NFL insider believes Carolina Panthers' decision will come down to Bryce Young, CJ Stroud

The Carolina Panthers woke up Friday with the No. 9 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Now, the Panthers are on the clock — and it could be a two-quarterback race, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Shortly after Schefter reported Carolina traded the No. 9 overall pick and the No. 61 pick in this year’s draft, a 2024 first-rounder, a 2025 second rounder and wide receiver DJ Moore to Chicago for the top pick, he assessed what direction the Panthers could go. Former Alabama star Bryce Young has widely been considered the top quarterback in the class. But former Ohio State standout CJ Stroud could also find himself atop the draft board in April.

Although there’s plenty of hype around Will Levis and Anthony Richardson, Schefter thinks Carolina could choose between Young and Stroud.

“Look, I think the pick will boil down to either Bryce Young or CJ Stroud,” Schefter said on SportsCenter. “If you look at Frank Reich’s history … he has preferred bigger quarterbacks. That would be the CJ Stroud model. There are people who believe Bryce Young should be the No. 1 overall pick, that he’s a mini-Patrick Mahomes. Well, we’ll see if that’s the direction they go. But clearly, at this point in time, it seems to me a decision between Bryce Young and CJ Stroud both in play for the No. 1 overall pick, and as that one Panthers official just said to me, ‘We’ve got 48 days to go through this.’

“I go back to what the 49ers did when they traded up for Trey Lance. And I still maintain and believe that when they made the trade, Mac Jones was the guy that they were leaning towards taking. But they had all that extra time to evaluate the quarterbacks and go through the process, and ultimately, they settled in on Trey Lance. So, the Panthers may have an idea and a lean today, but they have almost seven full weeks to go through their process and make a final decision about what to do. But there’s no doubt that they were comfortable going up to No. 1.”

The Panthers have plenty of time to make their decision. The 2023 NFL Draft is set for April 27-29 in Kansas City.