🚨Big Board Update🚨 Tyree Wilson

There have been rumblings for weeks about the health of the star Texas Tech defensive end regarding the factors leading to the edge rusher undergoing a foot surgery that prevented him from participating in the NFL Combine. Credible sources (several people on Twitter) have been leaking information this afternoon that Wilson's medical profile has shown ample red flags that have numerous teams seriously concerned for how his career may ultimately be impacted.

My take: Tall athletes with foot problems are not good combinations. For a player that already has questions regarding just how refined he is as a player on-the-field, any question marks off the field drop his value as a draft prospect significantly. Though this is completely out of his control, players with medical red flags are not something you want to dabble with this high in the NFL draft. For that reason, I have dropped Wilson accordingly on my Big Board™️. As mentioned before, these rumors have been swirling for weeks, but the heat has turned up substantially to the point where I believe there is legitimate reason to be concerned.

My 2023 NFL Draft Bears Round 1 Big Board

This is simply how I would rank the players that would likely be around when the Bears pick in the first round this evening. Essentially how this works is: If the Bears are drafting, I want them to take the top remaining guy on my Big Board™️ (or trade back). If they don't draft my top guy and that guys goes on to become a Hall-of-Famer, we can say that I was right. If they do draft him and he stinks out loud, we can blame that on the fact that I am a medical student and don't evaluate draft prospects for a living (yet).

We'll also be going off this list (which I will change and update on the different days of the draft as things change) when we react during our live podcast reaction this evening and in future days!

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My Top 50 Big Board

1. Will Anderson

2. Jalen Carter

3. Paris Johnson Jr.

4. Lukas Van Ness

5. Peter Skoronski

6. Jaxon Smith-Njigba

7. Broderick Jones

8. Tyree Wilson

9. Darnell Wright

10. Myles Murphy

11. Brian Bresee

12. Christian Gonzalez

13. Adetomiwa Adebawore

14. Calijah Kancey

15. Deonte Banks

16. Devon Witherspoon

17. John-Michael Schmitz

18. Anton Harrison

19. Bijan Robinson

20. Felix Anudike-Uzomah

21. Mazi Smith

22. Isaiah Foskey

23. Keion White

24. Will McDonald IV

25. O'Cyrus Torrence

26. BJ Ojulari

27. Gervon Dexter

28. Siaki Ika

29. Tuli Tuipulotu

30. Dawand Jones

31. Keeanu Benton

32. Joey Porter Jr.

33. Brian Branch

34. Steve Avila

35. Zay Flowers

36. Jack Campbell

37. Derrick Hall

38. Nolan Smith

39. Matthew Bergeron

40. Jaelyn Duncan

41. Dalton Kincaid

42. Darnell Washington

43. Cody Mauch

44. Joe Tippman

45. Jahmyr Gibbs

46. Zach Harrison

47. Drew Sanders

48. Emmanuel Forbes

49. Chandler Zavala

50. Bryce Young

2023 NFL Draft Takes: Top Five DBs

These short posts over the course of the week leading up to Thursday night will detail my personal opinions on how the NFL should approach this draft class. I'll try to give some hard-core analysis for some guys, but a lot of this is going to be gut-instinct, armchair-quarterback musings. All correct opinions come directly from me and me alone. All incorrect opinions may be roasted appropriately at a later date.

DB1: Christian Gonzalez, Oregon

I value high-end athleticism at this position, and Gonzalez is best combination of top-tier film/production and freaky athletic testing. He's not #1 by much, but he earned it with his combine performance. He reminds me of Marshon Lattimore, which is a pretty good person to be compared to at this postion.

DB2: Deonte Banks, Maryland

This is me sticking to my mantra of valuing top-tier athleticism with production. Banks mirrored Gonzalez in setting the combine on fire with elite numbers all over the board, but his film from 2022-23 showed excellent skills that suggest that he's not just a workout warrior. He's got crazy upside, and that's why I have him here.

DB3: Devon Witherspoon, Illinois

He was so good on the field last year for the Illini, which makes it hard for me to slot him this low (especially when he's #1 or #2 on almost every public figure's board). Something about him just makes me think he had a sensational one-off season that benefited from playing the Big Ten West, and that he's not quite at the level he showed last year. He's a very, very different player, but Iowa's Josh Jackson had a similar rise, and I get some of the same vibes from Witherspoon. He's still a stud, and that's why I have him top-3 in a loaded CB class.

DB4: Joey Porter Jr., Penn State

He's long and showed good things this past year on the field. I just don't see the movement skills that make an elite corner prospect. He has elite pedigree, though, and I wouldn't be shocked if he turns out to be an impactful, lengthy corner in the mold of a Charvarius Ward or Jaycee Horn.

DB5: Brian Branch, Alabama

I'm not as high on Branch as many are, but I still think he's the best safety prospect in this class (by far) and he has flexibility to mix in at both slot corner (in a pinch) and at the line of scrimmage in the run game. That versatility has significant value in the modern NFL, but I still have apprehension about his overall underwhelming athletic testing. He's like the Michael Mayer of defensive backs: Good at a lot of things, but not really projecting to be excellent at anything.