If there’s one thing all mock drafts will have in common this year, it’s that they’ll all be wrong. Sure, we might see someone predicting the correct landing spot for five to ten different players, but no one ever gets it right, and that’s because it’s basically impossible due to the unpredictable nature of the game. draft.
To give you an idea of how unpredictable things can get during the draft, just consider this from Calijah Kancey: He had no idea who was going to take him, and he didn’t even know if he was going to be taken right away. first. round.
“I had no feelings,” the defensive tackle said of where he might be drafted last year, via the Tampa Bay Times.
As the draft got closer, Kancey began to have doubts about whether he would even be selected in the first round.
“I asked my agent, ‘Hey man, why won’t anyone want me for a [top-]30 visit? Like, what’s going on? I was really stressed. It was tough,” Kancey said. “I was like, ‘Am I going in the first round?'”
Ultimately, Kancey was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the 19th overall pick, and he was actually somewhat surprised that the Bucs took him since they hadn’t spoken to him since the combine- thresher.
“I mean, I met the Bucs at the combine, but other than that, I hadn’t talked to them,” Kancey said. “I honestly didn’t know.”
Visits to the top 30 are important, but sometimes teams use them as a smokescreen, like the Bucs did with Kancey. They met him once at the combine, then ghosted him until they surrendered their card on the first night of the 2023 draft.
If a player can’t have a good idea of where he might be selected, you can imagine how difficult that’s going to be for everyone. This year, it appears the only lock in the draft is the Chicago Bears taking Caleb Williams with the first overall pick. After that, you should probably expect chaos.
If you want our best idea of what could happen on draft night, you can check out our CBSSports.com mock draft roundup here.