2023 NFL Draft: Chris Simms’ top five quarterback prospects | NFL News
Anthony Richardson, CJ Stroud and Bryce Young are projected as the top quarterback prospects in the 2023 NFL Draft
Ahead of the 2023 NFL Draft – live on Sky Sports from Thursday April 27 – former NFL quarterback and Pro Football Talk presenter Chris Simms has ranked his top quarterback prospects in this year’s draft class…
It’s an interesting quarterback class. ‘Very good’ might be a little strong, but it’s a good class – and better than last year, for sure.
This year, none of them are perfect – or, there’s only one of them, in my opinion, who is perfect – and there’s less questions overall about the top guys in general than we had last year.
I’m cheating a little bit this year, changing the rules, as although it’s a top-five countdown, full disclosure, I’ve picked six guys. There is a tie at five, as I didn’t want to leave any one of these guys out of the conversation.
1) CJ Stroud (Ohio State)
I’m beyond blown away by what I’ve seen from CJ Stroud. He’s slam-dunk my number one quarterback.
This guy is as close to Joe Burrow as I’ve seen coming out of the draft.
Ohio State quarterback Stroud is Chris Simms’ top prospect from the 2023 NFL Draft
Great decision-making and quickness. It’s flawless. And talk about hitting the bullseye on a consistent basis? His ability to make high-level NFL throws, and drop the ball perfectly in a receiver’s pocket, it’s off-the-charts good.
His decision-making? Top notch. His ability to make powerful, game-changing throws? Top notch. Accuracy? I see everything there. I see a big-time player.
Plus, there’s his size and his ability to play from inside the pocket – and I put a little bit more emphasis on that; he is completely unfazed by pressure around him. I never saw him blink.
He’s a pure pocket-passing quarterback. Though that’s not to say he can’t move and be mobile too. He throws the ball great on the run.
That movement might not always be sexy and see him turn the corner and run for a 50-yard touchdown down the sideline, but he still has so many good plays.
He’s a machine throwing the football. It’s great decision after great decision, great throw after great throw.
For me, there’s no doubt he is the number one quarterback of this draft – and it’s by a little bit of a margin too.
2) Bryce Young (Alabama)
As natural playing the quarterback position as you’re going to find – he makes so many good plays.
His brain is on another level, his ability to read defenses, see the field and throw the appropriate throw. And he is a natural throwing the football.
Alabama quarterback Young is expected to be drafted with the No 1 overall pick by the Carolina Panthers
For a guy out of college, he’s about as slick as you’re ever going to see. You might not see a ton of ‘wow, oh my gosh’ throws from Young, but you’ll see a lot of cool ways he delivers the football – his footwork, his release points. He is like Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers in that he can just flick the ball and it comes out quick.
He also has the ability to move in the pocket, buy time and make people miss. He shows incredible patience, especially for a small guy with all of these huge defensive linemen closing in on him. He behaves like the Incredible Hulk, like no-one is going to hurt him.
He is a very good athlete, a great decision-maker, but he is just maybe not quite as aggressive as Stroud.
Young is number two because of his size (5ft 10ins, weighing 204lbs at the NFL Combine). His arm is good, but not on the same level. And there’s not enough power throws.
Do I have concerns if he is not put behind a really good offensive line in the NFL? Yes. Like I always say, ‘size is a skill’, and how could his size not scare you a little bit?
But there’s a lot to like about the player. And the person a lot too, just the way he handles himself and the leader he is too.
3) Hendon Hooker (Tennessee)
Why is this guy not getting more buzz? What is there not to like?
Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker is the oldest of his draft class at 25 and suffered an ACL tear last season
I know he tore his ACL last year, and so maybe he’s not ready to play by Week One, but all I know is I saw a really good-looking, on-the-money, pocket-passing quarterback, who makes great decisions and is way more athletic than people are giving him credit for.
Where he might be even better than Stroud and Young, is his ability to see and throw over the line of scrimmage. He had the most amount of throws completed where he had people in his face. He is totally unaffected by the pass rush. That’s where I give him a load of credit. He is fearless.
Decision-making? It’s off-the-charts good. And the amount of NFL high-level throws I saw, that’s what I loved.
There’s some throws where I wish he’d step on the gas a little more, throw it a little harder. That’s an area that is a little untapped for him, and he needs to be better at some of the slick stuff, the sidearm passes and different arm angles.
His throwing motion is not my favourite. But he is consistently on the money, throwing into tight coverage.
