Pete Prisco’s 2023 NFL Mock Draft 2.0: Colts don’t take any chances, trade up a spot for QB; 4 go in top 10

The pro days for the top quarterbacks are over.

Oh, boy.

Those have to be the most overrated part of the evaluation process when it comes to the NFL Draft. I’ve never been a pro-day guy as it relates to any position, but especially quarterbacks.

Where is the defense? Where is the reading of coverage? Where is the pressure in their face? Pro days are just days for general managers and scouts to gather to watch a kid throw, often times a way to get out of the office and see other like-minded people in their profession. Big deal.

It’s wise never to read much into them, even if the hype would make you think otherwise. Having said that, something that can be of value is sitting down with the quarterbacks to get inside their heads, which is why the Carolina Panthers sent a strong contingent to every pro day for the top-four quarterbacks. They spent time with them. That matters.

So how did it shake out? I think the Panthers, with the first overall pick, will take C.J. Stroud. That’s the way I have it in my Mock 2.0. The Ohio State quarterback seems to be a fit for what coach Frank Reich would want in his quarterback. The size issue is a big one — no pun intended — for Alabama quarterback Bryce Young, who I have going second in this mock to the Texans. If 5-foot-10 and a player who has weighed below 190 pounds in his career don’t deter you, Young is the most NFL ready. He can throw it. But that size is the issue.

The big move I have here in this mock is the Indianapolis Colts moving up from the fourth spot to the third spot to get Arizona’s third pick to land Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson. The Colts need to fix that position, so the move would make sense. They would give up a third-round pick this year and one next year to do so. It might seem like a lot, but they could be worried about Arizona trading down with another team interested in Richardson — and it fits based on the value board.

Kentucky’s Will Levis would then go to the Raiders in the seventh spot, which means four quarterbacks in the first seven picks. That’s what happens when there is a league starved to fill the position.

There will be two more mocks for me before the draft, and one who-they-should-draft mock. So don’t hold me to this. Unless it’s good, of course. 

Remember: There are only 31 picks in this mock draft because the Dolphins were stripped of their first-round pick due to tampering.