Drake Maye would absolutely be QB1 in this draft. Size, arm, athleticism. He’d be QB1 in quite a few drafts. He’s not Caleb Williams, but Caleb Williams has generational tools.
It's definitely more top heavy for sure, but Maye or Williams would be the clear QB1 in this class in my opinion too. Williams' game has changed a tad since he started college football. Most high school scouts compared him to Dak Prescott at the time, but he's clearly not grown into Dak's size and he's more mobile. Lately people are comparing him to Mahomes, but that's dangerous to compare anyone to a guy who's a multiple time MVP, but their games are more similar for sure, though Williams is shorter and lighter than Mahomes. There isn't a direct comparison, but he's probably considered "lesser/shorter Mahomes" with the potential to pull off similar tricks, though he'll never be his size (6'1 200 vs. 6'3 230). Drake Maye also finds himself in the odd pro comparison because folks are very bullish on his prospects too. The most common comparison is Justin Herbert, though I'd be first to admit Herbert has surprised me as a pro personally. I thought he might be middle-pack but he's definitely top ten currently, so if Maye projects near that ceiling, he's possibly even QB1 if teams are concerned with Williams' size/injury history. Maye's more Mahomes' size (6'4 220) than he is Herbert sized (6'6 240) too. But, given the above, and my personal comparison of the top two QBs in this class being Tua/Goff-like in projection, you see why I personally greatly favor waiting to 2024 to pick one of these two. I'd much rather we pre-stock the cupboards on offensive talent and defensive talent this year, ride out the wave of Mills/backups and position ourselves for Williams/Maye.
Contention for QB1 for sure. Absolute out and out, you could argue either way with the body of work but he does have potential.
That may be true, but he also saw what we all saw throughout the playoffs. Offense is king. No matter how good your defense is, it’s not stopping a really great offense. If you want to win in this league you have to take your offense seriously and that starts at QB.
The problem is we need to pay attention to what worked for the teams who are really working at top gear now. They knew they needed to either have a generational talent at QB to magnet talent to them (ala Allen or Lawrence) or build the team bottom up and then fill in the QB and a few final pieces (ala Hurts/Eagles). I don’t see a gravitational talent at QB in this class and we are more in the latter situation on the front end. Even if folks like Young/Stroud, do we really want to start the QB clock now with our surrounding parts?
@cmoak1982 isnt going to like this: https://www.numberfire.com/nfl/news...023-nfl-draft-class-is-statistically-superior
It was an interesting read. Obviously his statistical model also projected some notable busts, but at the high range statistically where Bryce Young and CJ Stroud are at compared to past quarterbacks it looks very encouraging. I'd be happy with either of them. I wasn't surprised to see Will Levis look disastrously bad here either because the numbers and the eye test have always looked bad, but for some reason people just like big, strong guys.
Of course a statistic based model is going to favor QBs that put up numbers with elite talent around them. No one is saying Stroud didn’t have great statistical output. He is a product of the talent around him, not the other way around. He has no physical attributes outside of maybe accuracy (easy to throw to wide open receivers) that are even considered great.
Levis numbers weren’t elite, but you’re a fool if you think he didn’t pass the eye test. He had some wow moments, more than Richardson who some are claiming to be a big time prospect.
People wasting time swooning over 2024 QBs when some unknown young QB gonna get projected higher in about 6 months. But his ass won't be eligible till 2026
Richardson's wow moments are much better than Levis'. So if they're both big gambles, might as well swing for the fences. Stroud certainly had elite receivers his entire time at Ohio State, but anyone who states that he didn't throw into tight windows at all is just being disingenuous or hasn't watched tape.
No they’re not. Levis has some highlights that very few people are capable of. Not taking away from Richardsons athleticism but Levis isn’t far off and by far a better athlete than Stroud or Young. You can watch any highlight tape of Stroud and the majority of his throws are wide open. He has a few nice ones, but some that would be for sure picks in the NFL. There are multiple runs and throws on this video that only a few players can make. There’s also some plays that would be turnovers in the league
Seriously dude? I've posted the numbers. You choose to ignore them. Im a racist for not liking Levis and Maye.....lol. Ok...... Maye's numbers: https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/drake-maye-1/gamelog/2022/ Stoud's: https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/cj-stroud-1/gamelog/2021/ https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/cj-stroud-1/gamelog/2022/ Young's: https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/bryce-young-1/gamelog/2021/ https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/bryce-young-1/gamelog/2022/ Note: Young and Stroud had limited playing in 2020. Look at Maye's last 4 games of 2022, especially the Georgia Tech. Cmoak will reference Stroud's Northwestern game. That game was terrible throwing conditions and both teams struggled on offense (look at the full game log). Decided for yourself, people.
Once again. Maye had better numbers than Young and Stroud this year, specially when factoring in rushing and talent. Literally not one scout has Stroud or Young over Maye. But, we know why you don’t want him.
Yup, just makes me want Bryce Young more. I’m sick of it being 3rd and 5+ and just assuming we are gonna punt while watching multiple teams with qb’s against us having the opposite feeling. Young can do it all except be big. I want that more than a guy who can be big but nothing else.
One thing I don’t understand about this argument. What is more important? Talent around you or talent you are playing against? Playing with worse talent against weaker teams is a wash against the opposite, so just look at numbers. Also, I’m advocating for young, as you know, not Stroud.
