**Official 2023 NFL Draft Thread**

[MultiTroll]

Not a draftee but what do you guys think about this OL coming out of retirement and being unrestricted?

Former NFL OT DJ Fluker Is Absolutely Jacked, Looks Nearly Unrecognizable As He Attempts Comeback (msn.com)

49ers you want to fill that gap left by bailer to Denver?

[spurraider21]

yes he looks absolutely ripped. but thats usually a big trap for identifying what actually makes a great o-lineman. how's his technique? how are his feet in pass pro? how is his hand placement? he good is he mentally as far as identifying blitzers, passing off stunts, etc

lesson raider fans learned well after Bruce Campbell

[Robz4000]

yes he looks absolutely ripped. but thats usually a big trap for identifying what actually makes a great o-lineman. how's his technique? how are his feet in pass pro? how is his hand placement? he good is he mentally as far as identifying blitzers, passing off stunts, etc

lesson raider fans learned well after Bruce Campbell

He was pretty good for the Chargers iirc, his problem was he couldn't stay healthy.

[spurraider21]

He was pretty good for the Chargers iirc, his problem was he couldn't stay healthy.

He missed 5 games in 4 years with the chargers and they released him after a 16 game season. He had since bounced around and had injury issues. Has been on practice squads. Hasn’t played since 2020

[djohn2oo8]

Boys get Cooks for a 5th this year and a 6th the next.

Cooks will drop passes like ol boy from Little Giants before the stick em.

[djohn2oo8]

well before the combine, i started noticing a lot of film guys on twitter saying richardson's tape is much better than his stats led on. combine performance was icing on the cake. he's going top 10. think this is a super interesting QB class at the top, which each guy being pretty darn unique.

i dont really watch college ball during the year, but i do go back and look at game cutups during draft season in years where i care enough to. will probably do more, but ive watched enough for some general thoughts

Young - checks literally every box... except size

Pros: Honestly... he does just about everything well. Pretty accurate (maybe not Stroud levels, but definitely a plus). S-tier anticipation and decision making. His elusiveness and improvisation is otherworldly. He doesnt pile up the rushing yards, but he looks like prime Russell Wilson as far as that ability goes. For a short qb, he has no problem attacking the middle of the field (something Wilson/Murray have struggled with). Solid arm strength too, maybe just below Wilson in that regard. Played in a pro style offense and didnt have weapons like Ruggs/Jeudy/Smith/Waddle the way Tua/Mac had.

Cons: He's small. That's the con. If he was 6'2, 208, he'd be the slam dunk #1 pick and probably would be just below the Luck/Lawrence tier of elite prospects. But he is not only short, but pretty thin, unlike Russell Wilson. Teams have to worry about whether all the traits above will show up given his stature, since he's not as dynamic a runner as a guy like Kyler.

Comp: Russell Wilson is an obvious one. Bryce doesn't have quite the same rushing volume, so you could say he's a smaller/weaker Mahomes


Stroud - is probably the easiest to project as a plug and play starter and hit the ground running

Pros: Very high level accuracy, mechanics, decision making, and prototypical size. While he didnt show much ability to improvise with his feet during his college career, he absolutely went off in his last game against Georgia, a borderline NFL caliber defense, and made play after play with his feet. If that's a part of his game... watch out. His decisiveness is also something that stands out. You basically never see him double hitch a throw. When he decides where he's going, its crisp, clean, and gets out.

Cons: Average arm strength. Played on a pretty loaded team with some insane weapons like Harrison Jr. Generally didnt show he was capable of making any kind of plays with his feet, and plain pocket passers without big arms aren't very sought after. From the sample games I've watched, I also don't know that he shows high end anticipation on his throws. He sorts waits for a guy to make his break and show open before releasing. Think that needs to speed up some in the pros.

Conclusion: Feels like the "safe" pick, and teams will determine how much his performance in the Georgia game matters to them vs the rest of his college career when it comes to his athletic upside. Best fit is probably something like the Raiders where he can step right in and take command of an offense that is "ready to go." Not sure if he's the guy that can elevate an offense from the ashes.

Comp: Depending on whether you buy the mobility upside, you are looking at either Carr/Cousins/Brady sytle of play, or potentially skewing more into Burrow territory as far as accuracy + mobility combo.


Levis - is the new "prototype" athlete at the position

Pros: Size. Absolute cannon arm. Very good mobility/running ability. Showed pretty well despite having to overcome a borderline dysfunctional offense around him. Played in a pro style offense and his last 2 offensive coordinators both previously coordinated NFL offenses, so there aren't concerns about his ability to pick up a complex offense and operate it. Checks the modern boxes of wanting the Josh Allen/Justin Herbert like size/athletic ability. For a guy with a cannon, he also shows the ability to throw with touch, which is kinda rare at the college level.

Cons: Inconsistent accuracy, poor "feel" in the pocket despite his athletic traits. He'll be 24 at the start of the season, so he's had the time/years to clean up his mechanics by now. Also was a low ADOT guy in college (which was also true of Herbert, to be fair).

