Who will the Carolina Panthers take with the first overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft? This will be up for debate for the next 30-plus days as the Panthers have done a good job of keeping their plans close to the vest.
When Carolina made the trade to move up from nine to one, they did so without having a clear-cut No. 1 guy in mind. They did it to be in control of the draft and to be able to choose the quarterback they want, not the one that happens to fall to them.
The sense is that the decision is going to come down to Ohio State's C.J. Stroud and Alabama's Bryce Young. However, during a recent segment on NFL Total Access, former Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis dropped a little nugget that sent Panthers Twitter into a tizzy.
"You look at Bryce Young, you look at his resume. The kid was a Heisman Trophy winner last year for a reason. And then when you put guys around him like Alabama has. He played in the SEC, the highest level of competition in college football, I just think that he's going to come in and he would fit well in Carolina IF they were going to draft him. But I don't think he's going to be their pick. I think it's going to be a very, very surprising pick in Carolina. I will say this if this pick happens of who I think that they are in love with, I'm not a fan of it.
"I just know that they're are a couple of guys upstairs that are enamored by the physical ability of Anthony Richardson. He's not Cam Newton. We watched this kid play a lot, me being an SEC guy. He has all the physical characteristics of being a really good quarterback in the NFL, but I don't think he's going to be that great player that the Carolina Panthers need to take them to that next level. When you look at Bryce Young and what he brings to the table, he's a proven winner. When you look at C.J. Stroud and what he brings to the table, this kid has proven he can win football games. Anthony Richardson on the other hand, Will Levis on the other hand, those guys have been in programs that could potentially be good but they just haven't been and the reason, to me, has been the quarterback position."
Richardson's physical attributes are rare for a quarterback. The combination of size, strength, and speed is that of a linebacker. These body types are rare at the quarterback position, which is why everyone immediately compares him to Cam. The difference is Richardson was extremely inconsistent during his collegiate career. He made the routine plays look difficult and the difficult plays look routine. If Richardson does develop and reach his full potential, he will undoubtedly be one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. There's a lot of boom-or-bust here and I don't know if the Panthers should be willing to roll the dice on a player like that at No. 1.
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