Before Ohio State’s 42-41 loss to Georgia in the CFP semifinal, the word on Buckeyes quarterback C.J. Stroud was that he was just fine in structure, when the playbook could be followed. But if you wanted a quarterback who could play and win outside of structure, you were better off going elsewhere.
Then, Stroud faced the NCAA’s best defense, and did a whole bunch of stuff like this.
Coaches, scouts, and executives will tell you that player evaluation is about the full body of work as opposed to the last thing you saw, but how can the NFL not be entranced by what Stroud showed against the Bulldogs that he really had not shown before? A C.J. Stroud at 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds presents a more favorable overall picture to a lot of people than Alabama’s Bryce Young, whose pre-combine measurables are 6-foot-0 and 194 pounds. There aren’t a lot of quarterbacks that size selected this high in the draft, because it isn’t the 1970s.
So, let’s say that what Stroud accomplished in that loss to Georgia was a massive win for his future.
Is that enough to vault him over Young as the first quarterback taken in the 2023 draft, and the first player overall? In this mock draft, Stroud doesn’t just leapfrog Young — the Indianapolis Colts trade their fourth and 35th picks in the 2023 draft, as well as their first-round pick in the 2024 draft, to move up to first overall to take Stroud, moving the Chicago Bears to fourth.
The Houston Texans, who performed losing by winning in their season finale victory over the Colts, moving them from first to second in the draft, still get Young. Then, the Arizona Cardinals get Georgia defensive lineman Jalen Carter, the consensus best player in the 2023 draft class, and the Bears, moved down to fourth, get the receiver Justin Fields so desperately needs in TCU’s Quentin Johnston.
Here’s how the rest of the first round of the 2023 draft might go with all that in mind.
1. Indianapolis Colts (from Chicago Bears): C.J. Stroud, QB, Ohio State
2. Houston Texans: Bryce Young, QB, Alabama
3. Arizona Cardinals: Jalen Carter, DL, Georgia
4. Chicago Bears (from Indianapolis Colts): Quentin Johnston, WR, TCU
5. Seattle Seahawks (from Denver Broncos): Will Anderson Jr., EDGE, Alabama
6. Detroit Lions (from Los Angeles Rams): Joey Porter Jr., CB, Penn State
7. Las Vegas Raiders: Kelee Ringo, CB, Georgia
8. Atlanta Falcons: Myles Murphy, EDGE, Clemson
9. Carolina Panthers: Anthony Richardson, QB, Florida
10. Philadelphia Eagles (from New Orleans Saints): Cam Smith, CB, South Carolina
11. Tennessee Titans: Paris Johnson Jr., OT, Ohio State
12. Houston Texans (from Cleveland Browns): Tyree Wilson, EDGE, Texas Tech
13. New York Jets: Will Levis, QB, Kentucky
14. New England Patriots: Trenton Simpson, LB/EDGE, Clemson
15. Green Bay Packers: Peter Skoronski, OT, Northwestern
16. Washington Commanders: Christian Gonzalez, CB, Oregon
17. Pittsburgh Steelers: Noah Sewell, LB, Oregon
18. Detroit Lions: Bryan Bresee, DI, Clemson
19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Bijan Robinson, RB, Texas
20. Seattle Seahawks: Michael Mayer, TE, Notre Dame
21. Los Angeles Chargers: Jordan Addison, WR, USC
22. Baltimore Ravens: Isaiah Foskey, EDGE, Notre Dame
23. Minnesota Vikings: Clark Phillips III, CB, Utah
24. Jacksonville Jaguars: O'Cyrus Torrence, OG, Florida
25. New York Giants: Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Ohio State
26. Dallas Cowboys: Kayshon Boutte, WR, LSU
27. Cincinnati Bengals: Broderick Jones, OT, Georgia
28. Denver Broncos (from Miami Dolphins): B.J. Ojulari, EDGE, LSU
29. Buffalo Bills: Brian Branch, DB, Alabama
30. Kansas City Chiefs: Anton Harrison, OT, Oklahoma
31. Philadelphia Eagles: Siaki Ika, DI, Baylor
