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With the NFL Draft 10 days out, intel is starting to leak as Alabama’s Bryce Young has potentially secured himself as the No. 1 pick, pulling ahead of Ohio State’s CJ Stroud.
Young has canceled the rest of his pre-draft visits and will likely go first overall to Carolina in the 2023 NFL Draft next Thursday, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
“A sign to back up the belief he will be the Panthers' pick,” Pelissero said.
As of Monday afternoon, DraftKings has Bryce Young as a -1100 favorite over Stroud to be the the first signal caller off the board. Two weeks ago, Young was +275 behind Stroud.
The reason for CJ Stroud's downfall as the favorite isn’t clear at this time, but with Houston not being able to land Young. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, a quarterback isn’t expected to be drafted after the first overall pick until at least the fourth pick as of now.
“We’ve heard quarterbacks go one, two, three, four in this draft,” said Schefter. “That’s not going to happen, I believe.”
Bryce Young reportedly scored the highest S2 Cognitive test in this year’s draft class and scored in the same range as Joe Burrow, Justin Fields, Brock Purdy and Drew Brees. Young’s score was rumored to be in the mid-90’s.
According to the test’s website, athletes will take a test that typically lasts between 30-45 minutes on a specialized laptop computer that measures how they process and make split-second decisions in their sport. During last year’s draft process, the highest score in the 2022 NFL Draft was San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy.
If Young is indeed the pick next Thursday night, he’ll be the first Carolina Panthers’ No. 1 overall pick since they drafted Cam Newton in 2011.
Young has been scrutinized during the entire draft process, specifically for his size, as he measures at 5-foot-10, 204-pounds even though he’s never missed a game playing in a tough SEC conference.
During his career at Alabama, he won the Heisman Trophy in 2021 and led the Crimson Tide to a 24-3 overall record in games Young started. He ended his career completing 64.5% of his passes, throwing for 8,356 yards and 80 touchdowns with only 12 interceptions.
Young set many school records during his time at Alabama, which include:
1st in Alabama single-season passing yards (4,872)
1st in Alabama single-season passing touchdowns (47)
1st in Alabama career five-touchdown games (5)
2nd in Alabama career passing yards (8,356)
2nd in Alabama career passing touchdowns (80)
General Manager Scott Fitterer assembled an impressive staff this offseason which included Frank Reich, Jim Caldwell, Josh McCown, Thomas Brown, Duce Staley and Ejiro Evero.
Reich has been often described as a quarterback guru and now will get the opportunity to take the player of his choosing as it looks like Young is his guy. He’s never worked with a player as small as Young, but after his failures with Wentz, Reich seems open-minded.
Young’s potential skills group will include Adam Thielen, DJ Chark, Terrance Marshall, Miles Sanders and a borderline top 10-12 offensive line.
Out of all of the potential landing spots in the top 4, Carolina arguably has the best skills group for a young quarterback to lean on. Thielen, a former Pro Bowler, believes he has a ton left in the tank and could become a reliable option for Young.
Since Newton, Carolina has struggled finding an heir apparent to him as they’ve gone through multiple signal callers such as Teddy Bridgewater, Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield and PJ Walker without any luck. The expectation is Young will be different and establish himself as the team’s franchise guy.
The team has to figure out the position if they want to dig themselves out of the bottom of the NFC South, especially after sending Ryan Poles to Chicago in 2023 1st (9), 2023 2nd (61), 2024 1st, 2025 2nd and wide receiver DJ Moore.
Carolina can’t miss on the pick after mortgaging their entire future to secure the top pick as it will be crucial for Fitterer and Reich to get the pick right. As of now, only time will tell if Young pans out as their franchise quarterback of the future.
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