The Carolina Panthers traded up to the No. 1 overall draft pick to select their next franchise quarterback and will have to decide between CJ Stroud and Bryce Young.
The Ohio State quarterback is considered the safe pick in the 2023 quarterback class, as CJ Stroud has the highest floor. Standing at 6’2, he doesn’t have the height concerns that Young has at 5’10. Stroud also doesn’t have the accuracy concerns that Anthony Richardson has, as he’s a raw athletic talent. Overall, Stroud has few concerns as his style relies upon accuracy and dissecting the secondary.
Strouds’ accuracy ranges from short slants to taking the top off the defense as he can show off his arm strength. His comparisons have gone from Jared Goff to Joe Burrow, but with his arm strength, he’s more on the Burrow side of quarterback talent.
His consistency in college stands out with being a finalist for the Heisman both years as a starter. In 2021, Stroud threw for 4,435 yards and 44 touchdowns with six interceptions. In 2022, he threw for 4,688 and 41 touchdowns, and six interceptions. In both seasons, Stroud completed more than 65% of his passes.
The individual game that raised eyeballs was the CFP Semi-final against Georgia, where CJ Stroud had 348 passing yards and four touchdowns. This was the same Georgia team that finished the season 13-0 and was on the cusp of losing to Ohio State because of Stroud’s elite quarterback play.
Many raise questions about the two losses against Michigan, but in both games, Stroud didn’t disappoint as he individually had great games. In 2022, Stroud threw for 349 yards and two touchdowns; in 2021 threw for 394 yards and two touchdowns. It’s hard to point the finger at Stroud for losing those games, as he had 300+ yards in both games.
The final question about Stroud is his mobility, as he’s avoided using his legs throughout college. He answered those questions against Georgia with 34 rushing yards as he showed his mobility for the first time. Along with running downfield, Stroud showed movement in the pocket with a perfect touchdown pass to Marvin Harrison Jr. while Stroud was moving to his right and threw off his back foot.
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