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Tom Pelissero compares quarterbacks

Mr. Scot

By Mr. Scot,
in Carolina Panthers

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Mr. Scot Grand Master

Mr. Scot

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Bryce Young

At this point, it’ll be a major surprise within the league if the Carolina Panthers draft someone other than Young at No. 1 overall on April 27, his diminutive stature notwithstanding.

“The guy who can just play is Bryce Young,” an AFC GM said. “Is he going to be 185 pounds? He’s such a good processor and thinker and accurate, it probably works. They’re taking him. Just write it in. I would bet my house.”

Said an NFC executive: “I’d be shocked if Bryce didn’t go first. If I was Carolina and I wanted to win right now, that’s the guy I would take. I think he’s the most ready to do it. He’s a phenomenal kid. He’s unbelievably intelligent. (Former Alabama OC) Bill O’Brien holds him in really high regard, and it matches up when you meet with him.”

A two-year starter and team captain who won the Heisman Trophy and Maxwell Award as a true sophomore in 2021, Young brings everything to the table that teams look for in terms of makeup and skill set. He’s just smaller than most NFL QBs, measuring in at 5-foot-10 1/8 and a beefed-up 204 pounds at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine.

“Bryce is super talented. Good arm talent. Probably of all of them, seems to be the most groomed to play quarterback,” an NFC coordinator said. “He’s a super smart dude -- almost feels like talking to a coach at times. Bryce has obviously got the size issues that can become really real when it comes to the guys that’s going to be in front of you, being able to withstand contact and having to manufacture ways to change your arm angle, get a window. But when I watch his tape, if you didn’t tell me how tall he was, I wouldn’t know, because it never showed up.”

Scouts who went through Alabama last fall say Young was playing in the mid-180s, and he has a naturally smaller frame.

“If Bryce was bigger -- and I don’t necessarily mean taller, just if he wasn’t such a frail body -- it’d be, blowing away, him as the No. 1 pick,” another NFC coordinator said. “He’s a natural thrower. Accuracy’s easy for him. That’s the difference between him and the rest.”

Said an NFC scout: “Bryce is just the most natural processor, mover. I hate saying it, but that Steph Curry comparison is actually pretty good, because he’s so nifty and quick and smart and gets the ball out and is accurate. I don’t think the height affects his play at all. He has natural anticipation and field vision and somehow is able to see things a lot smoother than Russell (Wilson) even. Then it’s just kind of a risk, durability-wise. But you’ve seen him get hit, you’ve seen him get up. And he’s so instinctive -- how many times is he going to get a free rusher from the back side that he doesn’t see? He understands how to evade and get down and not get completely smoked.”

In 36 college games (27 starts), Young completed 65.8 percent of his passes for 8,356 yards and 80 touchdowns with just 12 interceptions. After playing as a reserve behind eventual first-round pick Mac Jones on the Crimson Tide team that won the national championship in the 2020 season, Young missed just one game over two seasons as the starter, with an AC joint injury to his right (throwing) shoulder last October that lingered for the rest of the season. He wrapped his collegiate career by opting to play in the Sugar Bowl on New Year's Eve and was named MVP in a win over Kansas State.

Said an AFC GM: “I think Young is the most polished passer (in the 2023 class). I would be concerned about his frame, less from the perspective of 'Is he going to be able to perform?' and more from the perspective of 'Is he going to be able to hold up year after year?' We saw it with Kyler (Murray). We saw it a little bit with Baker (Mayfield). And [Young’s] not necessarily the freak athlete to avoid all sorts of contact. That wouldn’t prevent me from taking him high; I think he’s going to be a really good passer and a really good quarterback. I just think there might be some type of planning where you have to invest a little bit more in that No. 2 quarterback spot in the event [Young's] frame doesn’t allow him to be this 17-game starter for 10 years in a row.”

Despite the concerns over his stature, his hand size (9 3/4 inches) is solid for a smaller QB. One NFC quarterbacks coach praised Young's accuracy: "You haven't seen that coming out of the draft in a long time." Young also scored off the charts on the S2 Cognition test some teams use to measure players’ ability to process information.

“He’s got unbelievable instincts and awareness in the passing game,” another NFC QBs coach said. “If you threw out the height on this kid, I don’t think it’d even be a debate about who’s going No. 1. He’s just got such an unbelievable feel for the game when you watch him. You can see what he can do for your team in terms of being able to distribute the ball. His processing shows up on tape.”

Said an AFC scout: “It was Bill O’Brien’s offense. [Young’s] like second behind (Tom) Brady in terms of football intelligence. He could handle everything at the line of scrimmage probably like an NFL quarterback. Super poised. He’s accurate. He’s got a good arm -- not a great arm, but it’s still good at all the levels. Super poised, too. You just don’t see him rattled. They didn’t lose that Tennessee game because of him. You’ve just got to worry about his size. He’s tough. He’s taken some big-time shots from some big dudes; he’s hopped up. It’s just, how many of those are you going to take?”

Coaches can manage that in part by the style of offense they build around Young.

“If you’re going for best combination of route anticipation/accuracy, you’re going Bryce Young -- but then also knowing you’re not going to do a lot of read-option/QB runs with him and you’re going to be willing to manipulate the pocket,” a second NFC executive said. “I always put accuracy and anticipation ahead of arm strength, [and Young’s] got the best combination of the two in the last several drafts. You’re just getting it in a 5-10 frame. He’s not Kyler, where he’s super twitched up and elusive. He’s an outlier, where he’s going to take shots because he’s not an elusive runner. So that off-schedule stuff -- he’s going to take contact. What does that look like over a 17-game season?”

Everyone who has interviewed Young during the pre-draft process has come away impressed, which makes sense: He has been groomed his entire life for this moment. And he’s still only 21 years old.

