AUDIO: 2023 NFL Draft Media Call with ESPN Senior NFL Draft Analyst Mel Kiper Jr. – April 12, 2023
On April 12, ESPN Senior NFL Draft analyst, Mel Kiper Jr. held his second 2023 NFL Draft media call. Kiper discussed his latest mock draft and answered questions from the media on the upcoming NFL Draft.
Kiper Jr.’s latest mock draft can be found here. His next, and final, mock draft is slated to be released on Thursday, April 27.
ESPN’s extensive NFL Draft multi-platform programming can be found here, with more information available in the coming weeks.
Please Note: Timestamps of topics discussed can be found below the video.
01:10 – On who the Jets pick at number 13
02:55 – On Texas’s Bijan Robinson and how the NFL values RBs in the Draft
04:15 – On Georgia’s Jalen Carter
05:45 – On who the Falcons pick at number 8
07:40 – On what position the Ravens take in the first-round
09:30 – On how Iowa players rank post-combine and post pro-day? (Lukas Van Ness, Jack Campbell, Sam LaPorta, Riley Moss, Kaevon Merriweather)
11:35 – On what positions the Bills should target
13:07 – On if the Bears should trade-up into the first-round given their many picks in the late second-round
15:05 – On shorter QBs starting games in the NFL versus 10-years ago
17:43 – On why it is so challenging to evaluate the top-10 picks, especially when it comes to the CBs
21:50 – On mock draft for Eagles
23:08 – On Michigan’s D.J. Turner and Jake Moody
24:47 – On Draft day trades
27:33 – On Titans trading-up in Kiper Jr.’s latest mock draft
29:05 – On how Kiper Jr.’s preparation and process leading up to the Draft
31:00 – On Mississippi State’s Emmanuel Forbes and Mississippi’s Jonathan Mingo
33:25 – On Hendon Hooker
35:43 – On trading up or down given that many teams need the same positions
38:00 – On Alabama’s Will Anderson and Texas’s Bijan Robinson
40:25 – On the best-fits for the Patriots at pick number 14
41:55 – On the mental side of prospect evaluations
44:10 – On if teams have done anything in recent years to help prospects transition to the NFL mentally
45:44 – On Northwestern’s Adetomiwa Adebawore
47:15 – On the Dolphins limited pick number and who should they take
49:43 – On which LBs the Bucs should target
53:58 – On off-ball LBs
55:05 – On Texas’s Bijan Robinson and Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker
57:30 – On Iowa State’s Will McDonald and Xavier Hutchinson
58:45 – On advice Kiper Jr. has for the player that is drafted last
01:00:30 – On Texas Tech’s Tyree Wilson
01:01:49 – On how Kiper Jr. would assess Ravens’ GM Eric DeCosta’s previous Drafts
01:03:46 – On which T the Bears should take in the first-round
01:05:49 – On Michigan’s Luke Schoonmaker, Mike Morris and Olusegun Oluwatimi
01:07:48 – On so many TEs in the first two rounds and Georgia’s Darnell Washington
01:10:14 – On who the Ravens should take in the first-round if they don’t take a WR or CB
01:12:05 – On dominant interior DLs that could be a steal
01:13:57 – On the Steelers and if they are going to take an offensive or defensive player in the first-round
01:15:40 – On mid to late round options for the Ravens