NFL Draft 2023: Where Bryce Young, Top QBs Are Being Selected in Mocks

The 2023 NFL draft is all about the quarterbacks.

Truth be told, every draft sort of feels like it is, but the signal-callers atop this class seem special. Or potentially special, at least.

So, which franchises are about to add these potentially special passers? We'll look to the latest expert mock drafts to answer that question.

Bryce Young a Lock at No. 1?

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NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - DECEMBER 31: Bryce Young #9 of the Alabama Crimson Tide looks to pass during the second quarter of the Allstate Sugar Bowl against the Kansas State Wildcats at Caesars Superdome on December 31, 2022 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

For a long time, it seemed as if Alabama's Bryce Young and Ohio State's C.J. Stroud would have a down-to-the-wire fight for the No. 1 spot.

But now that the draft is (almost) here, Young has been the consensus selection for the Carolina Panthers at No. 1.

You can find a million mocks that open with Young, but for our purposes, we're using draft projections from NFL.com's Chad Reuter, CBS Sports' Josh Edwards and ESPN's Matt Miller and Jordan Reid. They all start the exact same way with Carolina putting its future in the hands of Young.

"As we get closer to the draft, all intel points at the Panthers leaning toward Young at No. 1 overall," Miller wrote. "He is my top-ranked quarterback in this class, and this feels like a perfect match."

Is C.J. Stroud Going No. 2?

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ATLANTA, GA DECEMBER 31: Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) drops back to pass during the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl college football playoff game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Georgia Bulldogs on December 31st, 2022 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA. (Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Some years, it feels like the first handful of picks are cemented ahead of the draft. This is not one of those years.

For instance, these three mocks all send Stroud somewhere else.

Edwards had the Houston Texans taking Stroud second overall. Reuter mocked a quarterback to the Texans at No. 2, only it was Kentucky's Levis.

"If Houston is more interested in Levis than C.J. Stroud or Anthony Richardson, then brass should select him at No. 2 instead of hoping he's available when the Texans come back on the clock with the 12th pick—or using draft capital to move back into the top 10 for his services," Reuter wrote.

In Reuter's mock, Stroud slipped to No. 4, where the Indianapolis Colts snatched him up. The ESPN crew, meanwhile, mocked the Tennessee Titans trading up to No. 3 to add Stroud.

Will Anthony Richardson Land in the Top 5?

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TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA - NOVEMBER 25: Anthony Richardson #15 of the Florida Gators warms up before the start of a game against the Florida State Seminoles at Doak Campbell Stadium on November 25, 2022 in Tallahassee, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)

Florida's Anthony Richardson might be the most tantalizing prospect on the board.

And the most polarizing.

If you believe in his upside, then you'll swear he's en route to becoming the league's next all-purpose star at the most important position. If you're more of a skeptic, you'll wonder why there's so much hype for a quarterback who just completed 53.8 percent of his passes for 17 touchdowns against nine interceptions.

The mocks don't really clear up Richardson's draft stock beyond cementing him in the first round's upper half. The ESPN tandem sent him to the Colts at No. 4. Edwards had Seattle snatching him up at No. 5.

For Reuter, though, Richardson made it all the way to No. 10, where he mocked the Minnesota Vikings trading up to take the dual-threat quarterback. This mock deal cost the Vikings the No. 23 pick, the No. 87 pick and a 2024 first-round pick.