CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Carolina Panthers hold the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, which starts April 27. The team is clearly in need of a new, long-term quarterback.
NBC Sports analyst and former NFL quarterback Chris Simms shared his thoughts on the four top QB prospects leading up to the draft with WCNC Charlotte Sports Director Nick Carboni.
Will Levis, Kentucky
6-foot-4, 229 pounds
Levis has been among the most scrutinized picks since his strong 2021 season. His stats took a step back in 2022, but Simms is still high on Levis' physical tools.
"I think there's some big-time talent there to be had, right? You know, I love the specimen of Will Levis. That's for sure," Simms said. "He's big, he's strong. He's a pretty good athlete. I mean, his arm is incredibly strong. So his release is pretty quick. So all of that ... your positives. Now, can we put that all together to be a really good quarterback? I don't know about that."
Simms said Levis was inconsistent, which makes it hard to get a strong evaluation of his film. When he's good, he's really good. But the opposite is also true, with his weaknesses really coming through on the tape.
"It's all over the place. That's my thing with Will Levis," Simms said. "You see things where you go, 'Ooh, I like that.' But then you go, 'Ooh, what, how did he miss that throw? Man that guy was wide open, he really missed him?'"
Simms also noted that Levis' mechanics are "all over the place," which indicates he needs some teaching to reach his potential.
"The feet are all over the place. You know, the awareness of the pocket is a little all over the place. I'm like, this is obviously a first-round talent we're talking about. I'm just talking about comparing it to the other top guys and bein able to start in the NFL right now and be successful. No, those are the things he needs to work on. There's still some raw aspects and some overall feel for the game that I don't love from Will Levis."
Anthony Richardson, Florida
6-foot-4, 244 pounds
Richardson's athleticism set new records for quarterbacks at the NFL Combine, but with just one season of starting experience under his belt, the Florida standout could be a project.
"I think it's a little more project-ish than polish, right?" Simms said. "It's a little in between there. I don't want to say it's a total project, there's enough there where you just go, 'wait, this isn't like a reclamation project where this guy is totally clueless,' right? So there's that there, but yeah, there's some work to be done here."
Simms says Richardson has some work to do when it comes to mastering all types of passes.
"Throwing the appropriate football, the right trajectory, some of the decision making and seeing the field, all of that was just a little less than some of the top guys," Simms said. "With his pro day, you see somewhere you go, 'Ooh, wow, oh look at that ball. Oh man, he threw that hard.' But I want to go back and watch it again. Tell me how disjointed his dropback looks. Tell me how many times a receiver had to turn around or stop or slow down to catch a ball. Those are the things that I go, 'Yeah, it's pretty, it looks good,' but there are some things that need to be fixed, for sure."
C.J. Stroud, Ohio State
6-foot-4, 214 pounds
Chris Simms: "C.J. Stroud was my No. 1 quarterback for sure. Right? I mean, I, you said that you said it right. First off, he's the best pocket-passing quarterback. The best pure thrower of the draft. Doesn't mean he has the strongest arm? No, I mean, Levis might be able to throw it harder. Anthony Richardson harder, maybe, but they can't throw their fastball on control with the way C.J. Stroud can. C.J. Stroud is just every ... he makes so many NFL-caliber throws, it is laughable at times. That's why I loved watching him. You know, one, he's a great decision-maker. He's got all the clubs in the bag, the throw up different varieties of football. 'Ooo, I gotta throw touch over a linebacker. Ooo, I need to drive a ball into the cover to you know, hold the window on the right sideline.' Has enough power to do that. Throw the deep route. Oh, the guys on him like glue, just drop in his pocket. You know that. That, to me, is the big thing I saw, let alone plays big, moves in the pocket well, and his athleticism is being undervalued. But yeah, for me, C.J. Stroud was the offense at Ohio State. They didn't have a great running game. And they called the game and going, at least in my opinion, they called the game in 'Hey, drop back and we need you to make awesome throws,' right. And I know people go 'Well, it's Ohio State people are open.' Yeah. OK. I know they're open. They're open for all these guys. Sometimes. There's plenty of throws in every game where you go, this is glue. This is tight coverage, and he still puts the ball exactly where he needs to put it. So yeah, I'm a big fan of C.J. Stroud. And, you know, I think he would work really well with Frank Reich."
Bryce Young, Alabama
5-foot-10, 204 pounds
Chris Simms: "I think some of the pizzazz and the highlights and the sexiness could fool some people with Bryce Young. And again, I know I'm a little lower on him than most. I really like him. I really do. There's a lot of awesome to like. I mean, you know, like C.J. Stroud, this is Bryce Young probably sees the field better than anybody in the whole draft. So he sees the field incredible, has ability to diagnose, go through, you know, reads and make the appropriate decision and throw, are all top notch. They are. My problem is, I don't know how it's going to translate to the NFL, and I don't necessarily always see plays where I go, 'Ooo, that's gonna translate to the NFL.' Like with C.J. Stroud moving in the pocket and throwing the 20-yard comeback into tight coverage, boom, all day long, right? Bryce Young, like a lot of his plays, I come away going, 'I don't know if that can really happen in the NFL.' I don't know if he'll have that type of time behind the line. I don't know that I've that type of separation to watch guys come at him, and then make them miss. Because he's extremely quick, and he can make people miss. That's amazing. He's very slick with all his releases. He's got a quick release, right and all that. But with all the 'wow' releases, there's not a lot of 'wow' throws to me. You know, I know some of the highlights will look at and go 'Ooo, wow.' But I expect all the first-draft quarterbacks to be able to hit the wide-open, 50-yard post down the middle. And I do want to say 'wow' to all of them. But that's not like, 'Wow, oh, that's a difference-making wow,' and where I get scared with him is, of course, the size. There's very few big-time NFL power-type throws, whether that's deep comebacks, back shoulders, you know, in cuts into a tight window. That bothers me about him and, added on to that, there's almost none when the pocket's collapsing and the quarters are getting tight. And to me that's live in the NFL. If you could tell me Carolina's definitely going to have the most dominant offensive line in the NFL for the next 10 years, and that it'll be just like Alabama, then, damn, I would think about making Bryce Young No. 1, but I'm not confident that it's gonna happen because it's the NFL and that doesn't happen. That's a college thing. And that's where I have a little trepidation about Bryce Young overall."
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