Five of the biggest steals of the 2023 NFL Draft

Packed with drama and mystery, the 2023 NFL Draft featured plenty of surprises as 259 players heard their names called over a three-day period in Kansas City.

Now that the dust has settled on all of the slides, reaches and trades, here are five of the biggest steals of the 2023 draft:

No. 17 overall | Christian Gonzalez, CB, New England Patriots

Arguably the top cornerback in the 2023 class, it’s hard to believe that 16 teams passed on Gonzalez before New England, which even traded back three spots, snatched him up. Gonzalez totaled 50 tackles, 11 passes defensed, seven pass breakups and four interceptions in 2022 while being named a first-team All-Pac-12 selection. He joins a loaded Patriots secondary that includes cornerbacks Jonathan Jones, Jack Jones Marcus Jones and Jalen Mills, who combined to allow a completion percentage of just 56.2 with 25 forced incompletions, 16 pass breakups and 10 interceptions.

No. 30 overall | Nolan Smith, Edge, Philadelphia Eagles

Many mock drafts had the Eagles landing Smith, a consensus top-three edge rusher, but at pick No. 10, not 30. The 6-foot-2, 230-pound Smith clocked a 4.39 40-time at the NFL Combine, and his rare blend of athleticism, strength and play-making instincts make him a matchup nightmare as either a hand-in-the-ground rusher setting the edge or as a blitzer on the outside.

No. 35 overall | Michael Mayer, TE, Las Vegas Raiders

Widely considered the top tight end in the draft, Mayer’s fall to the second round comes as a bit of a surprise given the run on pass catchers toward the end of Round 1. A gifted receiver and blocker, Mayer is a great replacement for Darren Waller. He caught 67 or more passes with 800 or more yards and seven or more touchdowns each of the last two seasons at Notre Dame. He should be a Day 1 starter and a consistent target for Jimmy Garoppolo.

No. 73 overall | Jalin Hyatt, WR, New York Giants

If there’s one thing the Giants offense has been missing it’s a true downfield threat capable of taking the top off a defense. That’s exactly what Hyatt does best; his 18.9 yards per reception ranked 13th in the FBS in 2022 and he had the fifth-most receiving yards in college football despite having significantly fewer receptions than the other four. He also ranked second in the country with 15 touchdowns. Adding Hyatt to a WR room that also features Sterling Shepard, Darius Slayton, Parris Campbell, Wan’Dale Robinson, Jamison Crowder and Isaiah Hodgins gives Giants quarterback Daniel Jones his best complement of weapons since he joined the team.

No. 111 overall | Dawand Jones, OT, Cleveland Browns

Jones was projected to be an early Round 2 selection and some draft analysts believed he could have even snuck into the end of the first round, so to land him in the fourth round is a coup for the Browns. Cleveland has Jack Conklin at right tackle and Jedrick Wills Jr. on the left, but there’s still room for Jones to win a spot. The 6-foot-8, 309-pound Jones allowed only four pressures on 419 pass-blocking snaps in 2022 and he could challenge Wills Jr. for a starting spot over the next year.