@_JEFFHANCOCK: DOUG, WHO ARE YOUR TOP FIVE QBS IN THE UPCOMING NFL DRAFT AND WHERE DO YOU SEE BEING SELECTED?
It’s so hard for me to concentrate fully on college football during the NFL season, so I personally get more caught up on draft prospects after the Super Bowl. I still watch every University of Washington game because I grew up in Seattle as a Huskies fan, so my favorite quarterback is
Michael Penix Jr., but I’m biased. And from at least one scout I spoke to, he’s not expected to be a top prospect despite his gaudy stats.
PFF’s Michael Renner has Alabama’s
Bryce Young, Kentucky’s
Will Levis, Ohio State’s
C.J. Stroud, Stanford’s
Tanner McKee and Tennessee’s
Hendon Hooker as his top five QBs in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Asking around the league, it sounds like Florida’s
Anthony Richardson belongs in the conversation, as well, as long as he declares after the season. He had a tough two-game stretch in Weeks 2 and 3, but he has a respectable 84.5 PFF grade from Week 4 and beyond with 11 big-time throws and just six turnover-worthy plays. He’s also one of college football’s most dynamic running QBs with 55 carries for 646 yards and nine rushing touchdowns this season at 6-foot-4, 232 pounds.
Including the first three weeks of the season, Richardson has a 76.5 grade on the season, which is significantly higher than Levis’ 67.1 mark but falls behind Hooker (91.0), Young (89.7) and Stroud (83.9). McKee has a 74.7 overall grade.
Hooker will be 25 years old in January and doesn’t play in an offense that’s expected to translate particularly well to the NFL, but he’s been one of college football’s most accurate deep throwers, and he’s one of the highest-graded running QBs in the FBS. It will be fascinating to see where he winds up going in the draft because opinions are split on whether or not he’s a first-rounder. I have heard that he’ll interview off the charts.