. Here is a look at where the mock drafts have those guys going and which one of those would be the best fits.



Josh Downs

Jim Dedmon- USA Today Sports

PFF Experts Draft: Round 2, Pick 35 to the Indianapolis Colts

Matt Miller (ESPN): Round 2, Pick 37 to the Seattle Seahawks

Cam Mellor (Pro Football Network): Round 2, Pick 39 to the Carolina Panthers

Shane Hallam (Draft Countdown): Round 2, Pick 39 to the Carolina Panthers

Greg Rector (Team NBS Media): Round 2, Pick 39 to the Carolina Panthers

Vinnie Iyer (Sporting News): Round 2, Pick 43 to the New York Jets

Chris Trapasso (CBS Sports): Round 2, Pick 44 to the Atlanta Falcons

Charlie Campbell (WalterFootball): Round 2, Pick 45 to the Green Bay Packers

Dane Brugler (The Athletic): Round 2, Pick 46 to the New England Patriots

Drafttek Staff: Round 2, Pick 46 to the New England Patriots

Josh Edwards (CBS Sports): Round 2, Pick 52 to the Seattle Seahawks

Chad Reuter (NFL.com): Round 2, Pick 58 to the Dallas Cowboys

Ryan Wilson (CBS Sports): Round 3, Pick 76 to the New England Patriots

There are a lot of really good options here for Downs after the rumors of Buffalo being high on him didn’t pay off in a first round selection. Playing with Aaron Rodgers is certainly enticing, especially with the Jets looking set to compete for a Super Bowl now, but the question there is how much he would get the ball with the core group they already have. The Patriots are in need of receiver help with JuJu Smith-Schuster as the top option and not much going on behind that. The Panthers might present the best situations for him with an older Adam Thielen and an oft-injured D.J. Chark as the lead receiving options and potential star Bryce Young under center.



Asim Richards

Charles LeClaire- USA Today Sports

Dane Brugler (The Athletic): Round 4, Pick 127 to the Jacksonville Jaguars

Shane Hallam (Draft Countdown): Round 5, Pick 142 to the Cleveland Browns

Chad Reuter (NFL.com): Round 5, Pick 159 to the Detroit Lions

Matt Miller (ESPN): Round 5, Pick 160 to the New York Giants

Josh Edwards (CBS Sports): Round 5, Pick 161 to the Houston Texans

Greg Rector (Team NBS Media): Round 6, Pick 197 to the Miami Dolphins

Drafttek Staff: Round 7, Pick 229 to the Cleveland Browns

PFF Experts Draft: Round 7, Pick 237 to the Seattle Seahawks

Ryan Wilson (CBS Sports): Round 7, Pick 240 to the New York Giants

Chris Trapasso (CBS Sports): Undrafted

Charlie Campbell (WalterFootball): Undrafted

Vinnie Iyer (Sporting News): Undrafted

Cam Mellor (Pro Football Network): Undrafted

Richards appears to be secured as a day three pick at this, even having completely fallen off of some boards. The two spots that he has been mocked to twice here are both really solid destinations that could use his versatility. The Seahawks and the Texans are the teams that could probably use him the most, though, especially a Houston team that only have nine offensive linemen total on the roster.



Antoine Green

Rich Storry- USA Today Sports

Vinnie Iyer (Sporting News): Round 6, Pick 179 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Chad Reuter (NFL.com): Round 6, Pick 202 to the Jacksonville Jaguars

Charlie Campbell (WalterFootball): Round 7, Pick 233 to the Washington Commanders

Chris Trapasso (CBS Sports): Round 7, Pick 242 to the Green Bay Packers

Ryan Wilson (CBS Sports): Round 7, Pick 258 to the Chicago Bears

PFF Experts Draft: Undrafted

Cam Mellor (Pro Football Network): Undrafted

Dane Brugler (The Athletic): Undrafted

Matt Miller (ESPN): Undrafted

Shane Hallam (Draft Countdown): Undrafted

Drafttek Staff: Undrafted

Josh Edwards (CBS Sports): Undrafted

Green had a good combine but that hasn’t seemed to help him much in terms of his stock. Going undrafted certainly wouldn’t be the worst thing because it would give him options, but there are some good options here in these predictions. The Commanders is the one team that doesn’t make a ton of sense considering they already have Dyami Brown, who provides a very similar skillset. The two best spots for him are Tampa Bay and Green Bay where the teams lack depth on the outside. Slotting in as Mike Evans backup could be a perfect fit for him.



Noah Taylor

Bob Donnan- USA Today Sports

Vinnie Iyer (Sporting News): Round 5, Pick 162 to the Indianapolis Colts

Ryan Wilson (CBS Sports): Round 7, Pick 239 to the Los Angeles Chargers

PFF Experts Draft: Undrafted

Chad Reuter (NFL.com): Undrafted

Chris Trapasso (CBS Sports): Undrafted

Charlie Campbell (WalterFootball): Undrafted

Cam Mellor (Pro Football Network): Undrafted

Dane Brugler (The Athletic): Undrafted

Matt Miller (ESPN): Undrafted

Shane Hallam (Draft Countdown): Undrafted

Drafttek Staff: Undrafted

Josh Edwards (CBS Sports): Undrafted

It was honestly a bit shocking to see Taylor being selected in mock drafts, but more than likely he will go undrafted. Being able to find his own destination, especially off of the knee injury that ended his college career. Finding a 3-4 defense will be important for him, but other than that, he should have some solid options.



Raymond Vohasek

Reinhold Matay- USA Today Sports

It isn’t shocking, but Vohasek does not appear on any mock drafts at this point. The bigger question for him will be whether or not he did enough on his pro day to land in an NFL camp this summer.

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