The most polarizing players in the 2023 NFL Draft are Darnell Wright, Luke Musgrave and Chandler Zavala (2023)

A great insight that we get from every year2023 Industrieconsensus Big Boardis not only where the actors stand after a survey of the drawing industry, but which actors have drawn the biggest disagreements.

Because there isn't a consensus top five this year, we don't have players who stand out uniquely at the top - some boards rank Anthony Richardson #1 overall, while others rate him for the second round. .

It's atypical as we very often see a consensus No. 1 or consensus top three inNFL draft. This means that the player rankings have changed drastically this year to stand out.

Who are the most polarizing players in the 2023 NFL Draft?

To find the most polarizing players in the NFL Draft, we look at the variance in ranks across the boards. This means we're not swayed by one or two odd placements - we look at the players who truly have the most diverse placements across our 70 major boards along the widest range of ranks.

Then we adjust for the overall ranking. The difference in rank between the third overall player and the seventh is much greater than the difference in rank between the 93rd overall player and the 97th overall player — initially, analysts are basically saying the difference between the two is worth a second-round pick . trade value. Second, the analysts are basically in agreement.

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Surprisingly, despite controversy over who is the best quarterback in the NFL draft, quarterbacks in general didn't cause more controversy than usual. The variance for all four quarterbacks was within the average range for their overall ranks.

With that in mind, here are the most polarizing players in the 2023 NFL Draft

Chandler Zavala, G, NC State

Staten North CarolinaChandler Zavalaranks 112th overall, but is unranked by about half of the boards beyond 100 players. In some cases, he is not even ranked on more than 300 player boards. At the other end of the spectrum, there are analysts who rank him in the 1970s, e.g.Thor Nystrom from FantasyPro,Charles McDonald fra Yahoo Sports, andDane Brugler from Athletic.

Being relatively unknown is nothing new for Zavala, who was not recruited in high school and had a relatively little-discussed transfer. Still, he excelled with the Wolfpack. That has something to do with his polarizing nature as a prospect, but his age (age 24), injury history — he missed most of his 2021 season with a back injury — and apparent reliance on the top end, it's hard for any analyst to bet on him.

Terell Smith, CB, Minnesota

After a strong Combine performance,Terell Smith— a year-old producer in Minnesota — was able to land on a number of boards. He particularly excelled in the 40-yard dash, traditionally the most important Combine drill for cornerbacks. Add in his height, with arms over 32 inches, and there's a lot to like about Smith.

But with just one year of production, a strong cornerback class and some questions about the other elements of his athletic profile, analysts are divided — as is often the case with draft picks like Smith. He is overall in 132nd place, but stayed59th is NFL.comand Nystrom's 69. He was also ranked 291stDraft networktable and 318. onPro Football Focus'bord.

Darnell Wright, OT, Tennessee

After playing well against Will Anderson Jr. and Alabama to bootDarnel Wright, it has been argued that by the middle of the first round he would become the best player in the next tier of tackles after Peter Skoronski, Broderick Jones and Paris Johnson Jr. asked some questions.

Wright has a prototypical build and good short-yardage athleticism, but he needs an improved pass-blocking technique and can't sustain movement like many zone-blocking tackles must. As a result, design experts are divided on him. PFF ranked him 70th whileOur boysplacing him 67th overall.

Darius Rush, CB, Zuid-Carolina

Playing a cornerback in the first round can hurt a prospect. Coby Bryant, playing opposite Sauce Gardner in Cincinnati, was a bit of a polarizing prospect, in part because of the number of targets he faced.Darius Rushcould experience the same play opposite Cam Smith, and how analysts have chosen to interpret it has varied wildly.

Rush is a good athlete with a great frame that needs some technical clean up. His performances have been a little up and down, but a long history of injuries, a late arrival as a starter and his age (23) are all concerns. Those question marks have led some analysts to rank him as low as No. 226, as with the 33rd team.

Others, like Luke Inman from Locked on Sports andRyan McCrystal hos Draft Ace, which places him in 34th place. Rush has achieved rankings anywhere between those two points, making him truly a mystery. His final ranking at No. 80 may not be where he is headed in the NFL Draft.

Tyler Scott, WR, Cincinnati

Tyler Scottis a highly productive speedster from Cincinnati who tends to play one note, but plays it well. How analysts view the value of that trump card in light of other weaknesses — route technique, size, ability to get out of the press and so on — tends to dictate their player rankings.

Scott is ranked highly by NFL.com and Brugler, who both rank him No. 48. But are skepticssom Great Blue North, which ranked him 162nd, pulled his score back to 72nd overall.

Israel Abanikanda, RB, Pittsburgh

On ad sharingIsrael Abanikandacomes from the perception of his weaknesses. His opponents and supporters alike believe he has incredible burst and speed that he can use to hit home runs with some regularity. Add in his contact balance and there is something to work with.

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The question is whether he has core foundations such as vision and change of direction or not. Analysts such as Ian Cummings of the Pro Football Network liked his attributes and ranked him 69th overall.Bleacher-rapportI33. holdhowever, placed him quite low - 183rd and 167th respectively.