There’s the ACL injury and his age (25), that’s the concern with Hooker. But if we’re just going on the film, I don’t know how he’s not in the conversation with the top quarterbacks in this draft.
I think he’s a top-half-of-the-first-round type of talent. I don’t think there’s any doubt about that.
To put it simply, I like his game more than I do Kenny Pickett’s (drafted 20th overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2022). I’m not trying to be negative on Pickett, but I’d want Hooker.
4) Anthony Richardson (Florida)
He has the highest ceiling in the draft. The guy could be a superstar. He is a freak.
Florida quarterback Richardson is considered a ‘boom or bust’ prospect
We’ve never seen anybody like this guy. He’s the size of [Dallas Cowboys linebacker] Micah Parsons, playing quarterback – and taller than Parsons too.
There’s no size or athletic questions. The only guy we’ve ever seen who is built somewhat like this at the position is Cam Newton. It’s about, can he play the position at a consistently high level and make the right decisions, the right throws, play after play?
He is still learning. He hasn’t got to play a whole lot and he hasn’t been taught a whole lot – in terms of his mechanics or in recognising defensive coverages, different plays. He is raw, though not as raw as Malik Willis (drafted 86th by the Tennessee Titans last year), if that puts it into context.
This guy’s arm is off-the-charts good. And his running is a force of nature.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Check out the best moments from Richardson’s 2023 NFL Scouting Combine workout
He has an insanely flexible arm and can just slingshot it 65 yards, but the placement of the ball hurts him at times; he needs to make balls more catchable.
There’s definitely going to be some decisions where you think, ‘what the hell was he thinking there?’ There are some games and some plays where his eyes are all over the place and he’s looking at the pass rush too much, but there’s other games also where he’s on the money with every throw.
Is there a little ‘boom or bust’ here with Richardson? Of course. His ceiling is probably the highest ceiling in the draft but his floor might be the lowest too.
I just see Stroud, Young and Hooker ahead of him as safer bets.
5) Will Levis (Kentucky); Dorian Thompson-Robinson (UCLA)
Levis – I like Levis. And I totally understand how people think he could go in the top-12 picks of the draft. But, to me, he has a bit of the ‘boom or bust’ factor.
Will Kentucky quarterback Will Levis be taken in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft?
The positives: his size and toughness are off the charts, and he is a good athlete.
His body is rocked up, but I will say I think it’s too rocked up. It’s too tight and muscle-bound, which bothers me. I don’t like that.
If you look at his 10 or 20 best throws, they’re right up there with anybody. It’s a laser show. The problem is, they’re too few and far between.
There’s too many throws you watch where you’re like, ‘you’re too good to miss that throw’ – or, even if it is completed, it’s a little off target.
It’s all just a little too all over the place, the ball itself and the mechanics. And, when it comes to decision-making, he’s towards the bottom of this list of quarterbacks.
In fairness, his offense sucked at Kentucky. They couldn’t protect him. That’s one thing I like about him; he had people in his face, he took a lot of hits, and that will be life in the NFL.
There’s something to that but, also, there were a few times I wrote in my notes, ‘is he the problem?’ Is it a case of they don’t trust him to do more? Those are things I wonder.
But his potential is great. His ceiling is high.
Thompson-Robinson – I don’t understand it [his projection as a late-round pick]. What’s not to like about DTR?
UCLA quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson is projected to be a late-round pick on days two or three
Here’s just a base-level argument I’ll throw out there, to show he belongs: he’s taller than Young, he’s faster than Young and I think his arm might be stronger. He plays the position of quarterback right up there with the top guys in the sport. He can do everything.
Counting against him: he maybe has a long wind-up with his throwing motion, he maybe doesn’t see the field as well as Stroud or Young, and he plays as if he’s smaller than 6ft 2ins, but, beyond that, his arm is one of the best of the bunch.
I don’t really get it. His mechanics are great, his feet are great and he’s got a really natural, fluid throwing motion.
I’m shocked when I look at the list of quarterback prospects and some people have this guy as low as 13. What? This kid has NFL starting-quarterback traits.
Could he go on day two, in the second round? I don’t know. But I think he deserves to be in the conversation with these other guys.
I don’t understand why the guy is not getting more hype. I think he’s a first-round talent.
Watch all three days of the 2023 NFL Draft live on Sky Sports from Thursday April 27 to Saturday April 29 – Neil Reynolds and Phoebe Schecter will be joined by former Minnesota Vikings general manager Rick Spielman to preview the opening night on Thursday from 9pm, with the first draft picks expected to be made just after 1am.
