Latest 2023 NFL Mock Drafts Are Split on Landing Spot for C.J. Stroud
According to two latest projections, Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback C.J. Stroud could go as early as first or late as ninth in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Pro Football Focus (PFF) has Stroud going in the latter position to the Carolina Panthers. Carolina is looking for their franchise quarterback after giving four different players the reigns to the offense this season: Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield, PJ Walker and Jacob Eason.
PFF has two quarterbacks going ahead of Stroud, as Alabama's Bryce Young and Kentucky's Will Levis are taken off the board with the first couple of picks. Stroud isn't the first Buckeye taken in the draft either, as offensive tackle Paris Johnson, Jr. is slated to go to the Las Vegas Raiders as the seventh overall selection.
This is the lowest Stroud has been projected, with many mock drafts slotting him at second or fifth overall to the Houston Texans or Indianapolis Colts, respectively.
247Sports seems to value the Buckeye quarterback more than PFF, as they have Stroud at the peak of their board. Young and Levis follow Stroud in that order at second to the Arizona Cardinals (via a mock trade with the Texans) and third to the Carolina Panthers, who acquire the pick in a projected deal with the aforementioned Cardinals.
Both mocks have one thing in common, however: the Indianapolis Colts trading up with the Chicago Bears for the number-one pick. The difference comes with who is chosen at the spot, as PFF says it will be Young, and 247Sports counters with Stroud.
The 2023 NFL Draft is shaping up to be an entertaining affair. If nothing else, for the uncertainty surrounding the top picks.
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