2023 NFL Mock Draft: C.J. Stroud back at No. 1

This year, the quarterback class is much better than a season ago which is why C.J. Stroud and Bryce Young are taken early in this 2023 NFL Mock Draft

In 2022, there was only one quarterback taken in the first round of the draft, which was Kenny Pickett. The Pitt product made his first appearance for the Steelers during Week 4 of the season and looked the part of a rookie.

This year, there’s a much better class of signal-callers entering the league which is why our latest 2023 NFL Mock Draft has a couple of them coming off the board very quickly. As is often the case, our latest power rankings were used to determine the order, which means the Houston Texans are on the clock.

2023 NFL Mock Draft

1. Houston Texans: C.J. Stroud, QB, Ohio State

One of the harsh realities for most of the top quarterbacks is that they usually end up on a pretty bad team. Sometimes, they can turn them around — the way Joe Burrow did for the Cincinnati Bengals or Cam Newton did for the Panthers. Other times, it ends up being a bad mix, as it was for Baker Mayfield with the Cleveland Browns.

This year, the top quarterback is Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud and his “prize” is a home with the Houston Texans. Few teams have as many problems fielding a winning team as the Texans have over the past couple of years but they’ll be banking on Stroud to turn that around.

They also have two picks in this opening round as well as two more in 2024, so there’s a shot they could truly build around him.