Advertisement

NFL Draft 2023: Levis, Porter, Mayer, Branch among best available

Two more rounds of the 2023 NFL Draft will be held Friday at Union Station in Kansas City, Mo. Photo by Kyle Rivas/UPI
1 of 7 | Two more rounds of the 2023 NFL Draft will be held Friday at Union Station in Kansas City, Mo. Photo by Kyle Rivas/UPI | License Photo

KANSAS CITY, Mo., April 28 (UPI) -- Former Kentucky quarterback Will Levis, Penn State cornerback Joey Porter Jr., Notre Dame tight end Michael Mayer and Alabama safety Brian Branch are among the best players available entering Day 2 of the 2023 NFL Draft on Friday in Kansas City, Mo.

Second- and third-round coverage will start at 7 p.m. EDT Friday on ESPN, ABC and NFL Network.

Advertisement

Thirty-one prospects became professional, ceremoniously, when the first round was completed Thursday at Union Station. Alabama's Bryce Young was one of three quarterbacks picked on Day 1, which was marked by six trades, typical stylish suits and raw emotion of the annual event.

Cameras often scanned over to the backstage green room, filming Levis as he waited and was not selected. The expected first-round pick now will wait again to potentially hear his name called Friday or Saturday.

Advertisement

The Pittsburgh Steelers get the first pick of the second round. The Houston Texans, Arizona Cardinals, Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Rams are the other teams with Top 5 picks in that round.

Sources told ESPN and NFL Network that the Steelers are receiving calls for a potential trade of the No. 32 overall pick -- the first pick of the second round. Those offers started Thursday during the first round.

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin told reporters last week that the team would be willing to trade the No. 32 pick.

The Steelers selected former Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett at No. 20 overall in last year's draft and likely won't pick a quarterback early this year.

The Texans selected former Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud with the No. 2 overall pick in the first round. The Cardinals already roster quarterback Kyler Murray, and the Indianapolis Colts selected former Florida passer Anthony Richardson at No. 4 overall in the first round.

None of those teams are expected to pick another passer on Day 2.

The Los Angeles Rams are among the teams that could be interested in a quarterback. The Las Vegas Raiders, New Orleans Saints and Tennessee Titans might want to select someone for that position, and they have early picks on Day 2.

Advertisement

Former Tennessee star Hendon Hooker is among the other highly rated quarterbacks still available. Some talent evaluators expected Hooker to draw first-round consideration.

Rams coach Sean McVay told reporters in March that he could eye a quarterback in the draft as a potential backup to starter Mattew Stafford. He said the Rams wouldn't necessarily need to pick a passer in an early round.

"You have to be open-minded," McVay said. "Obviously, Matthew is the only quarterback we have on the roster right now, so in some form or fashion, we have to be able to address that, whether that's via draft or free agency. So those are things that we're definitely monitoring."

Fellow coach Pete Carroll said this off-season that the Seattle Seahawks could be interested in selecting a quarterback with one of the team's first picks.

Porter and Branch are among the top-rated defensive backs available on Day 2. Porter is the son of longtime NFL linebacker Joey Porter.

Georgia's Kelee Ringo, South Carolina's Cam Smith, Kansas State's Julius Brents, Michigan's D.J. Turner and Alabama's Eli Ricks are the other cornerback prospects available.

Branch was the top-rated safety in the class. Texas A&M's Antonio Johnson, Alabama's Jordan Battle, Sydney Brown of Illinois and Jammie Robinson of Florida State are the other top safeties on the market.

Advertisement

Many analysts had Mayer as the top-rated tight end prospect, but he was passed over on Day 1. Georgia's Darnell Washington, Oregon State's Luke Musgrave and South Dakota State's Tucker Kraft are among the other top tight ends available.

At running back, teams will still be able to choose from Texas A&M's Devon Achane, UCLA's Zach Charbonnet and Tulane's Tyjae Spears, among others.

Tennessee's Jalen Hyatt is the top-rated wide receiver still available.

Offensive linemen Dawand Jones of Ohio State, John Michael Schmitz of Minnesota, O'Cyrus Torrence of Florida, Cody Mauch of North Dakota State and Matthew Bergeron of Stanford remain on the market.

LSU's B.J. Ojulari, Georgia Tech's Keion White, Notre Dame's Isaiah Foskey and Northwestern's Adetomiwa Adebawore are among the top remaining defensive linemen.

Clemson's Trenton Simpson, Auburn's Derick Hall and Army's Andre Carter II are among the top remaining linebackers.

Third-day coverage, featuring the final four rounds of the draft, will start at noon Saturday and air on ESPN, NFL Network and ABC.

Day 2 draft order

Second round

32. Pittsburgh Steelers

33. Houston Texans

34. Arizona Cardinals

35. Indianapolis Colts

36. Los Angeles Rams

37. Seattle Seahawks

38. Las Vegas Raiders

39. Carolina Panthers

Advertisement

40. New Orleans Saints

41. Tennessee Titans

42. Green Bay Packers

43. New York Jets

44. Atlanta Falcons

45. Green Bay Packers

46. New England Patriots

47. Washington Commanders

48. Detroit Lions

49. Pittsburgh Steelers

50. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

51. Miami Dolphins

52. Seattle Seahawks

53. Chicago Bears

54. Los Angeles Chargers

55. Detroit Lions

56. Jacksonville Jaguars

57. New York Giants

58. Dallas Cowboys

59. Buffalo Bills

60. Cincinnati Bengals

61. Chicago Bears

62. Philadelphia Eagles

63. Kansas City Chiefs

Third round

64. Chicago Bears

65. Houston Texans

66. Philadelphia Eagles

67. Denver Broncos

68. Denver Broncos

69. Los Angeles Rams

70. Las Vegas Raiders

71. New Orleans Saints

72. Tennessee Titans

73. Houston Texans

74. Cleveland Browns

75. Atlanta Falcons

76. New England Patriots

77. Los Angeles Rams

78. Green Bay Packers

79. Indianapolis Colts

80. Pittsburgh Steelers

81. Detroit Lions

82. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

83. Seattle Seahawks

84. Miami Dolphins

85. Los Angeles Chargers

86. Baltimore Ravens

87. Minnesota Vikings

88. Jacksonville Jaguars

89. New York Giants

90. Dallas Cowboys

91. Buffalo Bills

92. Cincinnati Bengals

93. Carolina Panthers

94. Arizona Cardinals

95. Kansas City Chiefs

96. Arizona Cardinals

97. Washington Commanders

98. Cleveland Browns

99. San Francisco 49ers

Advertisement

100. Las Vegas Raiders

101. San Francisco 49ers

102. San Francisco 49ers

Latest Headlines