David NewtonESPN Staff Writer5:34 PM ET4 Minute Read
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Carolina Panthers traded for the NFL draft No. 1 for a chance at Alabama’s Bryce Young or Ohio State’s CJ Stroud, and back-to-back days in profit for the quarterbacks only reinforced that decision.
Carolina’s big Pro-Day contingent, which included owners David and Nicole Tepper, will continue their evaluation of the draft’s top quarterbacks — Will Levis of Kentucky on Friday and Anthony Richardson of Florida on March 30.
And while no one in the Carolina organization has officially ruled out Levis or Richardson, league sources say this is a two-quarterback race for top pick.
Alabama coach Nick Saban believes Thursday saw Carolina not only have the best quarterback, but maybe the best player in the draft.
Saban said Young’s workmanship was “exceptionally good,” noting that the 21-year-old quarterback plays like a basketball point guard.
“I can’t figure out the negative of who he is and how he’s preparing,” Saban said.
The only negative is Young’s size. He’s 5-foot-10 in a league where the average quarterback height is around 6-3. Stroud is 6-3.
“Hopefully he’ll be the first pick in the draft,” said Saban, who spent some time Thursday speaking with the Carolina contingent, including Tepper and coach Frank Reich. “No one knows for sure. But we’re definitely hopeful and think he’s the best player in the draft.”
The Panthers have done their best to downplay the importance of Young’s height. Reich, who hasn’t had a starting quarterback shorter than 6-3 in 17 years as a coach, recalled earlier this week that as a nine-time pro he had a “very high” grade for Russell Wilson (5-11) and Bowler Super Bowl champion drafted in 2012.
General Manager Scott Fitterer, who was on the Seattle staff who drafted Wilson in the third round, agreed.
“You’re just learning how to play with it,” he said Thursday of Young’s height. “You don’t see balls being knocked down. He has no problem seeing and processing across the middle of the field. He’s off the charts as a processor.
“I don’t see size as a factor.”
Young knocked down a pass Thursday — through the roof of Alabama’s practice facility on a deep pass. Otherwise it was spot on, except for three drops, all of which hit the recipients hands.
He was, as Fitterer described at the NFL combine, “Just chilling… Nothing’s too big for him.”
Young was so relaxed on Thursday that an analyst attending both pro days gave Young the advantage.
But the past few days have been more about getting to know Young and Stroud better as people. Both had dinner the night before their practice with the Teppers, Reich, Fitterer and others in a contingent that included 12 in Ohio State and 11 in Alabama.
A similar cast will go through the same process with Levis and Richardson.
The judging process is expected to continue for several more weeks, with all four quarterbacks coming to Charlotte, North Carolina, to visit team facility before the Panthers announce who they will pick.
When asked what he had learned about Young and Stroud in the few days that he didn’t already know, Fitterer didn’t hesitate.
“How smart they are, how mature they are for 21-year-olds,” he said, is what we’re learning.”
Young and Stroud downplayed their arguments for being the best choice, although Stroud admitted he would go there.
“It’s been a dream of mine for a very, very long time,” he said on Wednesday. It was either basketball or soccer. He laid the foundation stone early on.
“I really want to achieve that.”
Said Young on Thursday: “I don’t have an argument. I want to present myself in the best light. But I don’t control where I’m picked, who picks me. I’m grateful for any team that takes a chance on me.”
Neither quarterback ran the 40-yard dash on his pro day. Young’s mobility has never been a factor with NFL scouts, who have watched him lengthen his plays well enough to throw for 8,200 yards and 79 touchdowns with just 12 interceptions over the past two seasons.
Stroud didn’t need to lengthen his plays as much by playing behind a more stable line, especially last season, which didn’t force him out of the bag as much. But Stroud is confident he’s mobile enough for the NFL.
“None of the teams asked me to do that,” Stroud said as he explained his decision not to compete on Wednesday. “If they had done it, I would have done it. If I need to lengthen plays, I can stretch them as far as anyone else in the country.”
Both have shown in their pro days that they can throw on the run, throw at various angles, and throw accurately deep.