2023 NFL Mock Draft: McShay’s Latest Has QB at No. 1

ESPN’s draft analyst has four quarterbacks going in the top 12 picks next spring.

The 2023 NFL draft class is said to be deeper in quarterback talent than it has been in recent years. Ohio State’s CJ Stroud, Alabama’s Bryce Young and Kentucky’s Will Levis are generally receiving the highest grades, while Florida’s big-arm/big-play passer Anthony Richardson looks to rise swiftly up mock drafts as bowl season begins.

ESPN analyst Todd McShay put those four quarterbacks among the first 12 picks in his most recent mock draft, highlighted by Young to the Texans at No. 1—draft positions for the mock draft are set according to the NFL standings leading into Week 15.

Deshaun Watson’s sexual misconduct lawsuits left Houston without a good quarterback option in 2022, and its season has played out accordingly. Coach Lovie Smith used both Davis Mills and Jeff Driskel in nearly pulling off a massive upset of the Cowboys in Week 14. Mills, the team’s starter, has a QBR of 32.4, good for 29th in the NFL, leading only Carson Wentz and Baker Mayfield among passers with 20 plays per game. Drafting a quarterback is a near certainty for Houston, regardless of where it selects, and it’s hard to argue with the ubertalented, if not a little undersized, former Heisman Trophy winner.

Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter checks in at No. 2 to the Seahawks, who obtained Denver’s pick in the trade for Russell Wilson this spring. Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer noted in July that Carter is the top-ranked player of this draft, per National Football Scouting, the organization responsible for putting on the combine every February. Alabama’s dominant edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. checked in at No. 3 to the Bears.

McShay sent Stroud to Detroit at No. 4, and Levis to the Falcons at No. 6. Richardson went to Carolina at No. 12. That pick may be a surprise as of now, but considering his size (6’3”, 230 pounds) and athleticism (he should test very well at the combine), it isn’t all that shocking to see NFL Draft Bible’s fourth-ranked quarterback going No. 12.