Frank Reich: We have a little over a month to confirm which is the right QB for us Frank Reich had Andrew Luck as his quarterback in his first season as a head coach in 2018. Luck, the No. 1 overall pick in 2012, earned Pro Bowl honors and led the Colts to a 10-6 record in his final season. Luck had a surprise retirement just before the 2019 season. Reich now holds the No. 1 overall pick after the Panthers traded with the Bears for the top selection. After trying and failing to find a long-term replacement for Luck in Indianapolis, Reich will have a top prospect to work with in Carolina. The Panthers had not publicly acknowledged the trade until Reich exchanged text messages with Albert Breer of SI.com. “Excited about this group of young QBs,” Reich wrote. “We think they all have strengths that make them unique and worthy of #1 pick. We have a little over a month to confirm which is the right one for our team.” Alabama’s Bryce Young, Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud, Florida’s Anthony Richardson or Kentucky’s Will Levis are the top-rated players at the position. The Panthers’ future depends on getting it right. Carolina has had eight starting quarterbacks the past five seasons. The Colts also started eight different signal callers the past five seasons, which is a big reason Reich no longer is in Indianapolis. PFT
Panthers trade up to first overall pick, Bears get two firsts, two seconds, D.J. Moore The first overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft has been traded. In a blockbuster trade that came down Friday afternoon, the Panthers moved up with the Bears and acquired the first overall pick in the draft. The Bears are getting the No. 9 overall pick and No. 61 overall pick in this year’s draft from Carolina, as well as wide receiver D.J. Moore, the Panthers’ 2024 first-round pick, and the Panthers’ 2025 second-round pick. Obviously, the Panthers have their mind made up on one franchise quarterback in this year’s draft, and the only way to get that quarterback is to move up to No. 1. It’s not clear right now who that quarterback is, but Alabama’s Bryce Young is widely regarded as the top pick in this year’s draft. Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud, Florida’s Anthony Richardson and Kentucky’s Will Levis are all viewed as top prospects as well, but likely not quarterbacks the Panthers would move up to No. 1 for at this stage in the game. The Bears are totally committed to Justin Fields as their franchise quarterback, and now they’ll stockpile the roster with players to put around Fields. PFT
One of the pressing questions of the early NFL offseason was answered emphatically on Friday, when the Chicago Bears dealt the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL draft to the Carolina Panthers for a package including wide receiver DJ Moore, two first-round picks (2023 and 2024) and two second-round picks (2023 and 2025). The move marked the first time since 2016, when the Los Angeles Rams moved up to select quarterback Jared Goff, that the No. 1 pick was dealt prior to draft day. The move resets the draft strategy for both teams and could dramatically change the landscape for quarterback-hungry teams selecting in the top 10. The top two betting favorites to be the No. 1 pick as of Friday night were former Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud (-225) and former Alabama quarterback Bryce Young (+175), according to Caesars Sportsbook. NFL reporters David Newton and Courtney Cronin offer details on what the megadeal could mean for both Carolina and Chicago heading into the April 27-29 draft, and beyond. What does this deal mean for the Panthers? This means Alabama's Bryce Young, Ohio State's C.J. Stroud or Kentucky's Will Levis will be Carolina's starting quarterback at some point in 2023, maybe even Week 1. While Carolina hasn't settled on one of the three at this point, according to a source with direct knowledge of trade talks, it would be a hard sell to go with Florida's Anthony Richardson, who is considered more of a project. But having control of the top pick assures that general manager Scott Fitterer and coach Frank Reich will get their preferred quarterback to work with the staff of Reich, senior assistant Jim Caldwell and first-year quarterbacks coach Josh McCown. The early favorites for No. 1 are Young and Stroud, who both seemed to impress the Carolina staff most at the NFL combine, particularly Young. "He's just like chill,'' Fitterer said of the 2021 Heisman Trophy winner, whose only real drawback is size (5-foot-10, 204 pounds). "Nothing's too big for him.'' A quarterback operating on a rookie deal will give Carolina room to continue building the rest of the roster. A veteran such as Jimmy Garoppolo or Sam Darnold could also be added if the money is right, though there's a chance the midlevel quarterback market could become too steep for the Panthers' liking. The pick should also energize a fan base that has become weary with a three-year shuffle of retreads including Teddy Bridgewater, Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield. It gives the organization hope it has the player who can scale (and eventually exceed) similar heights to Cam Newton, the top pick of the 2011 draft who won 2015 NFL MVP honors and led Carolina to a Super Bowl. Look for the Panthers to be active at wide receiver in free agency, given Moore's departure. A source with direct knowledge of trade talks said the team was not thrilled with losing Moore, but surrendering him prevented Carolina from sending an additional first-round pick to the Bears. Carolina could also look to upgrade the tight end position to assist its likely new quarterback. The Panthers haven't had a true receiving tight end since Greg Olsen in 2019. Bottom line, this means the franchise quarterback that owner David Tepper has desired since purchasing the team in 2018 finally is within his grasp. ESPN
