Seahawks 2023 mock draft: If QBs "fall" out of top-10, part 2
Where do Will Levis, C.J. Stroud, and Anthony Richardson fall: 2/23/2023
On Tuesday, Seaside Joe posted a mock draft first-10 picks that I wasn’t planning to do a follow-up on, but it was so well received, so popular, and so brilliant (cited by TIME magazine as the post of the century) that it felt necessary to continue with the next 10 picks.
After all, the Seattle Seahawks have two picks in the top-20, so in both cases here I will be able to explore possibilities for the team if indeed the NFL isn’t as hot on the 2023 quarterback class as the media is assuming in January and February.
And it is historically accurate to say that the media always overrates that quarterback class in January and February, even if it does become true that three or four QBs go “early” in the draft.
The premise of part I was simple: Everyone is saying that C.J. Stroud and Will Levis will go in the top-10, if not the top-five, and some are saying that Anthony Richardson could also go about that early. It doesn’t even matter what I personally believe, just as it doesn’t actually matter what Daniel Jeremiah, Mel Kiper, Todd McShay, or Rob Staton believe will happen. For my purposes, it’s only ever mattered what could happen.
I refuse to accept that a top-four with only one quarterback—whether that QB is Bryce Young or someone else—could not happen.
Even ProFootballNetwork’s Tony Pauline, a noted make believe creator who typically leans towards the fantastic and salacious (last year he famously spread a rumor on Staton’s podcast that the Seahawks were most likely trading up into the first round for Desmond Ridder), posted a mock draft this week that has Levis going 19th to the Bucs and no Richardson in the first round.
How interesting will Pauline’s annual appearance on Rob’s podcast be this year when he expands on this comment about Levis:
Will Levis needs a lot of work but has tremendous upside. Tampa Bay is capped out and lacking a viable long-term QB starter on the roster. This is closer to where Levis should go, regardless of the top-10 speculation and hype.
Sounds similar to the tepid analysis and outlook that Jim Nagy attempted to share on Rob’s podcast before the Senior Bowl.
I’ve never been the type to write or project “This definitely won’t happen” and “This definitely will happen” unless I know for sure that something definitely won’t or definitely will happen. I’d rather give myself wiggle room to be wrong because that’s the only thing that’s fair to the readers who trust Seaside Joe.
I might heavily lean in uncertain but likely scenarios, such as imploring people to relax about the DK Metcalf contract situation in 2022. When weighing all the factors leading into the 2023 draft, there’s not enough evidence yet that the NFL is as certain about the top end talent at quarterback as some members of the media would have you believe.
Therefore, the previous top-10 with only Bryce Young going first overall and no other QBs with the next nine picks was simply an exercise that lets Seahawks fans see certain scenarios play out that you won’t get to see from any other writer or mock draft. That, to me, is a lot more valuable than the copy/paste of the mock draft circuit that provides nothing more than a peek into the mind of someone who is trying to “will” their hopes onto you.
It doesn’t matter what I hope will happen. It only matters what we know for certain before whatever happens happens.
In the previous article, we saw the Bears choose Young and trade Justin Fields to the Titans to acquire the 11th overall pick; the Texans opt to pair DeMeco Ryans will Will Anderson over what they feel (in this universe of the mock draft) is a reach at quarterback; the Cardinals draft the next-best prospect in Jalen Carter at three; and the Colts make a trade with the Packers for Aaron Rodgers that moved Green Bay up to four, which they used on Myles Murphy.
That left the Seahawks with a board that had all the other quarterbacks and a slew of prospects at other positions, but for the purposes of that mock draft we know that they didn’t go with Stroud, Levis, or Richardson. What did they do at pick five then?
To find that out, as well as what will happen in picks 11-20 if the remaining three QBs are still available when Chicago is back on the board to Seattle’s second pick at 20, you’ll have to join Regular Joes premium. There’s been a ton of bonus content this month and only more as we head into free agency and the draft; it’s only $55 for a whole year and you’ve never been as guaranteed for continued/consistent Seahawks content as you’ll get from Seaside Joe. We don’t take nine-month breaks!
And thanks for contributing to Clark’s latest cut; more pics coming when he agrees to hold still!
