Uncertainty in 2023 QB Class Presents Best-Case Scenario For Jaguars

If the rest of the NFL is lower on this year's draft class than the draft media, the Jaguars could be in for a relatively easy 2023 division schedule.

The closer we get to next Thursday's first round, the more and more it looks like Alabama's Bryce Young will be the Carolina Panthers' selection at No. 1 overall. 

The questions then begin behind him. For the Jacksonville Jaguars, that is good news.

The Jaguars are the lone AFC South team that hasn't been mocked a quarterback throughout the 2023 draft process and with good reason. Trevor Lawrence looks like the real deal as a franchise passer, while the Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts are each battling the line between desperation and irresponsibility. 

As for the Tennessee Titans, their present and future is so unclear that it feels like they could go in any direction in the first round -- including quarterback.

Luckily for the Jaguars, there are no obvious answers for either of these teams over the next 10 days. It has been widely assumed the Texans would sprint to the podium to select Young with the No. 2 pick.

But with each passing day, it looks less and less likely that Young will be there. Instead, the Texans, Colts and Titans will have to decide between Kentucky quarterback Will Levis, Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson, and Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud. 

The smoke from most media outlets has been that the Texans wouldn't jump to select a quarterback who isn't Young. They could take a pass-rusher like Will Anderson Jr. or Tyree Wilson if they don't like any of the three quarterbacks enough to spend the No. 2 pick on them.

Then there is the Colts. The Colts could risk the thought of the Texans or any other teams looking to move up for quarterbacks to pick before them, leading to them selecting the draft's No. 3 or No. 4 quarterback. In a draft where teams already appear to not be totally sold on the draft's quarterbacks after the top passer, it is hard to imagine the Colts would be thrilled with that perspective. 

This would require the Colts to move up to land their quarterback. If they are right, then all is well in the world. But if they miss and Levis, Richardson and Stroud aren't the quarterbacks they think they are, they will be in a doomsday scenario. This is exactly the kind of scenario Chris Ballard has avoided in the past. 

Finally there is the Titans. Even in a bad year for Mike Vrabel's squad, the Titans are still picking outside the top-10. It is hard to imagine them landing a premium pick in next year's draft, so selecting a quarterback would mean hoping for one to fall or a trade-up for a so-so passer.

In short, the AFC South has a lot to think about over the next week. The Jaguars, though, can turn their attention completely elsewhere.

No matter if one, two or three rookie quarterbacks are starting in the AFC South next year, the Jaguars are in a prime position to take the AFC South and run with it in 2023. 

The rest of the AFC South can do its best to close the gap on the Jaguars, but for today, the Jaguars stand tall because of their lack of questions at quarterback. And with no clear-cut No. 2 option in this year's rookie class, it is hard to see that changing next week.