The Big Ten showed up in a big way in the 2023 NFL Draft.

A record-tying 9 players were selected in the first round, and that train kept rolling all 3 days until a whopping 55 B1G players heard their names called. The Big Ten closed the gap with the SEC, which led the way for the 17th-straight season with 63 picks.

The crazy thing?

Even with that many B1G players drafted, there were still some noteworthy snubs.

There were 3 punters drafted, but Rutgers’ Adam Korsak was not among them. Korsak was the first Scarlet Knights all-American since 1995.

Minnesota running back Mohamed Ibrahim, who rewrote the school record book, also went undrafted.

Ohio State safety Ronnie Hickman, Iowa safety Kaevon Merriweather, Penn State defensive tackle PJ Mustipher, Maryland receiver Dontay Demus Jr. and Indiana linebacker Cam Jones were among the others who will certainly have a shot to stick in the NFL next season despite going undrafted.

Of the 55 Big Ten draft picks, these are the ones we like best, sorted round-by-round. In most cases, that means the team and player make for an ideal fit.

Round 1

CJ Stroud (QB, Ohio State) — Houston Texans

Admittedly, I like this even more than I would have before due to pre-draft rumors that Stroud might slip. But this is a win for all parties involved.

Stroud’s body of work dictated that he should be the first quarterback off the board after Bryce Young, and that’s what happened.

The Texans get a quarterback with a sterling reputation off the field who will help the franchise distance itself further from Deshaun Watson’s sleaziness. And Houston shrewdly made the pick even better by trading for Will Anderson. If the Panthers and Texans weren’t so QB-hungry, Anderson would have been the top pick in this draft.

As an added bonus, Stroud gets to use the motivational chip of people suggesting he should have dropped without the humiliation of actually falling.

Runner-up

Jaxon Smith-Njigba (WR, Ohio State) — Seattle Seahawks

Coming off a career year, Geno Smith gets to add the top receiver in this year’s draft class in the slot to go along with trusted vets DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. And that’s to say nothing of Kenneth Walker in the backfield. All with the 20th pick.

To make things even better, that’s after already hitting it out of the park with Illinois cornerback Devon Witherspoon at No. 5.

We’re giving Smith-Njigba the slight value edge over Witherspoon because of how far down he was drafted. But both will be starting.

Impossible not to be excited about the Seahawks next year, especially given how grim things looked for the franchise a year ago at this time.

Round 2

Joey Porter Jr. (CB, Penn State) — Pittsburgh Steelers

What’s not to love here?

And though it helps that Porter is a Steelers legacy, this would still be a good pick if his name was Joey Henderson Jr. Porter was widely expected to go in the first round and was the top player left on the board at the start of Round 2.

Sometimes everything just comes together perfectly. It did here for Porter Jr. and Pittsburgh.

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Being the first Penn State defensive back ever drafted in the first round would have been cool. What actually happened was much cooler.

Runner-up

Sam LaPorta (TE, Iowa) — Detroit Lions

The Lions helped ease my skepticism over their first-round selections with a strong second round, and that starts with LaPorta. Not only is he joining teammate Jack Campbell in Detroit, but he gives the Lions a replacement for fellow former Hawkeye TJ Hockenson, who was traded to the Vikings last season.

Lions coach Dan Campbell definitely has a type, and Hawkeyes fit the bill.

Round 3

Sydney Brown (S, Illinois) — Philadelphia Eagles

Everything the Eagles did in this draft just feels right, and Brown is a big piece of that. He figures to be an apprentice backup as a rookie who will take over a starting role in Year 2.

Runner-up

Ji’Ayir Brown (S, Penn State) — San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers didn’t have a pick until the third round, so you know plenty of thought went into this selection, which they traded up 21 spots to make. San Francisco chose wisely. Brown was the best safety in the draft behind Sydney Brown and Alabama’s Brian Branch.

Round 4

Charlie Jones (WR, Purdue) — Cincinatti Bengals

The vision is clear for the Bengals.