What does this deal mean for the Bears? Dealing the draft's top selection reaffirms Chicago's belief in quarterback Justin Fields, who doesn't have to wonder if the Bears will take one of the bright QB prospects with the No. 1 pick. It backs up what second-year general manager Ryan Poles has been saying all along, that Fields displayed enough improvement in his second year to be considered a potential franchise quarterback. And this trade allows Poles and coach Matt Eberflus to upgrade the talent level around Fields. Acquiring wide receiver DJ Moore, who turns 26 on April 14, improves Chicago's receiving corps. Moore, Carolina's first-round pick in 2018 and the No. 24 selection overall, finished his time with the Panthers as the fourth-leading receiver in franchise history. In six seasons, he totaled 5,201 yards on 364 receptions and scored 21 touchdowns. He put together three 1,000-yard receiving seasons from 2019 to '21 and posted a career-high seven touchdowns last season. Those numbers are better than those of the top wide receivers available in free agency, a group highlighted by New England's Jakobi Meyers and Kansas City's JuJu Smith-Schuster. Adding a receiver in a year when the depth in free agency and the draft isn't great was a strong move, especially considering the Bears' current WR group of Darnell Mooney, Chase Claypool, Equanimeous St. Brown and Velus Jones Jr. Chicago now has four selections in the top 64 and 10 total draft picks. The Bears can still get a high-impact player with the ninth overall selection, but the likelihood of adding the draft's top defensive prospect feels out of reach. Alabama edge rusher Will Anderson did not make it past Arizona at No. 3 in the recent mock draft of ESPN NFL draft analyst Todd McShay. It's possible the Bears consider drafting Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter at No. 9 to fill a critical need with their interior pass rush, but the situation around Carter -- who recently was considered the top player in the draft -- is unclear after he was charged on March 1 with reckless driving and racing in connection with a crash that killed a Georgia teammate and recruiting staff member. With needs up front on offense and defense, Chicago could look to Northwestern offensive tackle Peter Skoronski. McShay had the Bears trading twice and taking Skoronski with the No. 7 pick. If Skoronski makes it to No. 9, he could be another player to help Fields' development. Chicago has a considerable gap between No. 9 and its second-round selection at No. 53, which it acquired from Baltimore after trading linebacker Roquan Smith last November. The Bears' own second-round selection (No. 32) went to Pittsburgh in the Claypool trade. Finding a way to make up a 44-pick gap might be Poles' next challenge. ESPN
Watching narratives form this time of year is always kind of interesting to me. One of the most common is the parroting of analysts of some combination of these words - "Is me the my weight quarterback and not one height Bryce Young but concerns" Basically, it's a safe way to cover your ass by baking in the idea that if Bryce Young doesn't succeed at the next level it's because of the obvious and not any nuance that might have been overlooked. There is some truth in it (as many narrative will have), as Young does have a solid resume, but watching everyone get into agreement mode over it is reminiscent of narratives surrounding quarterbacks from previous drafts. ----------- Viewing CJ Stroud - I do have a concern that has come back enough that it should be a question mark discussed. He doesn't consistently throw the ball into the spot before the break, or at the beginning of the break, making his anticipation accuracy score lower than what some would perceive. It's also affected by how he sometimes gets late through the read to the open receiver, or doesn't recognize the opening with an urgency or an intuition that the window may appear. It's not as noticeable because of the quality, and quantity, of receivers separated from DBs.
If the Seahawks, Raiders, or Falcons (outside shot at the Titans) swap with the Cardinals, knowing they likely won't have a shot to jump up at a passer again in the near future, then the Colts may be looking at 3 passers off the board before they get a crack at it. If it's the Seahawks that move up, and ultimately take a passer, then the Cardinals would benefit greatly from the Bears/Panthers trade, in that Jalen Carter would still be available at 5, and they would get boosted draft capital for a small trade down. If it's the Raiders or Falcons, they lose out on Carter but would likely get a really nice haul on picks. I think another scenario to keep an eye on may be with the Lions and the Jets. If NYJ is able to bring in Rodgers for a second round pick, then they may be willing to slide down just a touch in the first to recoup some draft ammo. If Jalen Carter was to somehow slide into DET's lap at the top, then they would probably be more than willing to part with their second in exchange for the Jets' first and 4th, so long as one of the premiere CBs were still on the board. Something else that I could see brewing would be for the Bucs to move down and try to get as much draft capital as possible, potentially more for the future than this season, as they look to start the post-Brady era. Getting more picks in 24' that could be used to help them solidify a top pick (after a potentially down season) makes sense when you consider the next quarterback class. I think the Jags, Bills and Bears might be buyers in that scenario.
I find it very interesting that there are a handful of teams that are QB needy and a few decent QB prospects. I think we are going to see some real jockeying around here shortly. Raiders really need to move up, in my opinion.
Well I apologize that I haven't been around long enough to have a take on all the narratives. I did mention earlier that the "talent factor" at Ohio State can sometimes play against the QB. That's all I meant.
If you read the entirety of what I said, the idea was that the talent makes it so that it's more difficult to notice that he has a tendency to be a beat late, and the separation that the wide receivers get helps to mitigate that. I'm not mentioning the concern because of who he throws to, but because that particular question mark comes up too often to ignore.
He absolutely does have that tendency, but don't you think it has much to do with obvious factors. Is he a "beat late" , or is he being safe because he can?
IMO, he appears to not anticipate opening windows or see the play unfolding ahead of real time (hockey center seeing 2 passes ahead) and it happens often enough that it has to be considered as a potential problem at the next level. It’s something that some players can correct, others can’t, and has to be considered in his evaluation.
So, if I had to oversimplify things, Stroud's weakness is his anticipation and accuracy consistency. Young's weakness is his size / constitution. Obviously, that's reductionist, but my film study showed Young as (currently) a superior passer, but a lesser physical specimen. If you're Carolina, who did you trade up for?
I still think Stroud is the first passer off the board. I also think more than a couple GMs likely have Levis in a comparable light to both Young and Stroud which could create some interesting movement at the top.
