2023 NFL mock draft: Cowboys land WR, Lions land star QB prospect
2. Atlanta Falcons: CJ Stroud, QB, Ohio State
Ohio State. 2. player. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. QB. CJ Stroud. 44
Did any other 90s kids feel incredibly old watching CJ Stroud throw a bunch of touchdown passes to (puts on reading glasses) Marvin Harrison Jr.? I mean, having the sons of Asante Samuel and Patrick Surtain play in the league was enough of a wake-up call, wasn’t it? No, we now have Marvin Harrison’s kid out there looking like he might be one of the best draft-eligible receivers in 2024.
https://twitter.com/CFBONFOX/status/1568672210147049476
I digress.
The Falcons, people, that’s who we’re here to discuss. I was not unimpressed with the Falcons in Week 1 of the 2022 NFL season. In fact, I’ve got the LA Rams on upset watch in Week 2 because of how surprisingly solid the Falcons looked. With that being said, I don’t think this team’s long-term solution at QB is on the roster and CJ Stroud has been lights out this season for the Ohio State Buckeyes, completing 69 percent of his throws with six touchdowns and no interceptions.
We’ll see how he does as Ohio State gets to the true meat of its schedule but he already looked good against a Notre Dame defense with a bunch of future NFL players and my wild guess is, he’s going to continue looking like a future NFL QB1 throughout the season.
3. Chicago Bears: Jalen Carter, DL, Georgia
3. player. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. Georgia. Jalen Carter. 57. DL
Let’s talk about the Chicago Bears for a moment. Nobody really gave this team a chance even going into Week 1 of the 2022 season because nobody likes the Bears offensive line, the weapons they’ve given to Justin Fields, and there’s been unrest all offseason with this Chicago defense as you’ve had players like Roquan Smith and Robert Quinn asking for trades.
Now here we sit, and the Bears are 1-0 after beating Kyle Shanahan’s 49ers last week. Justin Fields overcame a slow start and ugly weather conditions to help his team win 19-10. Dare I say, let’s have some patience for the young man?
Fields deserves time to develop and hopefully Bears GM Ryan Poles will afford him that time. In the meantime, stack up that defense with playmakers. Jalen Carter, as our good friend Brooks Austin puts it, is your favorite football player’s favorite football player. A powerful, quick, and disruptive playmaker on the defensive interior, Carter has the chance to contend with Will Anderson as the first non-QB off the board in this draft.
He’s a standout among standouts on the Georgia defense and would be a big-time pickup for the Chicago Bears if they’re picking high enough to get him.