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In the Market: Looking at top quarterback prospects and smokescreen entering 2023 NFL Draft week

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Niver Cooz
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NFL Draft week has finally arrived. Let’s take a look at the rumors and potential smokescreen surrounding the 2023 top quarterback prospects.

We have finally arrived at the most anticipated portion of the NFL and college football offseason — the NFL Draft. Fans will get to see some of the top prospects in the country realize their dreams become a reality, and that’s being a professional football player.

This year, as much as in previous years, the focus will be on the quarterbacks. It all begins with the first overall pick, held by the Carolina Panthers following their trade with the Chicago Bears. There are five prospects that we have covered throughout the 2022 college football season, and each is in contention to be selected in the first round.

With the NFL Draft, there is a variety of reports and rumors that come out, seemingly hinting at what teams are going to do. That includes which teams will select quarterbacks. The thing is, this is what I call “smokescreen season,” or “lying season.” Teams are lying with the purpose of throwing everyone else off the scent as to what they will do in the first round.

So, let’s have some fun with this. We will look at the reports and rumors surrounding the top five quarterback prospects, and where they are all mocked to go by NFL Draft experts.

Previous editions of “In the Market” can be viewed at the links below:

Taking Stock: Looking at the rumors and smokescreen surrounding top 2023 NFL Draft QBs

Bryce Young, Alabama

Young was the top quarterback prospect in this year’s NFL Draft class, there is no disputing that. But, the main concern was whether his size was going to prevent him from getting selected first overall. After being listed at 6-foot and 190 pounds at Alabama, Young measured at 5-foot-10 and weighed 204 pounds.

Yet, it appears that the size concerns are not much of an issue after all, as the consensus is that he will be selected by the Panthers with the first-overall pick.

ESPN’s Chris Mortensen pointed out a couple of weeks ago that Young “is the pick” for the Panthers and detailed that they “love” him. But, Mortensen did point out that the 49ers liked Mac Jones at first in 2021, but decided to draft Trey Lance instead.

On Apr. 17, NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero reported that Young had canceled his remaining pre-draft visits, noting that “another sign to back up belief within the league that the 2021 Heisman Trophy winner will be the #Panthers’ pick at No. 1 overall.”

At this stage, it would be a shock if Young is not the pick for the Panthers. Perhaps the organization is throwing everyone off, but it feels like the consensus is that they will select the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback.

C.J. Stroud, Ohio State

Early on in the pre-draft process, the belief was that the Panthers would select Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud first overall. After all, he has the prototypical size that head coach Frank Reich likes in his quarterback. Then, there was the viral conversations and looks of awe from those on the Panthers who attended Stroud’s Pro Day. But now, it looks like the Panthers will be going with Young as their quarterback of the future.

Surely, he would go second overall to the quarterback-needy Houston Texans, right? Well, that doesn’t appear to be the case either. The Buckeyes quarterback stock has taken a hit recently. Whether that was Brady Quinn saying that Stroud “ghosted” the Manning Passing Academy after committing, to his alleged bad score on the S2 cognitive test that leaked, which the founder said to “take with a grain of salt.”

Even though Stroud does have the best arm talent in the class, there’s uncertainty as to how far he could fall down the draft board. Again, Stroud to the Texans seemed like a slam-dunk fit. But now, who knows if the Texans are going to take a quarterback! Or if they do, they may lean elsewhere (we’ll get to that shortly).

Stroud will be a first-rounder. But with which pick is the question.

Will Levis, Kentucky

There is no quarterback prospect more polarizing this year than Kentucky’s Will Levis. He entered the 2022 season as one of the top quarterback prospects after a promising first year playing for the Wildcats. But, this past campaign did not go as planned. Levis dealt with injuries and had a changeover at offensive coordinator. But, that is not stopping him from being drafted high.

While Levis did take a backseat at the Scouting Combine to Stroud and Anthony Richardson, he has suddenly started climbing up draft boards and in the Vegas betting odds. Specifically, as of this past week, Levis is now the favorite to be selected second overall. Now, the question remains as to whether the Houston Texans will make that pick, or if they will trade it to another team that really likes Levis.

Fans and media might not be crazy about him as Mel Kiper Jr. is, but he has a strong arm, a prototypical size for a quarterback and has a knowledge of a pro-style offense during his time in Kentucky. Teams have specific preferences as to what they are looking for in their quarterback, and teams obviously think very highly of Levis.

While you might not agree with it, Levis is going to be drafted high.

