NFL Player News

The Rams selected Bennett in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft, 128th overall.

A former walk-on quarterback turned two-time national champion, Bennett has come a long way to get onto the NFL Draft radar. The 25-year-old was a game manager in his first season as a starter for Georgia before becoming a Heisman finalist in 2022 by throwing for over 4,000 yards and 27 touchdowns. Size is an issue for Bennett (5-11, 192) but he has functional arm strength and sneaky athleticism to boot. He's not likely to be the long-term answer behind Matthew Stafford, but he adds depth to the Rams' quarterback room and that was needed in this draft.

The Saints selected Haener in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft, 127th overall.

Haener is a very small quarterback (6-feet, 207 pounds), but in a league where Bryce Young goes first overall it should also make sense for a player like Haener to go in the fourth. The Fresno State product was a high-volume, high-efficiency passer for multiple seasons in college, throwing for 9,013 yards, 67 touchdowns and 17 interceptions in his final 29 games. At the combine Haener showed plus athleticism by logging a 35-inch vertical and 7.01-second three-cone drill, seemingly making him a quality depth project for the Saints.

The Lions selected Hooker (knee) in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft, 68th overall.

Hooker tore his ACL in November and might need a redshirt season in 2023 as a result, but whenever he's healthy he should give Detroit an interesting developmental quarterback behind Jared Goff. That Hooker turned 25 in January and played in an extremely favorable system at Tennessee undermines his otherwise excellent production with the Volunteers, where he threw for 58 touchdowns compared to just five interceptions in his final 24 collegiate games. To Hooker's credit he was a good player at Virginia Tech before that, too, and at both schools he proved an effective volume runner. Hooker is a total wild card, but the Lions had a lot of picks in the 2023 Draft and relatively few needs, leaving Detroit in good position to make this gamble.

The Titans selected Levis in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft, 33rd overall.

Levis' long slide out of the first round came to an end early in Round 2 as the Titans moved up via a trade with the Cardinals to make the pick. Though the notion of Levis going first overall never seemed plausible, there was some sense he would be a top-10 pick at the very least. Levis has plenty of pluses and minuses to his game. On the one hand, Levis has a big frame (6-foot-4, 229 pounds) with solid mobility to go with a powerful throwing arm. On the other, Levis is still very raw for a player his age. He will turn 24 before his rookie season and it took him until his fourth year in college and a transfer out of Penn State in order to win a starting job. Levis had strong statistics in his first year at Kentucky with 24 passing touchdowns and nine rushing scores. He played through bumps and bruises in 2022 and the production suffered, especially in the rushing category. There was concern regarding a lingering toe issue that may have fueled his slide out of the first round. Now in Tennessee, Levis projects to compete with 2022 third-round pick Malik Willis for the right to back up Ryan Tannehill before possibly challenging for the starting role in his second year.

The Chargers picked up the fifth-year option on Herbert's (shoulder) rookie contract Friday, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

With the May 1 deadline to make such a decision with 2020 first-round picks, L.A. did as expected with its franchise signal-caller. Through three seasons, Herbert has racked up at last 4,300 passing yards on each occasion, posted 94 touchdowns versus 35 interceptions and also added eight scores on the ground. Currently, he's in the midst of his recovery from surgery on his left, non-throwing shoulder and remains a couple weeks away from making light throws, but there's little worry about him being healthy by the time training camp kicks off in late July.

With Panthers having chosen Bryce Young with the top overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, Dalton is expected to serve as the rookie's backup this coming season, Joseph Person of The Athletic reports.

Dalton, who signed a two-year deal with the team in March, brings plenty of NFL starting experience to the table, but given the Panthers' significant investment in trading up to land Young, the 35-year-old seems destined to work in a reserve role in 2023 while mentoring the team's young signal-caller. If the 5-foot-10, 204-pound Young struggles at all out of the gate or suffers any injuries, Dalton provides the franchise with a reliable insurance policy. However, for the time being, the 2011 second-round pick, who started 14 games for the Saints in 2022, is off the fantasy re-draft radar.

Keenum and Davis Mills are expected to compete for the backup job after Houston selected C.J. Stroud with the second overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft on Thursday, Jonathan M. Alexander of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Either Keenum or Mills could be the Week 1 starter, but in the long term, the position belongs to Stroud. Keenum -- who backed up Josh Allen in Buffalo last season -- was expected to help guide a young quarterback when he signed a two-year deal during the offseason, and that role should remain the same in 2023.

Mills will remain on the roster after the Texans selected C.J. Stroud with the second overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft on Thursday, Jonathan M. Alexander of the Houston Chronicle reports.

In theory, either Mills or Case Keenum, who was added during the offseason, could start Week 1, but neither is viewed as a long-term answer at the position. The temptation to make Stroud the Week 1 starter will be great, but so will the patience to make sure the Ohio State product is ready. A new head coach and offensive coordinator means the old offense that Mills led is not an important factor for head coach DeMeco Ryans, as he evaluates the rostered quarterbacks. If Stroud isn't under center Week 1, it's a safe bet that he'll eventually take over at some point during the season.

The Colts selected Richardson in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft, fourth overall.

Richardson is raw as a passer and has mechanical work ahead to improve his accuracy, but the Florida product will only turn 21 in May and is not unusually raw for a player his age. If Richardson can make improvements to his skill set then the results could be uniquely explosive, because athletes of his caliber just do not happen very often. At 6-foot-4, 244 pounds Richardson is massive for a quarterback, yet his 4.43-second 40-yard dash indicates speed that would make most wide receivers jealous. Richardson only completed 53.8 percent of his passes in 2022 and his nine interceptions were too much for just 327 attempts, but even if Richardson never improves as a passer he should prove a top-two rushing threat at quarterback. It's not clear whether Richardson might start over veteran Gardner Minshew in Week 1, but the Colts will presumably give Richardson a chance to compete for the opportunity.

The Texans selected Stroud in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft, second overall.

For much of the pre-draft process, Stroud was considered a candidate to go first overall, and it's difficult to identify ways he could have played much better at Ohio State. This selection gives the Texans a credible franchise quarterback prospect, and one who will perhaps jumpstart the Houston passing game after throwing 85 touchdown passes to just 12 interceptions over the last two years. Stroud (6-foot-3, 214 pounds) is not a big quarterback and is unlikely to run much at the NFL level, but his pocket movement is adequate and his quick release allows him to pose as a big-play threat as a passer.