A Sales Pitch for Each of the 5 Rumored First-Round QBs
Josh Frey
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If you wanted a little backstory on your author today (you probably don’t, but you’re going to get it anyway), during the summer prior to my senior year in college, I traveled to Spokane, Washington, and took a job doing door-to-door sales for a pest control company.
Yup, I was one of those annoying guys that would come to your doorstep at the worst possible time while you were soothing a crying child, trying to make dinner, or just relaxing on the couch for a few minutes and try to sell you on a service that you definitely could just do yourself in about five minutes.
Fortunately for my bank account, I was able to convince a few rich, snobby homeowners that they should be scared of the ant trail in their driveway, and because of that, I feel that I am a good enough salesman for today’s topic. Currently, there are five quarterbacks that are rumored to be destined for the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft:
- Hendon Hooker
- Will Levis
- Anthony Richardson
- C.J. Stroud
- Bryce Young
Today, my goal is to give a sales pitch on why you should be excited about each and every one of the first-round QBs if the Vikings (or whoever you root for) somehow end up drafting them.
Anthony Richardson: The Narwhal
The unicorn comparison for professional athletes is old and played out, and besides, unicorns don’t actually exist in the world today anyway, so why compare an athlete that absolutely exists to a horned creature that doesn’t exist? Instead, for Anthony Richardson, we’re going with a horned creature that is very real, but just as mythical: the narwhal.
In terms of a prospect, there is no superlative too high for Richardson’s potential. He has the best arm strength in this class. He is the most athletically dominant QB we’ve seen since at least Cam Newton (he quite literally got a 10.00/10.00 for his Relative Athletic Score).
Richardson runs like a wide receiver (ran a 4.43 40, the same as Justin Jefferson) while being built like a linebacker (measured in at 6’4 and 244 pounds, comparable to Von Miller’s 6’3 and 246 pounds). He’s a physical freak unlike anything we’ve seen in the NFL before, and he is coming soon to an NFL near you.
Bryce Young: The Swiss Army Knife
Did you know that the Swiss Army knife was not originally produced by someone that even specialized in making knives? Or that Switzerland wasn’t even the country where the tool was invented? Instead, this device was based off a tool that was invented in Germany, and the first Swiss Army knives were produced by a surgical manufacturing company owned by Karl Elsener.
Similarly, Alabama is certainly not the school we’d originally turn to for a star quarterback. The book is certainly not finished in regards to Mac Jones and Tua Tagovailoa, but in year’s past, the NFL has not been kind to Bama QBs.
That is no longer the case, though, as Bryce Young is absolutely one of if not the best QBs in the 2023 Draft class, and he brings just about every tool you could ask for. He makes great decisions with the football, he is an accurate passer, and he is mobile enough to extend plays and improvise on the fly.
Despite being smaller in stature, Young makes plays that project him to having great success at the NFL level. Especially on younger, less talented teams, this versatility to beat defenses in multiple ways is necessary to find early success.
C.J. Stroud: The Boat
If you’ve ever seen Family Guy or just come across this meme while scrolling through social media, you’ll understand what I’m trying to get at here:
With C.J. Stroud, there is not much mystery involved with him as a prospect. More than likely, what you see is what you’re going to get. He has outstanding arm talent, making smart, accurate throws from the pocket on a consistent basis while limiting turnovers and keeping his poise under pressure.
Of the five in this group, he absolutely has the highest floor, which will likely lead to immediate success for whichever team drafts him. In addition, he displayed some creativity and mobility in the CFP game against the Georgia Bulldogs that we hadn’t seen much of previously, so what if he is just unlocking his true potential? Maybe there is a little bit of mystery in Stroud after all.
Hendon Hooker: The Fine Wine
You know where we’re going here. The big knocks on Hendon Hooker are his age, injury, and the offense that he’s coming from. He’s a 25-year-old rookie who tore his ACL in November and played for a program that had absolutely everything a quarterback could have asked for in terms of talent and coaching around him.
Because of that, there are doubts as to how much more growth he can actually make as a player before he’s hit his ceiling, and if his collegiate production can actually translate to an NFL scheme.
That being said, the NFL traits in Hooker are undeniable. He has ideal size, which can’t be said of everyone in this class, particularly as we get into the remaining prospects behind Hooker. He is also sneakily a very mobile player that utilized his legs to the tune of 600+ rushing yards in both 2020 and 2021.
Perhaps the age could be a benefit as well, especially early on. He’s one of the more experienced players in college football and has played in some of the biggest games a prospect can participate in. Confidence is just as important as anything in the NFL, and Hooker will certainly have that on his side.
Will Levis: The Impromptu Skydiving Trip
Sometimes, maybe you need a little excitement in life, and you decide that this is the day that after a long thought process, you’re finally going to go skydiving. It starts off as a scary process.
The anticipation on the drive over, boarding the plane, taking off, opening the door and looking down at the painting of the earth down below, and after a deep breath and ignoring all your Fight or Flight response screaming at you not to do this, finally jumping out of the plane and falling towards the ground below you.
Honestly, that could be the early portion of the Will Levis experience. He’s an extremely raw prospect in similar ways to Richardson, but he isn’t quite as dynamic an athlete. There will be some growing pains and moments where you wonder if you’d just made a horrible mistake.
But then, the parachute opens, and you get to gently float down to the earth while taking in the best views of the world that you can find. Similarly to what will happen if Levis figures out how to consistently deliver an accurate pass while also utilizing his mobility to create plays with his legs. Then, what once looked daunting and terrifying quickly turns into a comfortable float towards success.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.