The 2023 NFL Draft will fill most of the league's quarterback openings. Some teams require a new coach. Others may be considering new veterans. Four or five QBs will be selected on Day 1 with the potential to start in 2023.
Which QB-needy team should prioritize early? We've identified 12 of the most likely prospects to draft a quarterback in the first round and advised them on whether to do so.
It's the clearest choice. Carolina is now in position to draft either Alabama's Bryce Young or Ohio State's C.J. Stroud.
New coach Frank Reich prefers Young's veteran poise over Stroud's conventional build. Since Cam Newton's 2015 MVP season, either decision is a winner for a squad hunting for a reliable QB.
The Texans may pass on QB, their biggest need, at No. 2 to draft a top defensive prospect. We hope Houston doesn't buy it. Unless the Texans can ensure they'll receive a raw but superhuman player like Florida's Anthony Richardson with their second Day 1 pick, they should take Stroud or Young at No. 2.
Both could have an immediate impact, and new coach DeMeco Ryans might obtain a starting defense or wide receiver with one of the team's other top 35 picks.
Chris Ballard, despite his short-term QB gambles, once said he wouldn't choose a QB early for the sake of it. He insisted on finding the proper person. Now that strategy, prudent as it may be, will be tested with Young and Stroud presumably off the board, barring a trade up.
Stroud would provide incoming coach Shane Steichen an accomplished pocket passer if Young goes No. 1 and the Texans pass on him. Assuming both are gone, the Colts still need a consolation prize, whether it's Richardson, Will Levis, or Tennessee's Hendon Hooker following a trade down.
With Geno Smith going higher and set for affordable money until 2023, they don't need to rush acquiring his successor. But it's rare to have two top-20 picks, and it's plausible
if not likely, that Richardson and Levis—dynamic prospects who may benefit from a veteran—will be available with their first pick. Their second pick may be Hooker, who could sit while rehabbing from a college ACL tear.