Let's jump the gun on the 2023 QB draft class

Alabama has turned into an NFL quarterback factory over the last half-decade, and Bryce Young is the best one yet. Young has been a phenom since his junior year of high school and he cemented his name in Heisman lore during his first year as a starter. His limited size (5-foot-11) hasn’t been a hindrance in the SEC, but given a year to examine, teams will scrutinize him to death. Few quarterbacks alive can navigate a muddy pocket while keeping their eyes locked downfield as deftly as Young.

His off-script playmaking ability, shiftiness in the pocket, and throws on the run conjure up mini-Mahomes comps. There’s not much mystery surrounding his readiness for the NFL, and the only question is whether he’ll be the first or second quarterback taken. In 15 games, Young logged 4,872 yards for 47 touchdowns and seven interceptions. His Heisman Trophy-winning sophomore season ended with a pick-six on a potential national championship-winning drive, but he’ll have an opportunity for a redemption tour in 2022.

Ohio State’s starting quarterback in 2022 has seen a prolific rise in the 2023 QB rankings the last three years, from run-of-the-mill high school quarterback to scene-stealer at Ohio State’s Pro Day as a sophomore. Stroud began the 2019 Elite 11 Camp as a 3-star quarterback who was ranked outside the top 500 recruits and as one of only two uncommitted quarterbacks in attendance. Winning MVP pushed him into a new stratosphere and garnered the attention of Ohio State. Prior to his redshirt freshman season, Stroud was considered a stop-gap until Quinn Ewers settled on campus.

Instead, Stroud poured gasoline on those plans and lit a match by throwing for 38 touchdowns and five interceptions. In doing so, he also situated himself atop 2023 draft boards as one of two preemptive favorites to be the first quarterback taken in 2023. And where’s Ewers now? He bolted for the University of Texas.

Richardson will be 2023's Malik Willis debate if you increase the volume by 10. He’s either contemporary Cam Newton or Jake Locker redux. His physical profile is unmatched. The 6-foot-4, 237-pound redshirt freshman was built like a tank and fires rockets like one, too. Whether or not he can execute as a full-time starter remains to be seen. Some frustrating lows counter his riveting talent.

The thing about electrifying quarterbacks is that they can make hair-raising plays or leave your franchise scorched if they have a fatal flaw. From week-to-week it was hard to tell which Richardson would be. Before Caleb Williams ran away with the Superman moniker, Richardson was college football’s Man of Steel. Midway through his first start against the Georgia Bulldogs, Richardson was benched after completing 12-of-20 passes for 82 yards, tossing two interceptions (all while gaining a meager 26 yards on 12 rushing attempts), and fumbling once. If starter Emory Jones had not transferred, there’s no guarantee he’d even be the starter in 2023. However, a defense that saw five players picked in the first round will make anyone look raggedy in front of scouts.

He has an explosive arm, that can turn into a grenade in his palm when he tries to overextend himself. College football history is rife with freakish athletes who couldn’t cut the mustard. However, scouts will buy into their preconceived notions about his long-term potential if he can make a leap from theoretical quarterback to tangible SEC starter. He’s a rare quarterback of this nature who has the potential to be the No. 1 pick or Mr. Irrelevant someday.

The U. has entertained a collage of forgettable arm talents since they were last a breeding ground for hotshot franchise quarterback prospects (See Jim Kelly, Bernie Kosar and Vinny Testaverde). Van Dyke took over for the mobile D’Eriq King and got the Hurricanes offense humming. He’s classified as a freshman despite seeing limited action during the COVID-shortened 2020 season. After taking the reins from an injured King three games into the season, Van Dyke dotted up opposing defenses for 2,931 yards, 25 passing touchdowns to six interceptions and completed 62.3 percent of pass attempts.

Question: According to Pro Football Focus, only one quarterback in the FBS finished top-10 in passing yards, passing touchdowns, big-time throws (best described as a pass with excellent ball location and timing, typically thrown further down the field and/or into a tighter window), and big-time-throw rate over the second half of the 2021 college football season. Who was it?

Answer? Tyler Van Dyke.

Van Dyke devastated defenses with his arm and even has some slick Goodyear tires on his 6-4 frame.

There are more proven quarterbacks than the Cougars’ Cameron Ward. He spent his last two seasons as the starter at the University of the Incarnate Word (a catholic school in San Antonio), an FCS doormat before his arrival. However, it’s the mystery that makes him most tantalizing. Overlooked in high school, where he was misused in a Wing T offense, Ward is a 6-foot-3, 225-pound Air Raid dual-threat stick of dynamite who could skyrocket up draft boards if he balls out in 2022.

Similar to Trey Lance two years ago, Ward won the Jerry Rice Award given to the best freshman in FCS in 2021, after passing for 4,700 yards and piercing the end zone with 47 touchdown throws while throwing only 10 interceptions. For the 2022 season, Ward transferred to Washington State, followed by his head coach Eric Morris, who is now the Cougars’ offensive coordinator. Scouts have already noted how the ball whistles out of Ward’s hands and his fluid throwing motion. Despite playing with inferior talent in a pass-heavy offense, Ward kept his turnovers down. He’ll have eyeballs on him, now, so it will be on him to capitalize. And if his four-touchdown performance in Washington State’s spring game says anything, he appears comfortable with it.