RE-RE-VISITING 35 guys who IMO deserved to go in the 1st round

[Bob In PA]

[ See update in post below this one ]

I wanted to revisit the list of guys who IMO played well enough to go in the 1st rd, ignoring positional value.

They're in order from highest to lowest (ties in grading are shown by the fancy numbering system).

1    1a.  RB  Jahmyr Gibbs, Alabama (surprise!)
2    1b.  EDGE  Will Anderson, Alabama
3    1c.  WR (Z)  Zae Flowers, Boston College (yet another surprise???)
4    4.   Guard  Jordan McFadden, Clemson
5    5a.  QB  Anthony Richardson, Florida
6    5b.  QB  Brice Young, Alabama
7    5c.  QB  CJ Stroud, Ohio State
8    5d.  RB  Bijan Robinson, Texas
9    9a.  RB  Deuce Vaughn, Kansas State
10  9b.  Guard  O'Cyrus Torrence, Florida (drafted on Friday night)
11  9c.  Guard  Jarrett Patterson, Notre Dame
12  12a. Guard  Jaxson Kirkland, Washington
13  12b. RB  Tyjae Spears  Tulane
14  14.  Guard  Jon Gaines, UCLA
15  15a. Safety Brian Branch, Alabama
16  15b. RB  Keaton Mitchell, East Carolina
17  15c. CB  Chris Gonzalez, Oregon
18  18a.  EDGE  Tuli Tuipulotu, USC
19  18b. Guard Chandler Zavala, North Carolina State
20  20a. WR (X)  Michael Wilson, Stanford
21  20b. OT  Braedon Daniels, Utah
22  22a. WR (X)  Don'Tayvion Wicks, Virginia
23  22b. WR (Z)  Jordan Addison, USC
24  22c. WR (Z)  Trey Palmer, Nebraska
25  22d. WR (Z)  Quentin Johnston, TCU
26  22e. WR (slot)  Jaxson Smith-Njigba, Ohio State
27  22f.  Center  Alex Forsythe, Oregon
28  22g. Guard  Joey Fisher, Shepherd University
29  22h. OT  Anton Harrison, Oklahoma
30  22i. OT  Dawand Jones, Ohio State
31  22j.  RB  Israel Abanikanda, Pittsburgh
32  22k. EDGE  Nolan Smith, Georgia
33  22l.  CB  Devon Witherspoon, Illinois
34  22m. CB  Tre'Vius Hodges-Tomlinson, TCU
35  22n.  QB  Todd Centeio, James Madison (one final surprise)

[Bob In PA]

Post mortem re: QB Todd Centeio, James Madison (the last guy named in the original post).

If you wonder how he fared in the draft... well, it's no surprise that he went un-drafted. But wait...
https://www.whsv.com/2023/04/30/former-james-madison-qb-centeio-receives-mini-camp-invite-kansas-city-chiefs/
The Kansas City Chiefs invited him to mini-camp. Look out, Patrick Mahomes (don't laugh just yet). 

Here's a blurb from Wikipedia about another QB... After his collegiate career, the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL drafted Unitas in the ninth round. However, he was released before the season began as the odd man out among four quarterbacks trying to fill three spots. Steelers' head coach Walt Kiesling had made up his mind about Unitas; he thought he was not smart enough to quarterback an NFL team, and Unitas was not given any snaps in practice with the Steelers.

After reading it, I came up with this...

There once was a man named Unitas.
A team tried him out at their situs.
They said he was dumb, and gave him the thumb
But he played with the arm of King Midas***

God bless the U.S.A. 

Bob

PS.  ***The Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award is given annually in the United States to the nation's top upperclassmen quarterback in college football. Candidates are judged on accomplishments on the field as well as on their character, scholastic achievement, and leadership qualities.[1] The award was established in 1987 and named after Johnny Unitas, who was nicknamed "The Golden Arm". Unitas played his college career at the University of Louisville and set many records in the National Football League while playing for the Baltimore Colts.

[Bob In PA]

There's more to this guy's story but I'm saving it for a "slow" time.  Bob