Ranking the 5 best 2023 NFL Draft classes by three-year PFF grade

The Lions top the chart: Detroit's selections were oft-criticized, but the team found multiple long-term stars with Jahmyr Gibbs, Jack Campbell, Brian Branch and Sam LaPorta.

NFC West titans laid their foundation: The Rams and Seahawks each located cornerstones like Puka Nacua, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Devon Witherspoon and Byron Young three drafts ago.

The Packers' haul was deep: Green Bay hit on Tucker Kraft, Jayden Reed and Carrington Valentine, among others.

Estimated Reading Time: 11 minutes

No NFL general manager is ever safe from criticism over their roster-building decisions. Draft-day choices in particular are scrutinized by fans asking questions that often cannot be properly answered until a few years later.

This article takes a look at the best NFL Draft hauls from 2023. Three years is an ideal timeframe for this analysis.

The vast majority of selections are still on their four-year rookie contracts entering the 2026 season. By this point, we are mostly able to establish which teams “won” the 2023 Draft while they still reap the rewards of their class for one more season before having to pay up.

We will also look back at PFF’s own immediate post-draft grades for each team to see if any general manager proved the initial post-draft reaction wrong.

For those in need of a refresher, the 2023 draft class has aged well with 11 Pro Bowlers in the first 25 picks, including star players like Will Anderson Jr., Bijan Robinson and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. The class featured a trio of quarterbacks in the first four picks, with varying degrees of success but question marks still surrounding all three. As for the later rounds, Puka Nacua’s early-career performance dwarfs that of every other selection.

1. Detroit Lions

2023 Class Offensive Grade: 89.0 (3rd)
2023 Class Defensive Grade: 89.1 (1st)
Initial Draft Grade: B+

The Lions are the undeniable winners of the 2023 NFL Draft, and this group was the catalyst for a Super Bowl window opening up in Detroit for the first time in a long time.

Lions GM Brad Holmes knocked his first four selections out of the park: Jahmyr Gibbs, Jack Campbell, Sam LaPorta and Brian Branch. All four have looked like top-tier players at their respective positions during stretches of their young careers.

While LaPorta searches for a clean bill of health to return to his rookie levels of production, the signs remain promising having posted a career-high 82.0 PFF grade in his shortened 2025 season. Gibbs remains the focal point of the Lions’ offense and one of the most potent players in the sport with the ball in his hands.

Defensively, Branch was widely considered a steal by the Lions in the second round and has lived up to the billing. Meanwhile, Campbell was PFF’s highest graded run defender last season (93.0) across all positions.

Elsewhere, however, this class didn’t have much to write home about. The Lions only made four selections outside the top 50, players who have combined for just 779 career snaps and very few signs of promise. But quality will always take precedence to quantity in the NFL, and thus the Lions own our top spot.

2. Los Angeles Rams

2023 Class Offensive Grade: 93.3 (1st)
2023 Class Defensive Grade: 76.7 (4th)
Initial Draft Grade: A-

The initial reaction to Les Snead’s 2023 class was quite positive, but it has exceeded even the wildest of expectations. For a Rams draft haul which, once again, did not feature a first-round pick, Snead walked away with aforementioned superstar Puka Nacua along with key defensive contributors in Byron Young and Kobie Turner.

Two of the Rams’ starting five on the offensive line also came from this draft class: left guard Steve Avila and right tackle Warren McClendon Jr. The pair registered overall PFF grades of 75.0 and 78.7, respectively, in Year 4.

With 10 selections in the final three rounds, the Rams only needed one of those darts to hit the board. They found the bullseye with Puka Nacua. His astronomical 96.7 PFF receiving grade and 3.57 yards per route run last season were emblematic of one of the best receiving seasons the league has ever seen.

Even if this class only featured Nacua, it would still have a shot at making this list. But to have found so many key contributors across the board makes it one of the best we’ve seen in recent years. The Rams’ group is only to amass over 7,000 total snaps of production from the 2023 class.

This bunch allowed the Rams to perfectly bridge the gap between their successful Super Bowl window in the early 2020s and the current roster, which is the clear favorite for the Lombardi Trophy once again.

