2023 NFL draft prospect and prospective—at least at the moment—No. 1 pick Bryce Young made his visit to the Houston Texans on Wednesday. But according to one of the most prominent info gatherers in the game, it might’ve been for naught.
On a recent edition of NFL Live, ESPN senior NFL insider Adam Schefter seemed quite skeptical about the Texans’ chances of landing the University of Alabama quarterback. He believes that it may be a foregone conclusion that Young is headed to the Carolina Panthers with the first overall selection.
“I think it’s a waste of time,” Schefter said of Young’s top-30 visit to Houston. “I think the ship has sailed. I think Bryce Young’s gonna be the No. 1 pick. And they’re not gonna have a chance to take the guy that I think they would’ve liked to have taken. So now they’re sitting there, at No. 2, and what do you do?”
Well, if you’re Houston, you could go with another one of the draft’s top passing prospects. One of those options is Ohio State University’s C.J. Stroud—who, according to Schefter, will try to “change” the Panthers’ minds about where they’re supposedly leaning atop the board.
“The Carolina Panthers, who hold the No. 1 overall pick, doing their due diligence,” he also stated. “That diligence will include a visit next week, on Tuesday, with the Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud—who will come in on a visit and will try to impress the Panthers officials. And I think try to change their mind about the No. 1 overall pick. Clearly, people know how respected Stroud is. We’ll see if the Panthers change their minds upon his visit to Carolina on Tuesday.”
That same Tuesday will also see University of Kentucky’s Will Levis come into Charlotte. But, uh, we’re thinking the ship may have sailed on that one, too.