2023 NFL Draft Quarterback Prospects: Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud Lead The Way!
Now that the Super Bowl is behind us, and the season is over we divert our attention to the offseason. We will start by focusing on the 2023 NFL Draft. The first position we will take a look at is the quarterback. A lot can change between now and the draft, but these are the top five prospects at the position currently.
Top 5 Quarterbacks Entering The 2023 NFL Draft
1 Bryce Young, Alabama
From a talent perspective, Young is easily the top quarterback in this draft. He is also the most NFL-ready. There isn’t much not to like about Young as a passer. His instincts are incredible, and he shines in the biggest moments. He is an intelligent QB who goes through his progressions and is very advanced coming into the league. From an arm talent perspective, he throws an accurate beautiful ball that he can land in tight windows with timing or lead his receivers for yards after the catch. There isn’t an area of the field where he isn’t outstanding. His arm strength is strong even if it’s not at an elite NFL level. Everything else he does is far more important, and he has no issues with the deep ball. In his career, he threw for 80 TDs and just 12 interceptions.
We definitely wouldn’t describe Young as a running quarterback, however, he is more than capable of making a play when things break down. He’s a good athlete who can make a play with his legs, but he’s always looking to pass first. The reason he doesn’t run more is that he doesn’t have to, but he showed off his ability to run in key moments late in the year.
The big concern is going to be his size. Young stands just 5’11 194 pounds. This is tiny by NFL standards. To put that into perspective a guy like Tua Tagovailoa has been deemed by many as too small and he’s 6’1 216 pounds. Kyler Murray is also tiny and while he’s an inch shorter than Young still is heavier at 206 pounds. Young can bulk up and put on weight, but this will be the knock on his during the draft process.
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2 C.J. Stroud, Ohio State
Stroud is the best of the Ohio State quarterback prospects to enter the NFL Draft, and certainly the most NFL-ready. There is a real chance he could be the first-overall pick if he wows at the combine and Young’s size becomes a growing issue for NFL teams. We have seen Stroud throw the ball with accuracy and anticipation. His ball placement is outstanding and he has a powerful arm. There is still room for him to grow as well.
As a runner, he can escape the pocket and has displayed functional mobility, but he is far from a runner and lacks the mobility we usually see from the Ohio State QBs that have entered the league in recent years. The important thing is he’s not a sitting duck in the pocket. At times he has had happy feet when things break down, he has also shown the ability to stand tall and make a play in the face of pressure. Consistency should come in this department as long as he lands with a competent coaching staff and an o-line that doesn’t get him crushed in the pocket.
3 Hendon Hooker, Tennessee
In most rankings you will see Hooker closer to the fifth spot, however, we will take the proven better player over the high-upside dice roll here. Hooker has good size at 6’4 218 pounds and has been impressive both through the air and on the ground. During his two seasons at Tennessee, he threw 58 TDs and just five interceptions while adding over 1,000 yards and 10 TDs on the ground. To go along with his incredible TD:INT ratio, he also completed 69.6% of his passes last season and averaged just under 10 yards per attempt. Combine that with his ability on the ground and he’s as efficient as they come. He also showed out and played great against top competition in the SEC including a legendary win against Alabama when he accounted for over 540 yards and five TDs.
The big concern here is that Hooker is 24 years old and coming off a torn ACL in November. This will likely scare some teams off. However, if his medicals don’t show any additional complications from what we already know it will be a mistake if any team drafting a QB passes on him for one of the project QBs currently projected to go before him.
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4 Will Levis, Kentucky
Levis is a high-upside prospect who will be polarizing during the draft process. While he has shown flashes of brilliance he has also proven to be raw and mistake-prone. He has shown the potential to be accurate, although, poor decision-making and perhaps a shaky supporting cast have led to inconsistencies. Still, what you’re going to hear about him through this process is about his size, athleticism, arm strength, and toughness. He’s 6’3 232 pounds and he’s a guy that could skyrocket or plummet depending on how he performs through the draft process.
5 Anthony Richardson, Florida
Richardson really has no business entering the NFL Draft this season and should have stayed at Florida another year. Everything you just read about Will Levis, Richardson is but more. Unfortunately, that goes for the good and the bad though. While he’s bigger, faster, younger, and has even more upside than Levis from a raw talent perspective, he’s also significantly more inaccurate and more of a disastrous decision-maker. He was also surrounded by superior talent. However, he will also be a dual-threat QB with a cannon for an arm and an ability to make plays on the ground. Our guess is if a team is going for a high-upside guy Richardson will be the first off the board because his upside is the highest. Nevertheless, he is less NFL-ready, and his downside is also very low. He’s another guy who could see a huge swing in his stock over the next two months.
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