With the First Pick in the 2023 NFL Draft...

KANSAS CITY— The 2023 NFL Draft starts tonight and the Carolina Panthers are on the clock.

After watching the Philadelphia Eagles fumble away the Super Bowl to the Kansas City Chiefs, the 2023 NFL Draft order was set. The Chicago Bears had the first overall pick but after a trade with Carolina, the Panthers moved up to the top spot.

The order of the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft is as follows:

1. Carolina Panthers (from Chicago)
2. Houston Texans
3. Arizona Cardinals
4. Indianapolis Colts
5. Seattle Seahawks (from Denver)
6. Detroit Lions (from Los Angeles Rams)
7. Las Vegas Raiders
8. Atlanta Falcons
9. Chicago Bears (from Carolina)
10. Philadelphia Eagles (from New Orleans)
11. Tennessee Titans
12. Houston Texans (from Cleveland)
13. Green Bay Packers (from New York Jets)
14. New England Patriots
15. New York Jets (from Green Bay)
16. Washington Commanders
17. Pittsburgh Steelers
18. Detroit Lions
19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
20. Seattle Seahawks
21. Los Angeles Chargers
22. Baltimore Ravens
23. Minnesota Vikings
24. Jacksonville Jaguars
25. New York Giants
26. Dallas Cowboys
27. Buffalo Bills
28. Cincinnati Bengals
29. New Orleans Saints (From San Francisco through Miami and Denver)
30. Philadelphia Eagles
31. Kansas City Chiefs

Notes:

The Miami Dolphins had to forfeit their first-round pick for violating league policies.

Each team needs and each pick throughout the draft are as follows based on NFL.com.

• Arizona Cardinals- DL / CB / OL
• Atlanta Falcons- DL / CB / WR
• Baltimore Ravens- WR / CB / QB
• Buffalo Bills- WR / DL / LB
• Carolina Panthers- QB / LB / WR
• Chicago Bears- DL / OL / CB
• Cincinnati Bengals- OL / TE / RB
• Cleveland Browns- DL / LB / RB
• Dallas Cowboys- DL / OL / TE
• Denver Broncos- OL / LB / RB
• Detroit Lions- DL / CB / TE
• Green Bay Packers- WR / TE
• Houston Texans- QB / WR / DL
• Indianapolis Colts- QB / CB / OL
• Jacksonville Jaguars- CB / OL / DL
• Kansas City Chiefs- WR / OL / DL
• Las Vegas Raiders- CB / OL / DL
• Los Angeles Chargers- WR / DL / TE
• Los Angeles Rams- LB / CB / DL
• Miami Dolphins- OL / RB / TE
• Minnesota Vikings- WR / CB / DL
• New England Patriots- WR / OL / CB
• New Orleans Saints- DL / TE / OL
• New York Giants- WR / CB / OL
• New York Jets- OL / DL
• Philadelphia Eagles- DL / RB
• Pittsburgh Steelers- DL / CB / OL
• San Francisco 49ers- CB / DL / OL
• Seattle Seahawks- WR / OL / DL
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers- OL / DL
• Tennessee Titans- OL / WR
• Washington Commanders- CB / TE / OL

As for the two Texas teams, the Houston Texans are worse off than the Dallas Cowboys but have the picks to fix their roster. The Texans currently hold 12 picks overall throughout the draft with six of those picks inside the top 150 picks (2, 12, 33, 65, 73, and 104).

New head coach DeMeco Ryans does have a defensive background, but the front office could decide to go quarterback. When picking at two, getting a signal caller is pretty high on the list of things to get. Alabama’s Bryce Young, Kentucky’s Will Levis, Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud, and Florida’s Anthony Richardson could all be on the table at two tomorrow night

But quarterback isn’t the only need the Texans have. After J.J. Watt moved on, a huge hole was left on the defense and there are a few players that fit the bill. If the Texans decide to address the pass rush at two, Texas Tech’s Tyree Wilson or Alabama’s Will Anderson Jr. could fill a big need and Houston could take the falling quarterback at 12 or use some of the draft capital they have to move up. If they do decide to wait until 12 to address the defensive end position, Clemson’s Miles Murphy, Georgia’s Nolan Smith, and Iowa’s Lukas Van Ness could be the guy. If they choose to wait until 33, Georgia Tech’s Keion White, LSU’s B.J. Ojulari, or Iowa State’s Will McDonald IV could be possible solutions.

