8 quarterbacks to start thinking about for the Seahawks 2023 NFL Draft

Seaside Joe 1270, 8/27/22: Now is as good of a time as any

While I am not surprised by Pete Carroll’s decision to start Geno Smith in Week 1 against the Denver Broncos, it does make me feel speechless. This entire time I’ve posited that the Seattle Seahawks intend to name Drew Lock as the starter and I believe that was the case, but as Pete put it, the new guy “ran out of time” to catch up once the schedule got messed up last week.

Seattle Seahawks @Seahawks

Geno Smith. QB1.

Or maybe in Pete’s eyes, Smith just outplayed Lock through every step in the process and there’s nothing else to read into it. I don’t claim to have inside sources, only ears and eyes and a memory, and the decision to start Smith over Lock doesn’t make me think of either quarterback and what went into this process.

It makes me think of how the plan started and that the Seahawks did the right thing to trade Russell Wilson when they did, for what they got, and to not invest in any quarterback replacement until the 2023 NFL Draft.

So when it comes to Geno Smith, I have nothing left to say until Week 1. He’s had one of the most unusual careers ever for a player named as a Week 1 starter and that at least makes his story interesting…but it’s more like an anecdote that lasts for three minutes at a party than something anyone wants to watch for three hours.

When it comes to Drew Lock, I feel no desire to write an argument for him to be named as the starter instead. When it comes to the competition, which isn’t over while both are still on the roster, I think it will serve us better to focus on other positions and players who we know will be on the roster during the next training camp.

My responsibilities are not to decide on who will start at quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks. My duty is to write a great Seahawks newsletter and the last thing that anyone wants to read about with an article that goes out every single day is “Woe is this team”, “What a lame decision”, “Boo”, and “Get outta here with that!”

Seattle traded Wilson for a package of good picks and okay players and the reaction we’ve had the entire time is: Hell yeah!

And not because we thought that the Seahawks got immediately better due to the trade. It’s “Hell yeah!” because the Seahawks increased their odds to be better in the future. Last I checked, cars still drive on the ground, so maybe it’s not quite the future yet.

But this current moment and decision gives me pause on what to say about the Seahawks at present—we’ve kind of already covered all this ground through six+ months of accepting that the team is on a downswing—and instead makes me want to quickly poke my head into a wormhole that sees into April of 2023.

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about 10 positions players who the Seattle Seahawks could be interested in for the 2023 NFL Draft.

They are: EDGE Will Anderson, DT Jalen Carter, WR Jordan Addison, EDGE Andre Carter II, G/C Andrew Vorhees, LB Noah Sewell, TE Michael Mayer, CB Joey Porter Jr, TE Jaheim Bell, WR Quentin Johnston

For the most part, these are all premier first and second round prospects, especially Anderson and Jalen Carter, but at the moment none of them seem like far off possibilities for the Seahawks.

Neither do quarterbacks Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud.

Seattle is currently ranked 29th in projected win total based on betting odds, with a 6-11 projection that feels pretty close to accurate albeit without any regular season data to go off of. I know that a lot of Seahawks fans (and fans of the Texans, Giants, Lions, and Falcons to say the least) will use these opportunities to daydream about Young and Stroud. And that’s fine, they would have been the top two picks if they were eligible for the draft this year and I believe are most likely going to be able to ride that wave into 2023.

But I would also say that pinning your hopes on the Seahawks drafting either (Young looks to me like he’s as good as any number one pick, Stroud I’m not sold) is just as dangerous of a game as if you had hoped that Pete Carroll would go with someone other than Geno Smith or Drew Lock.

The draft is eight months away. The first full week of college football isn’t until next Saturday. The NFL Draft order won’t even start coming into view until December. The Seahawks are not only monitoring their own picks, but the win-loss record of the Denver Broncos. And while I think Pete actually does want to finally draft a quarterback early for once in his career, first he must navigate through this season and continue to be at the helm when that opportunity for Seattle arises. Then the quarterback he wants has to be available to the Seahawks. Then he has to do good!

Will it be Young or Stroud? It doesn’t have to be either!

