When Bryce Young was drafted 1st overall by the Carolina Panthers, there were a lot of Carolina fans and Alabama fans who were very excited as to what the 22 yr old QB would be able to accomplish for the team.
I was not one of those people – and I’m still not one of those people who believes in Young to be the guy to lead this team. He lacks anything special in arm strength and can force throws. And, truly, I don’t like his size.
With only 11 TDs and 2877 passing yards last season, Carolina needs a lot of work for the team to become competitive again, because he is not going to be the guy to make anybody better around him.
Jordan Love was truly a nice surprise as I don’t believe that many people, including myself, really fully believed in the 6-4 quarterback from Utah State. Before last season, he was inaccurate and looked uncomfortable with 3 TDs and 3 ints in 10 games played and 21 pass attempts. But last year he showed a great amount of improvement with his progressions, as he led the Packers to a playoff season. Compiling 32 TDs and 4159 passing yards on the year with wide receivers Romeo Doubs and Jayden Reed being his primary targets. Neither one of those guys would be considered top guys – but he still got good production. It’s going to be interesting to see what the Pack can do with Love leading the team again, in what looks to be a tougher division. His injury is very unfortunate – and I do hope for a speedy recovery. The Packers definitely have themselves a good QB on their hands…again.
Which of course, lands us on CJ Stroud.
Let’s be honest, the former Ohio state QB was awesome last year. With 4108 passing yards and decision making that seemed to be beyond his years, he made the Houston Texans a legitimate competitor. As they improved from 3 wins to 10 wins with his arrival.
And now, with the addition of Stephon Diggs to his arsenal of weapons at wide receiver, I think that what we saw in 2023, is nothing compared to what I think we could see this season in 2024. Diggs has been a complainer and quite honestly, a definite diva, but there is no question that he also brings an additional threat to break off a big play with his tight route running and field vision.
As long as CJ stays focused with his ability to move the ball down field with accuracy and his full trust in his wide outs, I think Houston is going to be not only improved and better, but I think that the 6-3 passer can very well likely be a top 5 QB on the season. I actually think that 4500+ yards and 30+ TDs is not out of the question for Stroud and Houston. I’m very much looking forward to watching him play. With his accuracy and confidence, he brings the most excitement and potential out of the 2nd year QBs this season and the Vegas Odds favor him.