After the Texans traded Brandin Cooks to the Cowboys, they do have a need at wide receiver even though John Metchie III just participated in practice since being diagnosed with leukemia last season, Houston needs someone to catch the ball. Fortunately, there are some pretty good receivers in this draft that wouldn’t necessarily prevent them from taking one early next draft.

Should the Texans use the second and twelfth overall picks on a quarterback and edge player, Day 2 should feature a receiver early for Houston. At 33, Tennessee’s Jalin Hyatt, North Carolina’s Josh Downs, or Houston’s Tank Dell could be the pick. Should they address pass catcher at 12, Ohio State’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba, TCU’s Quentin Johnston, or USC’s Jordan Addison could end up in Houston.

The Dallas Cowboys on the other hand could go several directions with the 26th overall pick. Jerry Jones said earlier in the week that they could trade up, trade down, or take a player at that time. Recent history says the Cowboys will sit tight and take the best available player.

This is the same team that drafted a falling star in CeeDee Lamb, a defensive player of the year candidate in Micah Parsons, and a future left tackle in Tyler Smith just in the last three years. If anything, they have earned trust when it comes to the draft, especially in the first round.

So don’t be surprised if the Cowboys pick Michael Mayer, the tight end out of Notre Dame at 26. Draft fanatics for the Cowboys seem to think Mayer is going to be the next Jason Witten and with the departure of Dalton Schultz, tight end could be addressed. If they look for more of a Travis Kelce-type player, Utah’s Dalton Kincaid is the guy.

The Cowboys have also brought in a number of receivers, the same thing they did last season, to bolster their offensive firepower. Of course, the number one running back and one of the best players in the draft, Texas running back Bijan Robinson has been linked to Dallas for some reason. But everyone knows if you attach a big name to the Cowboys and somehow link Jerry Jones to it, everyone will click on it.

After moving on from Ezekiel Elliott this offseason., fans could be asking “Why would the Cowboys take another running back in the first round?” At 26, if one of the best players falls, don’t get cute and take the player. See the earlier comment about CeeDee Lamb. The Cowboys did not need a receiver but took Lamb anyway and now he’s a focal point on the offense.

In the first, the Cowboys seem to be near perfect when drafting an offensive lineman. In 2011, they took Tyron Smith and at one point, he was the best left tackle in the NFL. In 2013, Dallas traded back and drafted Travis Frederick out of Wisconsin, which caused many in the NFL to laugh. It didn’t last long as Fredrick became one of the best centers in the league after a short time. He would more than likely still be the starting center if not for a freak nerve disease that cut his career short. The next year, the Cowboys drafted Zack Martin, who will go down as one of the best players to ever play for the Cowboys and one of the best guards to ever play in the NFL period. Of course, last year when they drafted Tyler Smith, who was forced out to left tackle after Tyron Smith went down and played extremely well.

The Cowboys still need help up front and Tennessee’s Darnell Wilson or possibly TCU’s Steve Avlia could step in.

Dallas could go defense at 26 as well. One of the falling stars could be a corner and although the Cowboys have Trevon Diggs, Stephon Gilmore, and DaRon Bland, adding a top defensive back could be in the mix. Penn State’s Joey Porter Jr or Maryland’s Deonte Banks at 26 make sense or Emmanuel Forbes out of Mississippi State at 58 would make Cowboy fans happy.

While the defensive back room feels sort of full, the front seven could use another player. Dallas probably wants to keep Micah Parsons as free as possible to move around. A linebacker like Iowa’s Jack Campbell, Arkansas’s Dre Sanders, or Washington State’s Daiyan Henley would improve the middle of the defense. With Leighton Vander Esch on a one-year deal and Damone Clark and Jabril Cox sitting behind him, the Cowboys are a little thin at linebacker. Also, all three of those players have had some kind of injury recently.

In the trenches, Clemson’s Bryan Bresee, Pittsburgh’s Calijah Kancey, or Baylor’s Siaki Ika could add from violent up in the middle while Iowa State’s Will McDonald IV, Kansas State’s Felix Anudike-Uzomah, Georgia Tech’s Keion White could add some sacks to the team’s total.

The 2023 NFL Draft starts tonight at 7:00 p.m.