Luke Musgrave, TE, Oregon State

Some analysts have expressed supportLuke Musgraveas the best tight end in the class, while others are concerned that he is too linear an athlete, such as Mike Gesicki. He ran well at the Combine, though many expect him to be even faster than his 4.61-second 40-meter sprint time. Unfortunately, injuries ended his campaign in 2022.

Without much production in his healthy 2021 and a small sample of production in 2022, it's hard to fully project Musgrave. Ranked 47th overall, some see him as a potential first-rounder. ESPN's Jeff Legwold ranked him 21st overall, and NFL.com ranked him 12th. On the other end of the spectrum, there are boards that are much lower on him.Jeff Risdon at USA Today's Draftwireranked him 197th,while Chris Trapasso at CBS Sportsplaced him outside his top 110.

Who are the least polarizing players in the 2023 Draft?

We can sometimes think of a ranking bias as a way of quantifying the uncertainty and in some ways projecting the perceived benefit. It's not a perfect way to do it, but the variance in placements can lead to leads having a greater variance in results. It's hard to measure, but if we find that low-variance prospects are performing as analysts predicted, it could be a tool to tell us who are "safer" prospects.

If we look at highly ranked players with low variance, we have largely succeeded. 2020 and 2021 were the best years for that, with Joe Burrow, Andrew Thomas, Tristan Wirfs, Xavier McKinney, Creed Humphrey, Rashawn Slater, Trevor Lawrence and Patrick Surtain among the least variable prospects in terms of analyst rankings.

It's not perfect; low variance picks still break at a decent clip. Garrett Bradbury, Irv Smith Jr., Nasir Adderley, Devin Bush, Greedy Williams, Solomon Thomas and Reuben Foster were some of the least polarizing players in their draft classes.

Conversely, the attrition rate for high-variance prospects is slightly higher, but the payoff can be huge. Players like Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, Chris Jones, Jonathan Allen and Rashan Gary were among the highest variants in their class.

With that in mind, here are the least polarizing players in the 2023 NFL Draft Class

Jalen Carter, DT, Georgia

The prospect with the most uncertainty off the pitch could easily beJalen Carter, but his talent was so overwhelming that he gets the least polarizing distinction in the analyst rankings. While this year has seen a number of potential "top three" draft candidates cycle through a group of essentially six players, Carter is the only consistent one of the group.

His variance was lower than Bryce Young, Will Anderson or CJ Stroud, earning him second overall. It could mean something this year. Carter was from an analyst's design desk, andESPN's Jeff Legwoldranked Carter 16th with a few more placing him outside the top 10. But for the most part, Carter consistently deserves top three attention.There are a number of questionsaround Carter, but his talent wins out.

Byron Young, DT, Alabama

The other"Byron Youngin this year's draft, the three-technique prospect has consistently been just outside the top 100. However, not many people consider him anything other than a Day 3 pick.Ryan Wilson hos CBS Sportsranked him 42nd overall, while 33rd teams ranked him 52nd - there has been constant pressure to rank him around 120th or so. The Draft Network ranked him 251st overall, andDrafttek ranked him 206th, but otherwise he has maintained an even ranking.

Because Young physically profiles himself as a player who can move inside out but plays mainly as a run stuffer, he can divide analysts. The reason he doesn't is his consistent level of play, especially with prototypical five technique moves that should set him up well on defense. He always seems to find a way to produce, even though he's not a quick passer.

Quentin Johnston, WR, TCU

Although there has been a wave of criticism for TCUsQuentin Johnston, it doesn't mean much change in analyst rankings. Johnston lost his position as the top receiver in the draft at the end of the draft cycle, but pundits haven't given him too much credit.

He is 19th overall and at the bottom of his ranking he is around 36th.Sam Teets' sportstale) of 38th (DRAFTPLEX), while there are some high rankings such asSeth Burn seventh samlet. For the most part, though, analysts rank him around 20 pretty consistently.

Johnston had low route diversity at TCU and is supposed to be a speedster, but a somewhat troubling Combine performance had people dropping his ranks a bit. He still has good upside and awareness, especially for a class with so few receivers over 6'1".

Owen Pappoe, LB, Auburn

At a certain point in time,Owen Pappoewas a polarizing view. But as we get closer to the design, analysts have leveled their stance. He's an inconsistent, albeit athletic, linebacker who might be best suited for a special teams role but could develop into a starter.

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For a player ranked 124th, his ranking is pretty tight. Tony Pauline of the Pro Football Networkrates him as 75, and there are a few rankings in the 80s that show his upside, while a few are concerned about his lack of development. NFL.com ranks him No. 185, andSports info solutionsput it around 191.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, staten Ohio

It is not always that the best player in a position has a consistent ranking if the player below him is also consistent, butJaxon Smith-Njigbadid, earning near-universal acclaim as this year's top receiver in the draft. He has an unusual profile for a player at that position -- he has a unique athletic profile that is typically polarizing, and analysts disagree on whether he can consistently play on the outside and relegate him to a slot machine.

It speaks to the level of obvious talent Smith-Njigba displays for the concerns emerging for pundits to consistently give him the nod over Johnston and Jordan Addison. There are those who put Smith-Njigba today in the 2nd row, like Trapasso and Risdon, but he has generally achieved ranks between 11 and 20. Jacob Infante onWindy City Gridironplaced him sixth overall, whileErik Edholmon NFL Network ranked Ohio State's receiver ninth.