Jones will be a slot understudy for Tyler Boyd, whose contract expires at the end of next season. And then Jones will be poised to do with Joe Burrow what he did all last year with Aidan O’Connell at Purdue.

A receiving corps of Jones, Tee Higgins and JaMarr Chase paired with Burrow is ridiculously loaded.

Runner-up

Nick Herbig (OLB, Wisconsin) — Pittsburgh Steelers

Fun fact: the Steelers have never finished in last place in their division since 1969. Really. It may be the most remarkable stat in team sports. Even franchises with more titles — New York Yankees, Montreal Canadiens, Los Angeles Lakers, St. Louis Cardinals — can’t match that level of sustained consistency.

And it’s because the Steelers always kill it in the later rounds of the draft. Herbig, who gets paired with Wisconsin teammate Keeanu Benton along Pittsburgh’s defensive front, will prove to be another example of that phenomenon.

Round 5

Mike Morris (DE, Michigan) — Seattle Seahawks

If the Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year is still sitting there in the fifth round, you take him. Especially when you’ve been scouting the conference as closely as Seattle evidently did last season.

Morris was 1 of 4 B1G players drafted by the Seahawks, including teammate Olu Oluwatimi just 3 picks behind him.

Runners-up

Chase Brown (RB, Illinois) — Cincinatti Bengals

Backup running back Samaje Perine left in free agency, and starter Joe Mixon is facing potential legal problems. Thus, the Bengals are very in need of a young running back. Brown, a workhorse for the Illini, is capable of any role he’ll be thrust into.

Evan Hull (RB, Northwestern) — Indianapolis Colts

The Colts already have an every-down back in former Wisconsin star Jonathan Taylor, but Hull will provide Indianapolis with a great change of pace — especially as a receiving option out of the backfield. Given the improvisational nature of rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson’s game, Hull could prove a valuable safety valve.

Round 6

Bryce Baringer (P, Michigan State) — New England Patriots

Punters are people, too.

And Baringer is a great one, setting the Big Ten career record for punting average that was long-ago established by Iowa legend Reggie Roby.

New England was the worst punting team in the NFL last year, averaging just 36.3 net yards while tying for a league-worst 10 touchbacks.

Baringer fixes a major Patriots weakness.

Runner-up

Trey Palmer (WR, Nebraska) — Tampa Bay Buccaneers 

Looking at Tampa Bay’s receiving corps, you can fully understand why Tom Brady finally decided “Yo, I’m out” after last season.

Palmer’s not a complete receiver, but he can take the top off a defense. And with the Bucs guaranteed to regress at quarterback, it’ll be important to have a guy who can keep defenses honest.

Round 7

Cory Trice (CB, Purdue) — Pittsburgh Steelers

By this point, we have a pretty firmly established pattern: the Steelers know what the heck they’re doing.

Trice, like Joey Porter Jr., is a physical cornerback who will challenge receivers even if it comes with the occasional flag attached. Most draft experts had Trice rated as a top 125 prospect, and Pittsburgh grabbed him with the 241st overall pick.

Sounds like a deal.

Runner-up

Ronnie Bell (WR, Michigan) — San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers struck gold in the seventh round last year with quarterback Brock Purdy. Could it happen again with a potential target?

The Niners have plenty of speed in their receiving corps, and Bell adds the element of a potentially trustworthy possession receiver who can make tough catches in the middle of the field.

Big Ten Mr. Irrelevant

Indiana

For the second straight year, every Big Ten program had a player drafted — with a lone exception.

Last year Northwestern grabbed that ignominious label, but quickly shed it this year when offensive tackle Peter Skoronski was drafted 11th overall.

This year, Indiana takes the dishonors. No Hoosiers were drafted for the first time since 2013. When you win a combined 6 games in 2 years, these things happen.

Ironically, Indiana would have followed in Northwestern’s path with a player taken in the top 15 next season — if a healthy Michael Penix Jr. was still with the program. (Though if he was still with the program, he probably wouldn’t be healthy.)