Conclusion: Weird blend of a guy who is pro-ready in that he should know how to run an NFL offense, but also has that "project" feel because of his accuracy issues and lack of pocket awareness.

Comp: Carson Wentz. Remains to be seen if we are getting MVP caliber Wentz, or Colts/Commanders Wentz


Richardson - this is the fun one

Pros: Arguably the greatest athlete at the QB position we've ever seen. Look at the combine numbers for yourself. Absolute fire-hose of an arm. Some of the impressions I got were watching JaMarcus if he were actually a great athlete too. By all accounts a high character guy and hard worker. He basically had to carry Florida who did not have any good players on offense outside of Etienne. His pre-snap reads are quite good. Despite his insane mobility, he shows the willingness to stay in a collapsing pocket and deliver throws while getting hit. Had to also overcome a pretty rough/predictable scheme with a ton of heavy play action sets where his only reads were deep shots.

Cons: Woof. Obviously very raw/inexperienced. Only started 13 college games. Brutal accuracy numbers. Part of that is Florida had a ton of drops, part of that was an offensive scheme that didn't give him many "gimme" completions to pad his numbers. But part of it was just awful playground footwork. While he can escape/scramble plenty, when he tried to maneuver within the pocket, it was usually pretty ugly with sloppy footwork or trying to just "arm" the ball to the location, leading to most of his ugly throws and interceptions. Most concerning part is that on some of his throws where he misses or air-mailed it, there wasn't even necessarily anything wrong mechanically, so you cant pinpoint how to fix it. Have to hope those are flukes or just something that experience will correct. Generally, just maddeningly inconsistent. He'll have a play where he senses pressure, slides left, steps up, gets his feet planted correctly, and delivers an absolute dime 30 yards down the field, followed by a play where he moves around unnecessarily, has his feet pointing in different directions, and air-mails a wide open receiver on 3rd down.

Conclusion: Far and away the least "pro ready" QB in the group, but he also has some jaw-dropping reps (not including highlight reel athletic runs) where he puts it altogether, makes reads, makes efficient movement in the pocket, and throws perfect passes. He simply needs reps, having played very few games and thrown very few passes (less than Trubisky, even). Decision to take him will come down to a team that believes they can coach him up, and those who believe that teaching him to correct is awful footwork and mechanics (getting shoulders squared, etc), will alleviate most of his accuracy woes. A team that wants to play him early will really have to transform their offense. Basically look at rookie Lamar Jackson, rookie Jalen Hurts, sop re Justin Fields offenses.

Comp: Everybody will say Josh Allen (as a reason to believe his accuracy can improve with coaching). I think what you want to emulate is Jalen Hurts with a cannon. Daunte Culpepper is another strong comp. But if he is lazy, doesnt take well to coaching, you could just be looking at a faster JaMarcus Russell. His accuracy/inconsistency really looks that scary.

Bryce has had quite a few AC joint sprains already in college. That is concerning.

[Robz4000]

He missed 5 games in 4 years with the chargers and they released him after a 16 game season. He had since bounced around and had injury issues. Has been on practice squads. Hasn’t played since 2020

Must've been thinking of someone else then.

[spurraider21]

Bryce has had quite a few AC joint sprains already in college. That is concerning.

Bryce measured at over 200 pounds at the combine but didn’t take part in drills. Then he refused to weigh in at his pro day where he did drills. It’s pretty clear his actual playing weight is well below 200.

i think if it wasn’t for Tuas rough season he’d be the clear cut #1 pick. But the size concern is growing and now looks like Stroud is likely going first

[spurraider21]

Must've been thinking of someone else then.

Chargers had some other high pick forest lamp. Maybe him

[Millennial_Messiah]

Young is Johnny Football, Stroud is Trashkins, Levis is Tannehill/Wentz and Richardson is Joe Webb / Terrelle Pryor

You're looking at another 2015 QB class at best here. Not high on any of these.

At least Richardson might be willing to convert to wideout when his career at qb quickly dies.

[Will Hunting]

Young is Johnny Football, Stroud is Trashkins, Levis is Tannehill/Wentz and Richardson is Joe Webb / Terrelle Pryor

You're looking at another 2015 QB class at best here. Not high on any of these.

At least Richardson might be willing to convert to wideout when his career at qb quickly dies.

