NFLMocks’ 5 for 5: 2023 NFL Draft Sleepers, NFL MVP Favorites, and More!

Headline #3: 2023 NFL Draft QB Stock Watch

•No. 1: Bryce Young (Alabama)

Unless you live under a rock, you’ve heard Bryce Young’s name any time the 2023 NFL Draft comes up. The reigning Heisman trophy winner is worthy of this high praise, but the 2022 season has shown some potentially worrisome signs.

Young is still as good as they come in the clutch, showing as much during Alabama’s thrilling 20-19 triumph over the Texas Longhorns. However, one could argue that Young’s inaccuracy is the core reason that the game was still within reach in the fourth quarter.

The Crimson Tide have their worst wide receiver room in a decade currently, and the sheer amount of drops that Alabama pass catchers have in 2022 helps confirm this. But even so, Young’s timing and accuracy have been all over the place in his junior campaign.

You wouldn’t know by looking at the box score because Young is posting a career-high completion percentage. If you watch the games though, you’ll see the drops, but you’ll also see Young killing the momentum of his receivers by throwing behind them or too far in front of them — even on the balls he does complete.

Young is a superstar, please don’t take this as an indictment of his ability as a college quarterback. However, due to his slight frame and short stature, Young is going to have to be perfect in all the other aspects to help smooth over the concerns of scouts.

•No. 2: Hendon Hooker (Tennessee)

The former Virginia Tech Hokie took over the reins at starter last season for the Volunteers and he quickly earned fans across the country due to his exciting, yet risk-averse, brand of play. He looks like an NFL quarterback and moves like one as well.

Hooker is playing the best football of his life in 2022, and this could lead to the Tennessee quarterback becoming the first signal-caller taken in round one since Peyton Manning went No. 1 overall in the 1998 NFL Draft.

In 17 starts with the Volunteers, Hooker has 38 passing touchdowns to only three interceptions! Three! Add in the fact that he has 791 yards on the ground and eight rushing touchdowns and it’s easy to see why so many NFL teams are enticed by this kid.

The one thing Hooker must continue to improve upon is speeding up his motion and processing. While he only has three interceptions, a lot of that can be attributed to his tendency of holding the ball far too long, allowing the opponent to sack him. This happened 34 times in 2021 and already has occurred eight times in 2022.

Think of a higher upside Jacoby Brissett. Brissett was taken in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots. Expect Hooker to hear his name well before then if he continues playing at this level.

•No. 3: Devin Leary (NC State)

Devin Leary is not a name that non-ACC fans are as familiar with when comparing him to his peers at the position. After a breakout 2021 season for the Wolfpack, Leary got off to an up-and-down start in 2022.

He played poorly across the team’s first three games but finally looks to be back on track after posting 320 yards through the air and four touchdowns. More importantly, Leary completed over 65% of his passes for the first time all year, showing much better ball placement than weeks prior.

The bounce-back effort came against Connecticut, a school that is far from great on the CFB scene. Leary has some key matchups coming up with the first being a showdown at Clemson against Dabo Swinney’s No. 5 ranked group. Scouts will have their eyes glued to the screen to see how Leary fares.

Aside from the big-named prospects like CJ Stroud and Bryce Young, the 2023 NFL Draft class is begging for someone to claim that No. 3 quarterback spot. Leary could do it.

•No. 4: Tyler Van Dyke (Miami)

What a fall from grace that Tyler Van Dyke has experienced over the past 14 days. Heading into his matchup with Texas A&M last weekend, TVD was a popular pick to climb draft boards with a strong performance. Unfortunately, Van Dyke played the worst game of his career against the Aggies.

He hoped to bounce back this week against the lowly-Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders, but things hit an all-time low for the signal-caller. Van Dyke threw two interceptions and was subsequently benched for the remainder of the game.

He still has some NFL traits, but unless he gets back on the field and shows a marked improvement from what he just put on tape, the odds of Van Dyke going day one in the 2023 NFL Draft are slim to none. There’s a better chance that he transfers and plays another year of college ball before declaring in 2024.

•No. 5: Jaren Hall (BYU)

When Zach Wilson burst onto the scene and parlayed an incredible final season at BYU into a No. 2 overall selection in the 2021 NFL Draft, this opened the door for someone else to follow in his footsteps to the NFL.

Jaren Hall’s arm isn’t quite as electric as Zach Wilson’s was on tape. Don’t get it twisted though, Hall still has a strong arm that can make any throw necessary to play on Sundays, but he entered 2022 with a lot to prove in terms of touch and accuracy.

Thus far, Hall has closed the gap between himself and Wilson due to a more refined throwing motion and a better understanding of what to do with the ball after dropping back. Hall’s decisiveness has taken his game to the next level and landed him on NFL Draft radars everywhere.

BYU will host both Notre Dame and Arkansas in October, with both games looking to be a turning point in Hall’s NFL hopes. If he maintains this stellar play against defenses that boast NFL players, his stock is going to be BOOMIN’.