One of the most reliable draft analysts may have just dropped a heck of a nugget about the Carolina Panthers.
Pro Football Network’s Tony Pauline joined WFNZ’s Wes & Walker on Wednesday to chat it up about this year’s top quarterback prospects and the No. 1 overall pick. When asked by host Wes Bryant whether Florida’s Anthony Richardson has a chance to be the guy atop the board for Carolina, Pauline replied with the following:
“If it’s up to Frank Reich, yes,” he replied. “I think what’s gone on or, what I’ve been told, is that everybody in the room is really heavily leaning towards C.J. Stroud. C.J. Stroud did well at the combine, he did well at the pro day and I’m told that the interviews with C.J. Stroud—he’s knocked them out of the park. And he’s very genuine, he’s been very forthright and he’s a likable guy. I’m told that everybody in the building is heavily leaning—if not, checked off the box on C.J. Stroud.
“I’m told that Frank Reich, if he had his way, would go with Anthony Richardson because of the upside, because of what Anthony Richardson could be two or three years down the road. It’s just a matter of how much of a fight is Frank Reich gonna put up in that war room to say, ‘Hey, listen, I want Anthony Richardson.’ I think right now, there’s probably less than a 20 percent chance it’s Anthony Richardson and all signs are pointing towards C.J. Stroud.”
Reich, from the very first day on the job, has been adamant about building his team collaboratively—and coming to a decision on this pick is no exception to that approach. That’ll seemingly continue to be the case as Reich, according to NBC Sports’ Peter King, will concede to the consensus of the room even if his choice is an outlier.
