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
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
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
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
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
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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