The 2023 NFL Draft is now behind us, and 259 players will be joining the league. Over the course of three days, there were plenty of good picks and just as many questionable ones. Here we will look at the teams that, at first blush, look like the NFL draft losers this year, including the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Commanders, and San Francisco 49ers.
5. Cleveland Browns
The Browns lost the 2023 NFL Draft over a year ago when they traded a million (give or take) first-round picks to the Houston Texans to obtain Deshaun Watson. Still, they could have salvaged the draft a bit with some better picks.
Cleveland made some picks that, if they hit, could become steals. This includes WR Cedric Tillman (Round 3), DT Siaki Ika (Round 3), OT Dawand Jones (Round 4), and C Luke Wypler (Round 6). These players are all risky picks but with some decent upside.
UCLA QB Dorian Thomson-Robinson (Round 5) as well, could be a signal-caller of the future if developed right.
All that said, the Browns needed some difference-makers on the roster, and without a first or second-round pick, they didn’t get any surefire ones in the 2023 NFL Draft.
4. Dallas Cowboys
Jerry Jones and the Cowboys took care of most of their most pressing needs in the 2023 NFL Draft but they didn’t seem to check them off in order of importance.
Some of the Cowboys’ inclusion on the NFL Draft losers list is how you feel about Michigan DT Mazi Smith. He was a borderline first-round pick, and the Cowboys passed up several offensive players, including Notre Dame tight end Michael Mayer to take him.
Jones and company did take a nice sleeper with San Jose State DE Viliami Fehoko, but they didn’t take an offensive lineman until Round 5 or a wide receiver until Round 7.
Plus, while the Cowboys taking their longtime scout’s son, Deuce Vaughn, was one of the best moments of the draft, a 5-foot-5, 176-pound RB isn’t exactly the perfect compliment to Tony Pollard.
3. Washington Commanders
Speaking of slight players, the Commanders took a major gamble with their first pick, taking 6-foot-1, 166-pound cornerback Emmanuel Forbes in Round 1. The CB is a major ball hawk, but at that weight, there are major questions as to whether he will hold up in the NFL.
The pick was especially perplexing with seemingly safer CBs Christian Gonzalez, Deonte Banks, and Joey Porter Jr. still on the boards.
Washington made some decent picks after that, with Kentucky RB Chris Rodriguez Jr. in the sixth round being the best. However, that is one of the best position groups on the Commanders roster right now, which makes that a little superfluous.
Worst of all, though, the team is really heading into the season with Sam Howell as QB1 without even taking a flyer on another late-round QB in this draft, which makes the Commanders an NFL draft loser in 2023.
2. Houston Texans
The Houston Texans made a massive splash in the 2023 NFL Draft, taking Ohio State QB CJ Stroud No. 2 overall and trading back up to No. 3 to take Alabama pass rusher Will Anderson Jr.
Both these players were among the best prospects in the class, but Stroud had some major question marks, including scoring an 18 on the S2 Cognition test, and Anderson is solid but maybe not elite.
The Texans gave up a lot to go back up to No. 3, including their 2024 first-round selection. Giving up so much for two prospects who aren’t sure things is why Houston lands on this NFL draft losers list.
1. San Francisco 49ers
Between the Trey Lance trade and the Christian McCaffrey trade, the 49ers didn’t make a pick until the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft. With that first pick, they took an average safety prospect in Penn State’s Ji’Ayir Brown.
That’s not ideal, but the team’s second pick was much, much worse. With their second pick in the draft, the team took Michigan kicker Jake Moody. The kicker is a fine player, but he’s a kicker — and there were a lot more potential impact players on the board — and as good as Moody is from in close, he only made 66.6% of his kicks from 40 yards plus in the last two seasons and put just over 50% of his kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks.
When a team doesn’t have early picks, they need to make the later ones count. And taking a kicker in the third round is the exact opposite of that mandate. The 49ers could have done much better, which is why they are on this NFL draft losers list.
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