Athlon Sports NFL Draft Preview

The NFL is undoubtedly the most popular sport in America. After that? You could argue that it’s the NFL Draft. Sure, it’s not technically a sport, but the draft receives as much attention — from both media and fans — as any sporting event in the calendar year. From early February through late April, one subject dominates talk radio and Internet message boards in NFL cities: Which player will my team select in the first round? We’ve got the answer to that question and a lot more. The Athlon Sports NFL Draft Guide dives deep into the 2023 draft class with in-depth scouting reports on more than 200 of the top prospects and position-by-position rankings of hundreds of draft-eligible players. We also take a detailed look at every NFL team's personnel needs for the upcoming season. Speaking of personnel needs: The modern emphasis on the passing game has transformed draft strategy over the last few years. Teams are spending the bulk of their draft capital on quarterbacks, receivers, left tackles, edge rushers and cornerbacks in an effort to keep pace with the current trends. In our feature story "Passing Concern," we take a look at the way in which the aerial revolution has forced teams to reassess their approach to the draft. It all comes down to the quarterback position, of course, and this presents teams with a quandary: how to identify the ideal prospect at the game's most important position. In our feature story "The Scouting Dilemma," we look at the inexact science of analyzing quarterbacks, a critical necessity for which there's no perfect formula. We also include a two-round mock draft, a peek ahead at the 2024 draft and much more.