The success rate with the generic mopheaded mulato QB is not great at all, can’t believe Young and Stroud are hyped up as anything special

[spurraider21]

The success rate with the generic mopheaded mulato QB is not great at all, can’t believe Young and Stroud are hyped up as anything special

i dont think any of these guys are special prospects (richardson has ridiculous athletic ability, but as a prospect right now he's definitely not special). but the QB class last year was historically poor, so teams are starving for prospects. last year was probably the weakest qb class since at least 2013 (ej manuel, geno smith, mike glennon, matt barkley were the first 4 off the board)

within this class, bryce young is in a tier of his own to me, but he's not some special generational prospect, or even in the burrow tier of prospect. burrow was the consensus #1 in his draft, but there were still questions about him being a 1 year wonder, being elevated by a stacked set of position players, and having below average arm strength, so he wasnt seen as an all timer prospect the way lawrence/luck were hyped to be

ive never been as high on stroud as the consensus, but i definitely think he's a better prospect than Haskins was coming out of OSU a few years ago

[spurraider21]

right now the biggest question of the draft appears to be what happens with the #3 pick. if AZ stays at 3, will anderson is the consensus pick, but with more teams warming up to anthony richardson, it looks like there might be a race to #3 before the colts pick a qb at 4. seattle is a very common speculated trade partner. its also possible the colts try to move up 1 to secure who they think is "their guy."

lions/raiders also potentially in play

could be the first time in NFL history that 4 QBs are taken top 4, oddly enough in a year that isnt a particularly great QB class. but again, demand for QB is very high because last year was historically bad

[Millennial_Messiah]

right now the biggest question of the draft appears to be what happens with the #3 pick. if AZ stays at 3, will anderson is the consensus pick, but with more teams warming up to anthony richardson, it looks like there might be a race to #3 before the colts pick a qb at 4. seattle is a very common speculated trade partner. its also possible the colts try to move up 1 to secure who they think is "their guy."

lions/raiders also potentially in play

could be the first time in NFL history that 4 QBs are taken top 4, oddly enough in a year that isnt a particularly great QB class. but again, demand for QB is very high because last year was historically bad

2021 was essentially the same thing... except I believe in Lawrence. The other 4-5 QBs drafted below him in the first round are garbage though.

[spurraider21]

Bryce has had quite a few AC joint sprains already in college. That is concerning.

while theres some variation in mocks that ive seen, i'd say over 3/4 have Stroud going #1 and Young going #2

assuming Stroud was off the board at 1, who do you want Houston to grab?

and in an ideal world, is Stroud your dream pick?

[MultiTroll]

The success rate with the generic mopheaded mulato QB is not great at all, can’t believe Young and Stroud are hyped up as anything special

Thought Stroud showed balls of iron in the would-be victory over Georgia shanked by the kicker.

Where do you guys think he's lacking?

[leemajors]

Thought Stroud showed balls of iron in the would-be victory over Georgia shanked by the kicker.

Where do you guys think he's lacking?

OSU QB is usually enough to doubt

[spurraider21]

OSU QB is usually enough to doubt

texas tech qbs sucked before mahomes. clemson qbs sucked before watson. there are always cases like these.

haskins was a bust. fields is clearly exciting but cant really judge him yet considering the state of the bears in recent years. before that its not like OSU qbs were being that hyped. guys like braxton miller and terrelle pryor werent getting talked about as big time QB prospects

im not the biggest fan of stroud (i have him 3rd in this class), but i dont like writing guys off just for stuff like that

[leemajors]

texas tech qbs sucked before mahomes. clemson qbs sucked before watson. there are always cases like these.

haskins was a bust. fields is clearly exciting but cant really judge him yet considering the state of the bears in recent years. before that its not like OSU qbs were being that hyped. guys like braxton miller and terrelle pryor werent getting talked about as big time QB prospects

im not the biggest fan of stroud (i have him 3rd in this class), but i dont like writing guys off just for stuff like that

I forgot most of the OSU fans don't post here anymore, sorry

[Millennial_Messiah]

OSU QB is usually enough to doubt

tosu/bama qbs should not be drafted before the 3rd round at best.

[spurraider21]

another one. the more you watch, the more you like. dont think he's a year 1 player because he needs to completely relearn his footwork until it becomes muscle memory, but yeah... i think i have him as QB2 behind bryce young, and the raiders coming away with him round 1 is becoming my dream scenario. he can sit behind jimmy

[spurraider21]

this is now an anthony richardson thread until some other team drafts him and breaks my heart. unheard of pocket presence for a one year starter

[Millennial_Messiah]

Anthony Richardson will be a wideout or retired before the end of his rookie contract.

[leemajors]

this is now an anthony richardson thread until some other team drafts him and breaks my heart. unheard of pocket presence for a one year starter

From highlights and occasional Gator game during the season the thing that wowed me was how fast he was, and what an arm he had.

[spurraider21]

From highlights and occasional Gator game during the season the thing that wowed me was how fast he was, and what an arm he had.

yeah just from watching highlights and then seeing box scores, my initial thoughts on him at the start of the process was "oh boy, another malik willis/trey lance overhyped prospect"

but the more of his game stuff i actually watched, the more advanced his actual quarterbacking seems. he basically has to completely redo his footwork and it will take time until that becomes muscle memory, but he's not as far away as people think, at all

other takeaways from watching florida after the fact is how atrocious the receivers were. struggled separated and drops galore