So, has C.J. Stroud’s incredible start made Carolina Panthers head coach Frank Reich think over who he helped pick atop the 2023 NFL draft? Nope.
Just six days ahead of their Week 8 matchup against Stroud and the Houston Texans, Reich was asked if anything he’s seen from the No. 2 overall selection has shifted the way he’s thought about what went down this past spring.
“I thought the whole quarterback draft class was a really good class,” he replied. “I really enjoyed divin’ into each one of them. I thought they all were good players. If you looked at my scorecard on all of ’em, I thought they were all good players.
“We just thought Bryce was the best. I thought Bryce was the best. Not taking anything away from anybody else. So, we’re excited to have him. I really don’t wanna . . . we talked a lot back then about what we liked about Bryce, why we chose Bryce. So I’ll just leave it at that.”
Young, of course, was taken by Reich and the Panthers with the first pick. Unfortunately, that union hasn’t resulted in the best of early results—as Carolina sits at 0-6 with a struggling offense.
Right behind Young went Stroud, who was plucked by the Texans with the second pick. He’s since gone on to shine, leading Houston to a respectable 3-3 mark with an Offensive Rookie of the Month award to show for it.
But we’re still in the first half of the first chapter in this very long book. So, there’s plenty of story left to be told—for Young, for Stroud and for these two franchises.
