Carolina Panthers take C.J. Stroud over Bryce Young in total NFL redraft

Fair or not, the top two quarterbacks in the 2023 NFL draft class are going to be linked for the rest of their careers. After trading up to the number one overall spot, the Carolina Panthers went with Bryce Young out of Alabama, then the Houston Texans took C.J. Stroud from Ohio State.

At the end of their first year in the league, it certainly looked like Carolina had made the wrong choice and an all-time blunder. Stroud had an exceptional rookie season for Houston, throwing 23 touchdowns and five interceptions on his way to an Offensive Rookie of the Year award. The Texans also made it to the playoffs. Meanwhile, Young's Panthers went 2-14 as he threw just 10 touchdown passes to go with 11 interceptions, 62 sacks, 11 fumbles and one of the worst seasons ever for a top draft pick.

If they could do it over one year ago, the Panthers would probably have taken Stroud over Young and few would be in any position to argue against it. The ball keeps bouncing, though - and one year later you can make a strong case in the opposite direction. Nevertheless, a recent 2025 NFL total redraft from Jay Busbee atYahoo Sports has Carolina picking Stroud over Young at the 8th overall spot.

Yahoo Sports on C.J. Stroud > Bryce Young

"No small irony in this pick given that Carolina passed on Stroud in favor of Bryce Young a few years back. Given a redo, the Panthers go the other way."

There's no doubt that Stroud is the better athlete of the two. However, that doesn't change the fact that Young was playing at a higher level than Stroud at the end of the 2024 season.

One big reason for the change was improved pass protection by the Panthers offensive line, combined with some more poise from Bryce Young, he wound up only taking 29 sacks in 2024. Meanwhile, Stroud was running for his life every other snap and took 52.

Stroud's overall numbers are still superior to Young's - there's no debating that. However, based on what we saw from Young over the last month of the season we feel he may still have a higher ceiling than Stroud, who was admittely more NFL-ready coming into the league.

Young will have to pick up where he left off and continue growing in 2025 to fully catch up to Stroud, but it wouldn't be a stretch to predict that he might have a better year statistically if the Panthers could get him real upgrades at wide receiver and tight end.

While Stroud's offensive line now is about as bad as Young's as a rookie, the Texans have done a much better job of getting talent at the skill positions around him - and they went into last season with the strongest wide receiver corps in football.

The Panthers won't have that, but if they add a legitimate star WR1 in free agency and Xavier Legette and Jalen Coker take big steps forward then it'll at least be an above-average group, here.