“He could be an offensive coordinator right now," said a third NFC executive. "He’s that calm, that mature, that special.“

Edited by Mr. Scot
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Mr. Scot Grand Master

Mr. Scot

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C.J. Stroud

A two-time Heisman Trophy finalist and Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, Stroud threw 85 touchdown passes over two seasons as Ohio State's starter. He’s the consensus No. 2 QB in this class, and a few scouts and coaches rank him ahead of Young.

“Best player. Played from the pocket. Good arm. Good athlete. Good size. Tough. I don’t see very many flaws,” an AFC executive said. “Who would you pick if you had the first overall pick? I’d probably pick him.”

Stroud looks the part at 6-3 and 214 pounds with big 10-inch hands. He completed 69.3 percent of his college passes for 8,123 yards and threw just 12 interceptions. And his last game as a Buckeye was a solid NFL audition: a 42-41 shootout loss to Georgia in the College Football Playoff semifinals in which Stroud was 23-of-34 passing for 348 yards and four touchdowns with an additional 34 rushing yards, showing off more ability to make plays with his legs than many scouts thought he had.

“Stroud’s very interesting to me because I think he’s still growing as a passer,” an NFC quarterbacks coach said. “He’s instinctive, accurate, a little bit more of a classic pocket passer mold, but has enough athleticism to get to do things for you there. The question everybody’s going to have with him: Was the Georgia game an anomaly? Or is that what he can be?”

Stroud had just 136 rushing yards and one TD in his college career. (Important note: Unlike in the NFL, the NCAA counts sacks against a quarterback's rushing total, so Stroud's yardage total is a little deceiving.) But he has shown an ability to make things happen outside the pocket, as noted by an NFC coordinator: "C.J. (throwing) on the move is ridiculous. It's just natural. It flicks."

Said an AFC GM: “This public knock about him (not) extending plays or using his athleticism or whatever -- from what I’ve seen, I don’t really buy that. I think you see it plenty on tape. I think he’s very well-rounded.”

Readiness remains a question mark on Stroud, who is still only 21 years old. Several scouts repeated the same early reports: Concerns about selfishness, his relationships with teammates and others around the building, overall leadership traits. One NFC scout who did extensive background work on Stroud explained it this way: “The first year he was at Ohio State competing for the job, he had to be about himself. Then, when he actually won the job, through the rest of ‘21 and on through the ‘22 offseason, he had to learn how to be a leader because he was always just driven to, I need to get this for myself, I gotta get this for my family, I gotta make sure I’m the starting quarterback. He was so driven that way, kind of with blinders on. Once he got the job, he had to go through a maturation of trying to figure out, OK, how do I lead a team? That part’s kind of been a work in progress. Smart kid, though. ... He’s like a sponge, tries to learn more every day, works on his craft. Always doing something in terms of throwing, organizing throwing, guys running routes, working on timing, touch, technique.”

Stroud has overcome challenges, most notably the incarceration of his father on a prison sentence of over 30 years when Stroud was 13 years old. He’s guarded about certain aspects of his life and that has been reflected in pre-draft meetings with teams. However, several GMs, scouts and coaches said Stroud grew on them the more time they spent with him. And Stroud is more highly regarded in terms of his passing ability and his football IQ than some other recent Ohio State QB prospects.

“The questions are going to be transitioning from that offense, because guys have had trouble (adjusting) from what they ask them to do (at Ohio State) to what we ask them to do in terms of setting protections and all that,” an NFC executive said. “He’s always had really good protection and he’s basically been driving a Cadillac -- he’s got [Jaxon Smith-Njigba], he’s got three first-round receivers, he’s got two first-round tackles. When he’s got space and time to throw, he carves people up and he’s ridiculous. When things have gotten tight -- when Michigan has gotten pressure on him, when he’s seen new stuff from Northwestern that they weren’t prepared for and the game gets tight -- he hasn’t played as free. And in fairness to [Stroud], he hasn’t been in that situation very often because they’ve been so good.”

The Buckeyes lost just four of Stroud’s 25 starts, though two of those defeats came against rival Michigan. Stroud took the S2 Cognition test multiple times and posted low scores, but coaches who have watched the tape and put Stroud on the board were impressed with his processing ability. He has displayed toughness, starting all 12 games in 2021 despite separating the AC joint in his right (throwing) shoulder in the season opener. And as pure passers go, Stroud is one of the best in this class.

“You saw in the Georgia game he’s probably more athletic than people gave him credit for,” another NFC coordinator said. “Good arm talent. I think he’s good mechanically. And demeanor-wise, he’s a lot more likeable than I thought he was going to be. You watch his game-day demeanor -- he seems real standoffish, no personality. And he was like the exact opposite in person. Cool as hell, great communication skills, good recall. He can process. Ball kind of comes easy to him.” 

Edited by Mr. Scot
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Jaxel Mentor

Jaxel

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2 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

I'll add one tidbit on Richardson that Panthers fans might find interesting...

Said an NFC QBs coach: “When you stand next to him, it’s like standing next to Cam (Newton), but [Richardson] throws the ball better. 

I guarantee the throwing the ball better is pure recency bias.

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Varking Grand Master

Varking

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5 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

I'll add one tidbit on Richardson that Panthers fans might find interesting...

Said an NFC QBs coach: “When you stand next to him, it’s like standing next to Cam (Newton), but [Richardson] throws the ball better. 

He’s going to do well in Vegas throwing to Adams. 

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Mr. Scot Grand Master

Mr. Scot

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3 minutes ago, FuFuLamePoo said:

Yeah I'm as high on AR as anyone but this is absolutely insane. Cam is one of the best passers of the ball I have ever seen.

The Roaring Riot responded...

They did also clarify in a response that this was not meant to be any sort of knock on Anthony Richardson.

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