Cameron Hogwood
Interviews, Comment & Analysis @ch_skysports
The Philadelphia Eagles added yet another Georgia star while the Los Angeles Rams and New Orleans Saints both added quarterbacks on day three of the NFL Draft; picks were also made from the Sky Sports Studio and Craven Cottage
Last Updated: 29/04/23 10:35pm
Sky Sports’ Neil Reynolds and UK Bears flag football player Majeetah had the honour of announcing the Chicago Bears’ fourth-round pick, live from Sky Sports Studios!
The Philadelphia Eagles witnessed Georgia’s defense dominate college football and decided they wanted in, bolstering their Bulldogs core again by selecting Kelee Ringo on day three of the 2023 NFL Draft.
Ringo had been among the marquee names still available, to the surprise of analysts, after being overlooked through the first three rounds of the Draft, before eventually landing in Philadelphia at 105th overall.
There was a feeling of inevitability as to his destination when the Eagles traded up before the start of round four, having already drafted Ringo’s National Championship-winning Georgia teammates Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith in round one on Thursday night.
Awaiting the trio is a reunion with Philly defensive tackle Jordan Davis and linebacker Nakobe Dean, with whom they also won the 2021 National Championship.
The trades flew in before a single pick had been made on day three: the New Orleans Saints moved up to acquire Old Dominion offensive tackle Nick Saldiveri with the first pick of round four; the Las Vegas Raiders moved up to acquire Maryland cornerback Jakorian Bennett with the second pick; and the Eagles moved up to add Ringo to their pool of Georgia products.
Northwestern defensive end Adetomiwa Adebawore joined Ringo among the notable names to fall swiftly as he was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts at 110th overall, before 6ft 8ins, 374lbs Ohio State offensive tackle Dawand Jones headed to the Cleveland Browns immediately afterwards.
The depth of this year’s cornerback class was then reflected again when the Atlanta Falcons snagged Utah’s Clark Phillips III with the 113th selection, adding lightning footwork across from AJ Terrell in the secondary.
The Sky Sports NFL studio in London would play stage to the Chicago Bears’ 115th overall pick as they selected Texas running back Roschon Johnson, as announced by UK Bears flag football player Majeetah.
Five picks later it was back to the UK as the New York Jets announced their selection of Pittsburgh offensive tackle Carter Warren with the 120th pick from talkSPORT Studio, before Jaguars center Luke Fortner and Fulham’s Tim Ream announced Jacksonville’s selection of Florida inside linebacker Ventrell Miller with the 121st pick from Craven Cottage.
Miami later made their 197th overall pick from Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where Ted Lasso castmates Kola Bokinni and Cristo Fernandez announced Stanford’s Elijah Higgins as the newest Dolphins wide receiver.
Quarterbacks fell with back-to-back picks when the Saints added Fresno State’s Jake Haener at 127th overall, before the Los Angeles Rams followed suit by drafting Georgia’s Stetson Bennett.
In fact, a Draft-record 11 quarterbacks were taken inside the first 150 picks, with Dorian Thompson-Robinson heading to the Cleveland Browns and the Green Bay Packers springing a surprise with their selection of Penn State’s Sean Clifford.
Wisconsin linebacker Nick Herbig was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers as the 132nd overall pick, setting up a union with his brother Nate as well as friend and fellow Badgers product TJ Watt.
Late-round receivers would become something of a trend: the Packers selected Virginia’s Dontayvion Wicks (No 159, fifth round); the Rams selected BYU’s Puka Nacua (No 177, fifth round); the Jaguars selected Penn State’s Parker Washington (No 185, sixth round; the New England Patriots selected LSU’s Kayshon Boutte (No 187, sixth round) and Liberty’s Demario Douglas (No 210, sixth round); the Saints selected Wake Forest’s AT Perry (No 195, sixth round); and the Cincinnati Bengals selected Princeton’s Andrei Iosivas (No 206, sixth round).
There were emotional scenes in Dallas when the Cowboys used the 212th pick to unite Kansas State running back Deuce Vaughn with his father Chris Vaughn, who is a scout for the team.