The 2023 NFL draft will be exciting for new players entering the league and teams adding new talent. Fans will be exhilarated or disappointed about the moves their favorite franchise made.
The 2023 NFL draft begins on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET and lasts through Saturday.
But during the first round, only 31 picks will be made instead of the 32 traditional picks.
Also, five of the 32 NFL teams will not be making a first-round pick – unless they make a trade to acquire one.
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Here’s why 31 players will be drafted in the first round and why five teams won’t have a first-round pick during the 2023 NFL draft:
Why don’t the Miami Dolphins have a first-round pick in 2023?
The Miami Dolphins will not have a pick in the first round as punishment for an NFL investigation that found the franchise tampered while trying to lure Tom Brady and Sean Payton to Miami, the league announced in August.
The Dolphins had impermissible contact with Brady while he was a member of the New England Patriots in 2019 and 2020, and while he was a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2021.
Miami also had impermissible contact with agent Don Yee, who represents both Brady and Payton. The Dolphins had contact with Yee regarding Payton in January 2022.
The NFL found Miami and Brady discussed him “becoming a limited partner in the Dolphins and possibly serving as a football executive, although at times they also included the possibility of his playing for the Dolphins.”
Miami’s contact with Payton lines up to the time he retired as coach of the New Orleans Saints, though he had not announced his decision and Miami did not seek consent to have discussions. Payton became the Broncos’ coach in February.
Instead of skipping over the Dolphins’ pick, which would have been No. 21 overall, the draft will run in number order accordingly. There will be only 31 picks in the first round instead of 32.
Why don’t the Denver Broncos have a first-round pick in 2023?
The Broncos traded away their first-round pick last year to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for quarterback Russell Wilson. As a result, Seattle has the No. 5 pick in the draft.
While the Broncos received a first-round pick from the Dolphins for Bradley Chubb at the trade deadline last season, that pick was sent to the New Orleans Saints to acquire Payton as coach.
The Saints will cash in the pick with the No. 29 pick on Thursday night.
Why don’t the San Francisco 49ers have a first-round pick in 2023?
The same pick the Broncos sent to New Orleans for Payton was originally San Francisco’s pick.
The 49ers dealt the pick when they made a blockbuster trade with the Dolphins for the No. 3 pick in the 2021 NFL draft, where they selected quarterback Trey Lance.
The pick went from San Francisco to Miami to Denver to New Orleans.
Why don’t the Los Angeles Rams have a first-round pick in 2023?
The Rams don’t have a first-round pick in 2023 because it’s the last part of their payment to the Detroit Lions for quarterback Matthew Stafford in 2021.
The Rams dealt quarterback Jared Goff, a third-round pick in 2021 and first-round picks in 2022 and 2023 for Stafford, who helped the franchise win Super Bowl 56 in Feb. 2022.
The Rams have not had a first-round pick since 2016 when they drafted Goff with the No. 1 pick.
Why don’t the Cleveland Browns have a first-round pick in 2023?
The Browns don’t have a first-round pick because they traded it away to the Houston Texans to acquire quarterback Deshaun Watson last year.
The pick, which is No. 12, belongs to the Texans this season. Houston also drafts second overall.
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