Anthony Richardson, Florida

Out of all the quarterbacks in this year’s NFL Draft class, the one with the highest ceiling is none other than Florida’s Anthony Richardson. He showcased his athleticism at the Scouting Combine, specifically his speed and leaping ability. Not to mention he has a very capable arm. There was actually buzz at the Scouting Combine that he could very well go No. 1 overall to the Panthers, but that has since subsided.

While fans will point out his 53.8 completion percentage in his first year as a starter, it should be noted that he didn’t exactly get much help from his receivers, who did drop some catchable passes. But, Richardson still is a raw prospect, who will likely require sitting for a year to get a better feel of his new team’s playbook.

As for where he could go, Richardson has a variety of potential destinations. But what about the Indianapolis Colts? Well, ESPN NFL Draft analyst Matt Miller said that the Colts prefer Levis over Richardson since they believe he is more ready to play. Again, could this all be smokescreen? Or do the Colts legitimately like Levis enough that they don’t care if everyone knows they want to draft them?

Richardson could realistically land on multiple different teams. But you can guarantee he will be drafted in the first round.

Hendon Hooker, Tennessee

Hendon Hooker’s stock was supposedly going to take a hit considering he suffered a torn ACL this past November. Even so, his stock has risen to the point where there’s a very good shot that he could go in the first round. That would make the most sense, considering a team will have a fifth-year option to use with him, especially if he sits in the first year of his NFL career.

Prior to his injury, Hooker was a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate, as he led a Tennessee program that had struggled to win to their most successful season in quite some time. He had the ability to scramble and extend plays with his legs while having tremendous accuracy.

Hooker visited with a variety of teams this offseason, including the New York Giants, Detroit Lions, Las Vegas Raiders, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Tennessee Titans. One team that he has been linked to quite frequently are the Minnesota Vikings, especially in mock drafts (we’ll get to that briefly). In fact, ESPN NFL Draft analyst Matt Miller said that one “popular” text he’s received from evaluators recently was “watch the Vikings for Hendon Hooker.”

Mock Draft Central: Where the top experts project the 2023 NFL Draft QBs to land

Below are the recent mock draft selections of each quarterback prospect by top NFL Draft experts.

Note: ESPN and The Athletic links will require a subscription.

Bryce Young, Alabama

C.J. Stroud, Ohio State

Will Levis, Kentucky

Anthony Richardson, Florida

Hendon Hooker, Tennessee

In the Market 2023 QB mock draft

Now, let us take a crack at it. Below will be the mock draft only involving Young, Stroud, Levis, Richardson and Hooker. Included will be each quarterback, their new team and where they are selected.

  1. Carolina Panthers: Bryce Young, No. 1 overall
  2. Houston Texans: Will Levis, No. 2 overall
  3. Indianapolis Colts: C.J. Stroud, No. 4 overall
  4. Tennessee Titans: Anthony Richardson, No. 11 overall
  5. Minnesota Vikings: Hendon Hooker, No. 23 overall

First off, the Panthers unsurprisingly select Young with the first overall pick. They can’t mess up this pick after giving up multiple draft picks and wide receiver D.J. Moore. Young is the best option for them and can help them compete in a winnable NFC South in his rookie season.

The second overall pick is perhaps the most intriguing. Given the Vegas betting odds having Levis as the favorite to be selected at that spot, that’s where we are going. I am not convinced that the Texans will legitimately punt at selecting a quarterback and run it back again with Davis Mills or start veteran Case Keenum. That is just negligence.

Indianapolis may really like Levis, but they will get quite the consolation prize in Stroud. He has incredible arm power and accuracy that should help them compete in the AFC South.

With a new regime in Tennessee, it is only a matter of time until they select their new quarterback. After all, Ryan Tannehill is under contract for one more season. Richardson is the pick. With that, Richardson can learn the playbook in his rookie year, and allow Tannehill to start for one more season.

Finally, Hooker will get selected in the first round. The Vikings are in the same position as the Titans. They need a quarterback of the future. Hooker showed that he can be an incredible quarterback during this past season with the Volunteers. He can sit his rookie year, then take over the reins, where he can target Justin Jefferson downfield. Not a bad situation for him.

There you have it. Predictions are in, and now we wait to see what happens on the opening night of the NFL Draft. Now, we will wait and see what happens. Speaking of, there will be a new “In the Market” column, post-NFL Draft edition where he will grade the landing spots of Young, Stroud, Levis, Richardson and Hooker.

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