Though the entire football world is waiting patiently for a highly anticipated Super Bowl matchup, all the teams not playing in the championship match are preparing for the draft. Quarterbacks Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud are seen as two of the prizes in the upcoming draft class.
According to one NFC executive, the gap between the two players is not that big.
“The gap between Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud isn’t as big as you’d think,” the executive said, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.
Though the perceived gap between the two players may be shrinking, there is no doubt that the two impressive passers employ very different strengths and playing styles.
Young is listed at just 6-foot and 194 pounds. He uses his shiftiness in the pocket to find passing lanes, and while he is not known to be a runner, he is certainly athletic.
As for Stroud, he is much more of a traditional pocket passer. He’s listed at 6-foot-3, 218 pounds and likes to stand tall in the pocket and wait for routes to develop to hit his receivers in stride.
Without a doubt, both players were dominant at the college level and won far more games than they lost. Still, dominance at the college level does not always translate to success in the NFL. That’s why it is always such an important decision to make when a team with a top draft pick is zeroing in on a quarterback that it wants to hand its franchise to.
When it comes to the teams with top draft picks in the upcoming 2023 NFL Draft, there are a number of franchises within the top five that already have established quarterbacks. The Chicago Bears (first pick) still seem to consider Justin Fields as their franchise quarterback. The Arizona Cardinals (third pick) still have Kyler Murray.
For that reason, it seems quite possible that the two top quarterbacks will be heading to the Houston Texans (second pick) and Indianapolis Colts (fourth pick).
As the draft nears, it will be interesting to see if any major reports come out regarding which team covets which quarterback most. Wherever they end up, there is little doubt that the two will be compared for many years to come.
