Why are there only 31 picks in Round 1 of the 2023 NFL Draft?

The 2023 NFL Draft kicks off on April 27 and goes through April 29. The first night of the draft is the first round and while normally there are 32 picks in round one (one for every team in the league unless trades happen), this year is unique because there are only 31 picks in the first round.

Why is that the case?

Well, during the 2022 offseason, the Dolphins were talking to both Sean Payton and Tom Brady about coming to Miami. Payton was still with the Saints at the time while Brady was still under contract with the Buccaneers. Neither guy ended up going to Miami and the Dolphins lost their first-round pick as a result.

There will only be 31 picks in round one because of the Dolphins' illegal tampering.

Last offseason, if you remember, the Dolphins were being aggressive in turning things around and trying to compete for a Super Bowl. They had already traded for Tyreek Hill in a massive trade with the Chiefs that took away their 2022 first-rounder.

They had their own first-round pick and another from San Francisco in this year's draft but traded the other one to Denver in exchange for Bradley Chubb. It was their original pick that was taken away due to tampering.

That's why the Cincinnati Bengals, who normally would have had the 29th overall pick due to being one of the four teams playing in the conference championship games will pick 28th instead.

Hopefully this helps clear up some of the confusion for Bengals fans and other draft watchers.