McClendon's Stable PFF Grades in 2025

3. Seattle Seahawks

2023 Class Offensive Grade: 83.5 (5th)
2023 Class Defensive Grade: 82.1 (3rd)
Initial Draft Grade: A

Another class which was highly praised at the time, the Seahawks’ 2023 was central to their Super Bowl success three seasons later. Like their division rival Rams, Seattle found a budding superstar wide receiver in Jaxon Smith-Njigba, albeit with a much more expensive draft pick.

Elsewhere, fifth overall pick Devon Witherspoon has been one of the best all-around defensive backs since entering the league. His 90.1 overall PFF grade doesn’t even tell the full story. Witherspoon has posted impressive grades in every facet, from coverage (83.6), to run defense (90.0) and even pass rush (92.9) — highlighted by two game-changing blitzes in Super Bowl LX.

These two players unsurprisingly carry the rest of the class. Edge defender Derick Hall has been solid in a rotational role, while fourth-round pick Anthony Bradford continues to start at right guard. Zach Charbonnet is the other highlight of this class. He has a torn ACL to overcome, but could return as RB1 in Seattle’s revamped backfield committee.

4. Houston Texans

2023 Class Offensive Grade: 76.9 (9th)
2023 Class Defensive Grade: 83.5 (5th)
Initial Draft Grade: B-

Only two teams received lower post-draft grades than the Texans in the immediate aftermath. After the blockbuster double-up selection of C.J. Stroud and Will Anderson Jr. at second and third overall, the rest of Houston’s draft looked relatively nondescript.

The Texans’ remaining seven picks included two centers and two wide receivers — the first of whom looked like a slam dunk early on when Tank Dell took the league by storm as a rookie. He hasn’t been seen since his brutal knee injury in December 2024.

Elsewhere, fifth-round linebacker Henry To’oTo’o has logged 2,325 defensive snaps, which is more than 11 entire franchises from the 2023 draft. Meanwhile sixth-round wideout Xavier Hutchinson has doubled his receiving yardage each season, including reaching 493 yards in 2025.

This is probably the most balanced class from start to finish, with a nice blend of franchise cornerstone pieces and solid Day 3 contributors. The jury is still out on Stroud, who took a major step back in his third season with a 65.0 PFF grade following back-to-back years above 80.0. His miserable end to the 2025 campaign, throwing five playoff interceptions, is what prevents us from declaring Houston’s 2023 draft a league-best success.

5. Green Bay Packers

2023 Class Offensive Grade: 73.5 (11th)
2023 Class Defensive Grade: 56.6 (22nd)
Initial Draft Grade: B+

Aside from our top four teams, no other franchise has produced 3,000 snaps on both offense and defense from the 2023 class with top-10 grades in both. This made the decision for fifth overall a difficult one

The Dolphins’ and Falcons’ classes have each posted more impressive grades than the Packers, but with significantly lower overall impact. Miami drafted just four players, and its grade is carried by Devon Achane. Bijan Robinson has a similar inflationary effect on Atlanta’s grades.

The Packers’ 13-man draft haul has been the fifth-most impactful overall. Green Bay’s crop features the second-most total snaps (6,625) behind the Rams and quality contributors from top to bottom — including tight end Tucker Kraft, receiver Jayden Reed and corner Carrington Valentine, the latter of whom has arguably become the best product from the 2023 seventh round. All three will return to the 2026 Packers, but a few other useful players from this class have since gone elsewhere.

Mid-round selections Colby Wooden and Dontayvion Wicks each made pivotal plays during their three years in Green Bay, but both were traded this offseason to the Colts and Eagles, respectively.

Green Bay’s first two selections, edge defender Lukas Van Ness and tight end Luke Musgrave, have been unable to show clear signs of development since entering the league. Both have been outproduced by 179th overall pick Karl Brooks.

This Packers class undeniably lacks the star power of the top four in our rankings. Yet this group has provided major flexibility to a franchise which, at the time, was transitioning from a period of several large contracts — including Aaron Rodgers — into a new era led by Jordan Love.