Tracking 2023’s latest 1st-round projections for the Panthers

The Panthers didn’t trade up for just anyone. They had a specific target in mind, and it’s easy to see why new head coach Frank Reich would want Stroud enough to make that move.

If this is how the first pick in the draft goes, the Panthers and head coach Frank Reich get the quarterback with the best combination of mechanics, ball placement, and field vision in this class — with mobility that was underrated and relatively unseen until Stroud’s final collegiate game against Georgia. There are some intriguing targets for Stroud to hit, with Adam Thielen, Laviska Shenault, Rashard Higgins, Hayden Hurst, and Tommy Tremble, and Carolina’s offensive line is better than you might think. Pack that with Reich’s well-known understanding of how to put a passing game together, and the Panthers are well on their way back to relevance.

Who exactly the Panthers intend to draft is still anybody’s guess. There being reports of them still trying to wheel and deal the No. 1 overall pick, however, suggests that they may not intend to draft the quarterback who sits atop the PFF board — and almost every other media board — in Bryce Young.

Stroud makes sense as a safer bet for a team in search of a franchise quarterback. He possesses easily the best fundamentals of any of the top quarterbacks and brings a high floor with the accuracy he showed at Ohio State (highest on-target rate of any quarterback in the class last year).

Recency bias could be in play with the choice of Stroud over Bryce Young, as the two-time Big Ten offensive player of the year rocked the combine with a wildly impressive passing display. There are also ongoing questions over whether teams are cool taking the 5-foot-10 Young if they consider other quarterbacks equally viable. This decision won’t come down to height, but rather the size of the decision-makers’ collective comfort with this massive decision.

Bryce Young came in at 5-10 1/8 and weighed 204 pounds at the combine and didn’t take part in the drills. At the end of the day, it may not matter because if the Panthers consider him QB1, he’s going off the board first. New coach Frank Reich has talked about the importance of size at the position, but Young is the most NFL-ready quarterback on the board.

Frank Reich and the Panthers traded with the Bears for the No. 1 spot, and they land C.J. Stroud from Ohio State as their new franchise passer. Stroud is a good fit for the offensive scheme Reich will likely use in Carolina. If Stroud plays well in his rookie season, there’s a chance the Panthers can compete in the underwhelming NFC South.

The Panthers made the big move of trading for the No. 1 pick in an attempt to finally secure a franchise quarterback for the first time under David Tepper. While rumor has it they have not decided on a specific player, signs are pointing to the team making C.J. Stroud the pick. Stroud is an accurate passer who will be a great distributor of the football and finally bring a level of stability to this team.