The NFL Draft's 4-5 First Round QBs: Introductions for Normies

Simple introductions and analysis on Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud, Will Levis, Anthony Richardson, and Hendon Hooker.

The NFL Draft starts on April 27. Two-hundred and fifty-nine young men who have waited for this day all their lives will find out which NFL team they will play for. NFL fanatics like myself have seen every iteration of analysis and mock drafts and criticism of mock drafts and criticisms of criticisms of mock drafts…

It’s crazy. There’s surely too much speculation from people who don’t know anything about what’s going to happen in seven days. Nothing can be learned from hearing PFF’s Sam Monson make another mock draft after the one he made a couple of days ago.

Yet the Draft really is an important day. It can change the lives of football players who’ve put so much work into this, and it can change the trajectory of your favorite football team forever. If your team picks the next Patrick Mahomes or Joe Burrow, they would be a Super Bowl contender for the next decade.

So if you’re just casually following sports like a sane person (a "normie”?) and haven’t yet had the privilege of consuming daily mock drafts for the past two months, let me give you simple but nuanced introductions to each of the five quarterbacks you’re going to be hearing about next year and possibly for years to come. The first two quarterback introductions are available in full to paying subscribers. The brief intros for all five QBs are available to free subscribers, too. Upgrade today to read this and other interesting articles weekly and see a Thai travel location!

Bryce Young: The annual Alabama quarterback with the stellar fundamentals. Great anticipation, great at reading the field. 24-3 record in his career, including a loss to Georgia in the 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship. But at 5’10”, he would be the shortest quarterback in the league.

C.J. Stroud: An extremely accurate Ohio State quarterback who plays spectacularly within the pocket. He can hit his first or second option every time. But if the play breaks down and he’s under pressure or his receivers don’t get open quickly, he struggles and can’t hit throws on the run.

Will Levis: A big bodied, athletic Kentucky quarterback with a strong arm and bravery under pressure. He was once thought to be the most “toolsy” quarterback. But his footwork and fundamentals need work.

Anthony Richardson: An amazing athlete from Florida who set records for jumping and running the 40 at the scouting combine. Some analysts are crazy hyped about him because they think (or hope) they can fix everything about his passing game. He only started one year and missed almost half of his passes.

Hendon Hooker: Tennessee quarterback who throws a beautiful deep ball. He improved every year, and he put up some of the best production in college football last year—in an offense that is designed for college and will not translate to the NFL.

Bryce Young

Bryce Young has always been the most talented quarterback in this draft. He has also always been five-feet and ten-inches tall. (He was mislabeled as 6’0” in his Alabama bio, but anyone could see he was much shorter.) There’s only one quarterback as short as Young in the NFL now, the Arizona Cardinals’ Kyler Murray. There are only three quarterbacks (including Russell Wilson) under 6-feet tall. The problem with a short quarterback is that it is harder for them to see over the line of scrimmage and hit receivers running over the middle. At around 190 pounds, Young would also be the lightest QB in the NFL, and there are fears he could get injured. But by now the odds have Young as being the No. 1 pick in the draft.

Every other quarterback has problems with their game. Young has no significant problems with his game. He is great at anticipating plays that will open up and waiting for it. He is patient in the pocket and looks across the field at all of his reads before throwing to the open man. He creates plays.

He won the Heisman Trophy his sophomore season, while leading Alabama to an SEC championship and the runner-up status in the College Football Playoffs. He completed 366-of-547 passes that season for 4,872 yards, 47 touchdowns, and just 7 interceptions. After two of his receivers, Jameson Williams and John Metchie, were both drafted into the NFL following his sophomore season, he was less statistically impressive as a junior, but still elite on film and still threw 32 touchdowns to just 5 interceptions.

You’ll see Young get picked either #1 by the Carolina Panthers or #2 by the Houston Texans.

C.J. Stroud

Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud may be the most accurate passer in this year’s draft. He threw beautiful passes right on the money when he was protected well. He completed 71.9% of his passes as a second-year freshman and 66.3% as a sophomore. PFF says 26.7% of his passes were “perfectly-placed,” the most in college football.

He was also throwing to some of the best receivers any college football quarterback will ever throw to. His WR1 in 2021 (Garrett Wilson) was drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft after his first season and won Offensive Rookie of the Year, while Jaxon Smith-Njigba is going to be a first-round pick this season (and possibly the first wide receiver taken).

Stroud also struggles under pressure and when plays breakdown. He doesn’t have the instincts to make something happen on his own. Stroud’s stock rose after he had an amazing game in the first round of the 2023 College Football Playoff against Georgia, throwing for 348 yards, 4 touchdowns, and no interceptions, even making plays under pressure. He was briefly favored to be the #1 pick in the draft and could still be.

Will Levis

Will Levis has a little bit of Josh Allen and a little bit of Johnny Manziel in him.