While the Pittsburgh Steelers made Kenny Pickett the only quarterback selected in the first round -- or first two rounds, for that matter -- of the 2022 NFL Draft, ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. doesn't believe that this year's trend is indicative of what's to come.
Appearing on The Adam Schefter Podcast, Kiper asked fellow draft expert Todd McShay if he would take the over or under on six-and-a-half quarterbacks being taken in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft. McShay said under, but did guess that as many as five could go in the top round. Kiper went in another direction.
"I'm a gambler, so I'll take over six-and-a-half."
Kiper went on to say that he believes that Alabama's Bryce Young and Ohio State's C.J. Stoud are "guarantees" to be first-round picks next year, which McShay agreed with. Florida's Anthony Richardson, Miami's Tyler Van Dyke, Stanford's Tanner McKee, Utah's Cam Rising, Kentucky's Will Levis, South Carolina's Spencer Rattler, Pittsburgh's Kedon Slovis, Boston College's Phil Jurkovec and Maryland's Taulia Tagovailoa as names that could also be candidates to be first-round quarterbacks a year from now.
For what it's worth, Joe Marino of The Draft Network has released his first 2023 NFL Mock Draft, with Stroud, Young, Levis and Van Dyke all going in the top 10 picks.
Among the teams that theoretically could be in the market to take a first-round quarterback in 2023 are the Seattle Seahawks, Carolina Panthers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Atlanta Falcons, Detroit Lions, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Commanders, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts and Miami Dolphins. If the Baltimore Ravens and Arizona Cardinals can't reach long-term deals with their incumbent quarterbacks, they could also end up in the mix.
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