Did we really sign Tunsil in the offseason to the richest OL contract to not draft our QB of the future? Its not like he is some RUN GRADER either. He is an ELITE pass blocker. Why would we not take the best QB available tonight? I just don't think you make those signings if your plan is to walk yourself in to QB Hell tonight.
I can see already Anderson big smile after getting a call from demeco and Ryans smiling ear to ear as well. With Caserio working the phones I know Caserio doesn’t want a QB at 2 maybe later but not at 2
Taking Stroud at 2 and moving up to get Anderson at 3 actually seems plausible. You know McNair would like to make a splash and excite the fans.
Spoiler https://theathletic.com/4453617/2023/04/26/nfl-draft-class-qb-bryce-young/ In football, like most things, the difference between “great” and “elite” depends on whom you ask. Most will describe a “great” quarterback, however, as one who excels at every measurable skill possible at the position. Their toolbox is deep, their dependability is high. They’re the reason you watch games. The “elite” quarterback is all that plus more — every time, no exceptions. He’s the player who never gets bothered, who controls pace and how opponents play and scout you. He’s the player with answers to all problems, no matter the nature or scope. They’re the reason you buy a ticket. You can win a Super Bowl with both models, but only the latter might be able to get you there at warp speed. Does the 2023 NFL Draft have that level of player? This draft class is not a bad one. The quarterbacks aren’t an Island of Misfit Toys (although, sometimes Twitter says otherwise). Rather, it’s a class of flawed beauty — one with gold buried deep all over, waiting for the NFL’s smartest coaches and evaluators to mine and polish. Is it a generational class? Probably not. But it can be a foundational one. Below are excerpts from Dane Brugler’s scouting reports on three different quarterbacks from three different (and recent) NFL Draft classes. With zero info on those prospects’ physical statures, see if you can guess which one was considered by most to be “elite” entering the draft, which was thought to have the potential to move into that elite range, and which was in the “very good” conversation. Quarterback 1: “Natural accuracy, timing and touch when throwing between levels of the defense. Anticipates well and processes his reads quickly, calls out protections pre-snap and reads coverage post-snap.” Quarterback 2: “Carves the defense with downfield accuracy. Highly intelligent and quick to identify man or zone. Understands how to set his eye level to hold defenders and create passing windows.” Quarterback 3: “Quick-minded player who processes his surroundings extremely well, is a ‘genius level’ player. Naturally accurate from any arm angle, consistently throws the football before his target’s body/eyes are turned.” Spoiler If you guessed that the player labeled “genius-level” to be the elite option, you picked wrong. That player, per the latest edition of “The Beast,” is Alabama quarterback Bryce Young — the presumptive No. 1 pick on Thursday night. Quarterback 1, the “on the verge” option is Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence. The “elite” prospect, Quarterback 2, is Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow. Burrow, by just about every definition we can think of in today’s game, is an elite quarterback and, thus, an elite player. He’s never rattled, solves all problems and delivers when sizable odds are against him. Even when he’s bad, he’s better than most. The Bengals took him No. 1 without blinking in 2020 and were in the Super Bowl the following year. Lawrence, most feel, can get there, and the Jaguars jumped at the chance to take him after they had finished the 2020 season with a 1-15 record. This past winter, they won a playoff game. Both of those QBs, of course, are blessed with the size — and, thus, likely the more long-term durability — that Young (5-foot-10, 204 pounds) so clearly lacks. And whether or not Young is actually this year’s top draft prospect is in the eye of the beholder. Still, he might be the best representation of this draft class as a whole. He’s undersized, but that’s part of why he can be described as a “genius-level” football thinker: He’s played with, and successfully worked around, that shorter frame his entire football existence. Are there questions about his durability? Absolutely, yes, which is why we didn’t see a line of teams offering Chicago a king’s ransom for the No. 1 pick. But is he good enough to help turn a bad team into a playoff team and, eventually, a playoff team into a Super Bowl contender with sound coaching and personnel decisions behind him? Absolutely, yes. Assuming he’s the Panthers’ pick, that’s why GM Scott Fitterer and head coach Frank Reich picked up the phone. Still, a lot will have to go right here. Young is going to be one of the smallest QBs in the NFL, and he’s going to have to prove it doesn’t matter. (He did so at Alabama.) He’s going to have to stay healthy, too. The Panthers cannot afford any slippage from their offensive line, and if the run game is ever not dependable alongside Young, the offense could have issues. Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud might throw a better ball than Young in some situations, and he’s a better prospect from a physical standpoint, but he’s nowhere near the mental processor Young is. Much like his predecessor at Ohio State, Justin Fields, Stroud also showed a lot of unease in the pocket against pressure, which is a major (and warranted) alarm bell. Kentucky QB Will Levis and Florida QB Anthony Richardson are freak athletes who each can throw a football through an oak tree (they might be able to throw actual oak trees, too, I’ll ask Dane after this publishes). But their college careers — Richardson’s more than Levis’, given the former’s lack of experience — showed us there is a ton of work in front of them if they’re going to stick as NFL starters. What about Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker? He looked like a Heisman candidate before suffering a knee injury, but that Heisman rise — and Hooker’s difficult draft evaluation — was due at least in part to Tennessee running the most QB-friendly offense on the planet, one that would be tough to fully emulate in the NFL. Much has been made about the powerhouse QB prospects potentially waiting for teams atop the 2024 draft, as both USC’s Caleb Williams and North Carolina’s Drake Maye already have shown the potential to be “elite” before they’re eligible for the draft. There will be teams that opt to sit out this year’s quarterback derby and enter the ’24 sweepstakes instead. Not every franchise has that luxury. The best news, though, for those that need to take a quarterback in 2023 — with Carolina and Indianapolis leading the pack — is that this year is not last year. The 2022 draft had one first-round QB, Kenny Pickett, and I’m still not completely sure that Pittsburgh would make that pick over again if, say, the rest of the class had been just a bit better. No other 2022 quarterbacks (including Desmond Ridder and Brock Purdy) would go in the top 20 if we did an objective redraft. Young and Stroud appear ready to start in the NFL next season. Levis and Richardson could be, too, if they wind up with the right coaching staff in the right organization with the right help around them (you should be sensing a theme there). Hooker, assuming his health holds, has a chance to compete as a starting-level player in this league. So this class features at least five potential starting quarterbacks. None of them are Joe Burrow or probably even Trevor Lawrence, at least in terms of how we’re talking about them heading into the draft. But five “very good”options are better than none. For a smart franchise, that might be more than enough.
That's enough reason right there to not even consider Wilson at 2. Sounding more and more like it will be Anderson, which I'm perfectly fine with. I'm fascinated to see what they do with #12, whether they stay put, move up or back down.
With Texans' luck, they'll pick Wilson and he plays great only to be out for the year after 7 games or so due to injuries.
