NFL Draft Tracker First Round Results: Winners, Losers & Odds Movement

• Bryce Young was the top pick in the 2023 NFL Draft
• The Houston Texans maneuvered to nab CJ Stroud and Will Anderson Jr with picks 2 & 3
• Read below to see every draft pick in Round 1, and some of the best moves made

The Carolina Panthers may have had the top pick, but it was the Houston Texans who owned the stage in the 2023 NFL Draft.

In another subplot, the Arizona Cardinals hopped around the top of the draft, moving from the 3-spot, down to 12, and then back to the sixth pick to get their guy.

Let’s run the  2023 NFL Draft first round picks, and share some of the teams that did the best work.

2023 NFL Draft Picks By Team

*All asterisks above denote a pick made via draft-day trade.

Young Heads QB-Heavy Top 4

Carolina, who traded into the top spot with a bounty offered to the Chicago Bears, did the expected and selected Alabama QB Bryce Young with the no. 1 pick. While there was some last-minute rumbling that Carolina was leaning another direction, the -5000 odds on Young to go first overall proved true.

He’ll have about the best infrastructure a top QB prospect will have to succeed. The Panthers have offensiv-minded Frank Reich as head coach, Jim Caldwell as a special assistant, Thomas Brown — out of the Sean McVay system in LA —  at offensive coordinator and Josh McCown as quarterbacks coach.

Carolina is getting a STAR in Bryce Young 🌟

-23-4 record
-2020 national champ
-2021 Heisman Trophy winner
-2x All-SEC honors
-2021 AP Player of the Year
-Only Bama QB to throw for 3,000+ YDS in two seasons
-Nick Saban’s first No. 1 overall pick pic.twitter.com/aTo9uWhTMQ

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 28, 2023

The hope is Young can help Carolina back to the heights of the Cam Newtown heyday, when they made the Super Bowl in 2015. They’re currently drifting in the bottom end of the NFL Super Bowl odds.

CJ Stroud at no. 2 made it back-to-back pivots at the top of the draft, selected by the Texans, while Anthony Richardson, an NFL Combine darling, went fourth to the Indianapolis Colts. They’re hoping he can add stability at a position that hasn’t been steady since Andrew Luck.

It’s the fourth time in common draft era three QB’s have been chosen in the first four picks.

The other pivot supposedly in the Big 4 pivots, Will Levis was the biggest loser of the draft, as the Kentucky QB slid right out of the first round. ESPN cameras mercilessly cut to him after every break, as his name was top of “best remaining in the draft” on the ticker.

Biggest Movers In Round 1

Perhaps no sort of NFL Draft odds had the Texans taking the second and third picks in KC. Yet, Houston now potentially has two cornerstones for their franchise for years to come.

Along with Stroud, they added Alabama defensive star Will Anderson Jr. A 2-time SEC Defensive Player of the Year, he’s described as a Khalil Mack-lite version, who’s had 27.5 sacks in his last two seasons with the Crimson Tide.

The Texans traded BACK UP for the No. 3 pick and are taking Alabama edge Will Anderson Jr.

B/R’s No. 1 overall prospect 👀 pic.twitter.com/4j8SGxp5jf

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 28, 2023

The biggest wheelers and dealers were the Arizona Cardinals, who made a pair of trades, picked up some nice draft capital along the way, and still grabbed one of the most talented players in the field.

Arizona dealt the 3-pick to the Texans for the 12th and 33rd pick in this year’s draft, plus a first-and-third rounder in 2024.

They moved their way back into the top 10, dealing pick 12 and 34 and a 5th-rounder (168) to Detroit, for the sixth, where they drafted Ohio State tackle Paris Johnson Jr, and a 3rd-rounder (81).

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Other Notable Draft Picks

Before Jalen Carter’s off-field issues, he was widely considered the most talented player in the draft. He didn’t fall that far down the draft board, however, as the Eagles nabbed him at no. 9.

A source of strength en route to a Super Bowl run last year, Carter should step right into a stout defensive line, part of the reason the Eagles are favorites to win the NFC East in the NFL Divisional odds. They got a steal at 30, taking Georgia LB Nolan Smith. That’s a power defensive double, folks.

I’m sure NFL Draft projections didn’t see this: two running backs taken inside the top 12 before a single wide receiver was taken off the board.

There wasn’t much doubt Texas stud Bijan Robinson was going in the first round, but Detroit also took ‘Bama back Jahmyr Gibbs at 12. Talk about an anomaly: prior to this RB bonanza, no running back had been chosen in the top 20 since 2018.

The first receiver taken was Jaxon Smith-Njigba, selected at 20th by the Seahawks.