Back in early June, I started us off with a list of 152 college quarterbacks who could play this season and be eligible for the 2023 NFL Draft. Though Week 0 of college football begins today, the meat of the season begins in Week 1. Here are some of my brief thoughts about a handful of quarterback prospects heading into the season. These will be opinions, we’ll test out how accurate those are, but mainly I’m open to learning new things and changing my feelings on any of these quarterbacks when evidence is presented during the season.

This is just a little something to get us started. Again. Seaside Joe is always prepared to write about the Seahawks, even when they’re bad (or if they’re bad…we’ll see), so subscribe, stick with us, and share with other fans who are asking themselves this weekend…”So, what’s next?”

QB Bryce Young, Alabama

He’s very outstanding. As much as I love McCall, I don’t think anybody for me is going to climb over Young and he’s in such a perfect position to repeat as a Heisman.

Bradon Deacon @BradonDeacon

I know it’s still very early, but I’d be lying to you if I said Bryce Young didn’t remind me of Drew Brees.

QB C.J. Stroud, Ohio State

Mack Perry @DevaronPerry

CJ Stroud and Jaxon Smith-Njigba in last year’s Rose bowl: Stroud: 37/46, 573 YDS, 6 TD, 1 INT Smith-Njigba: 15 REC, 347 YDS, 3 TD OSU/ND can’t get here fast enough.

Such a double-edged sword to play quarterback at Ohio State. As talented as Stroud is, the receivers are always just so wide open and so often getting drafted in the first round. Great quarterbacks can play anywhere—whether that’s Ohio State or Coastal Carolina—but I think the bar for Stroud has to be set much higher than “What if he throws 65 touchdowns this season?”

QB Will Levis, Kentucky

He’s the guy that gets mentioned the most often when fans don’t want to get their hopes up for Stroud or Young. I do not see it. Throw accurate passes, dominate bad opponents, that’s what I want to see it. To have not seen it for Levis as he’s entering his fifth college season, that’s what makes me think he seems a lot more like the media’s next Malik Willis than the NFL’s next Josh Allen.

QB Grayson McCall, Coastal Carolina

McCaw!!! You know that McCall is my pick. My pick for what? He’s my pick to: Be the best player in college football, even if he stands long odds against winning the Heisman or getting that recognition out of the Sun Belt. Watch his games, there’s nobody who is better to watch. He’s my pick to: Be a fantastic draft choice for whoever gets them and I’m trying to get the campaign going for that team to be the Seahawks. He’s my pick to: lead NCAA in passer rating (again), go undefeated in the regular season (again), be the star at next year’s Senior Bowl, show out at next year’s combine (he’s faster than you think), and be drafted higher than anyone else is saying.

McCall recently did an interview and I’ve queued up to this point where he talks about the draft (I recommend watching the whole thing of course) and I get so fired up when I hear him say that he expects others to get drafted ahead of him…and that he wouldn’t have it any other way. “I want to continue to have that chip on my shoulder.”

That’s my quarterback.

QB Tyler Van Dyke, Miami

As a 2020 high school recruit, same as Young and Stroud, Van Dyke putting himself into the draft conversation this early after a solid sophomore campaign (and being a former top recruit) is probably what ups his odds of being a first round pick next year. I’d say that Van Dyke is definitely ahead of Levis but doesn’t get mentioned nearly as often.

Michael Yero @MichaelYero

Tyler Van Dyke to Jacolby George in the end zone.

QB Anthony Richardson, Florida

If he’s good, I’d love to see it. I don’t know why so many draft experts want to jump the gun on Richardson though when he’s only thrown 66 passes—and five interceptions. Richardson is definitely high on the list of quarterbacks I’m excited to watch next week.

Indy Source @SourceIndiana

The one QB I’m most intrigued by as a potentially realistic draft target for #Colts is Anthony Richardson. Let the freak show develop for a year or two behind Matty Ice.

QB Devin Leary, Utah

If you’re not sold on McCall for whatever reason, but you take my word on Levis and you want a less-talked about name to rise up draft boards for Seattle, I’d go with Leary. He’s not just successful already (35 TD/5 INT last season), he’s got a lot of arm talent.

PFF College @PFF_College

Devin Leary throwin’ DOTS 🎯 @PackFootball x @accnetwork

Super Sleeper: QB Cam Ward, Washington State

We know practically nothing about Ward except that he was dominant at Incarnate Word last season (47 TD, 10 INT) and he’s at WSU now. I’m intrigued.