Veterans Who Lost The 2023 NFL Draft: Ryan Tannehill, Tyler Lockett Lead The Way!
We have gone over all the teams and rookies who won and lost and the 2023 NFL Draft. Now we will focus on the players who are already in the league and how this draft made them losers of the weekend and tanked their value.
Quarterbacks
Ryan Tannehill, Tennessee Titans
If the writing wasn't already on the wall for Tannehill in Tennessee it is now. The Titans traded up in the second round to get quarterback Will Levis, who while he technically wasn't a first-round quarterback, he sure feels like one. With Tannehill seemingly on the decline the past few seasons while dealing with injuries, this looks like the beginning of the end for him with the Titans. It really feels like a reset for the whole offense and an end of an era for the whole Tannehill and Derrick Henry offense. Even if this somehow wasn't the end of the line for Tannehill, the team still didn't get him any much-needed weapons in the passing attack either. No matter how you slice this, it was a bad night for the soon-to-be 35-year-old quarterback.
Mac Jones, New England Patriots
As bad as Mac Jones is, the team has been just as bad at putting him in a position to succeed. Despite his undeniable noodle arm, the team has not put weapons around him and did him no favors in that department in this year's draft. They didn't draft a single-skill position player on offense in the first five rounds. When you combine that with all the negative reports about him we've heard coming out of New England this offseason and his poor play, it would be a surprise if, at some point in the first half of the 2023 season, we don't see Bailey Zappe under center for the Patriots.
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Running Backs
Tyler Allgeier, Atlanta Falcons
Allgeier finished the 2022 season strong and was a popular breakout candidate for 2023 and a dynasty favorite for many. Now he is little more than an afterthought as the Falcons took generational talent Bijan Robinson with the eighth overall pick. What more is there to say about this? Allgeier's value has completely tanked and everyone expects Robinson to get all the touches he can handle. His owners are completely left holding the bag on this one. He will be viewed as little more than a handcuff this season and has little value moving forward as long as he's in Atlanta.
Rashaad Penny, Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles didn't draft a running back, but they did trade for one. Penny was the clear favorite to be drafted as the RB1 in Philly prior to the draft. He is now the clear RB2 in a committee behind DeAndre Swift after a Day 2 trade. With injury issues already a major concern it's likely he falls out of that mid-round range in fantasy drafts this summer and well into the double-digit rounds with the acquisition of Swift.
Wide Receivers
Tyler Lockett, Seattle Seahawks
While we aren't ready to put the nail in the coffin of Lockett just quite yet like we are with a few other guys on this list, the Seahawks very clearly drafted his replacement in the first round of this year's draft. Seattle drafted Jaxson Smith-Njigba with the 20th overall pick making him the first wideout off the board. Lockett is now on the wrong side of 30 and has a contract that is designed for him to be cut after the 2023 season. We still believe he has value for this season, however, we would be surprised if he was back in Seattle in 2024.
Rashod Bateman, Baltimore Ravens
In the matter of a week, Bateman went from the clear WR1 in Baltimore to battling to be a top-three target in the Ravens' offense. Leading up to the draft, Baltimore signed Odell Beckham, then turned around and drafted Zay Flowers in the first round. Going back to last year, we have been clear that we feel that Beckham is washed, but that doesn't mean he's not going to command unwarranted targets. Flowers immediately steps in and becomes the WR1 behind only Mark Andrews for targets. This has been a quick fall from grace from where we were at this time last year with Bateman.
Tight Ends
Dawson Knox, Buffalo Bills
Knox has been a productive tight end and looked well entrenched as the guy in Buffalo after getting a new contract. Then the Bills traded up in the first round to pick pass-catching tight end Dalton Kincaid. This is cause for major concern when it comes to his dynasty value and certainly doesn't help his re-draft value either. This was a surprise move by the Bills. We don't expect him to lose all his value immediately, but that isn't out of the realm of possibilities.
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