Big Me Kickoff: Is CJ Stroud The No. 1 Clubhouse Leader?

The 2023 NFL Draft is less than a month away and front offices are putting in overtime to sort out their draft boards and figure out who to make multi-million dollar investments in.

For teams at the top of the draft, quarterback is very much front-and-center because you would not be at the top of the draft if everything was working out.

That is good news for players like CJ Stroud, Bryce Young, Anthony Richardson and Will Levis as they all expect to hear their names called very early in just a few short weeks, but only one player can go first out of that group and with Carolina moving up to No. 1, there is little drama that the first pick overall will be a quarterback.

Who is on top and why? What does each player bring and what are the challenges?

Join Kevin Noon here on the Big Me Kickoff as he is joined by Ian Valentino from Pro Football Network as they go in-depth on the quarterback position in the draft.

On CJ Stroud – I think you see A+ accuracy, probably A to A- arm strength, he can make every throw. You are not concerned about that pocket presence. Really a great decision maker with the ball. You are legitimately shocked when he puts the ball in harm’s way.

On Bryce Young – He stepped up when it mattered most, every time, he’s a gamer. I think the best thing you could possibly say about him is really the best thing you can say about any athlete, that they are a gamer. He was never afraid of the moment, he made the big throws when he had to.

On Anthony Richardson – His physical gifts are so immense. When you look at the context of his film, there are some really impressive moments in there and you say, ‘Can we consistently get that? If we can do that and marry that with his ability to run and is ability to create off platform plays… then we might have someone that could bring us to a new level.’

On Will Levis – I think he’s probably the strangest case for a top quarterback of the group because he didn’t play particularly well last year. He kind of has that Josh Allen factor around him, where guys were considerably worse in 2022 than 2021 and his play kind of dipped alongside that, but he also has a little bit of that Brady Quinn look to him. I don’t dislike his game, but I think he misses some throws because he has that Quinn stature where he looks like a bodybuilder.

Get out ahead of everyone else and be ready to witness the event that every football player dreams of being a part of.