Todd McShay outlines pros, cons with CJ Stroud

Ohio State quarterback CJ Stroud is as good as it gets when it comes to a prospect in the 2023 NFL Draft. He has been highly touted since high school and through his career as a Buckeye. Now, Todd McShay says he’s all in one Stroud as a quarterback in the NFL.

McShay shared the pros and cons of Stroud’s game in the latest episode of ‘First Draft’. As far as the positive, he says Stroud throws it better than any prospect in the draft’s quarterback class. McShay says he has every throw in his game and, even though he had the luxury of top-notch wide receiver talent in Columbus, he says Stroud is exactly what pro teams are looking for in the pocket.

“The pros are he just layers the ball perfectly,” said McShay. “Yes, he has had first round draft picks at wide receiver the last couple years. And he certainly benefits from the fact that he’s got guys around him that are going to play at a high level in the NFL. But the way he throws the ball from inside the pocket? Short, intermediate, deep? It doesn’t matter. The touch, the timing, the ball placement? It’s exactly what you want to see.”

“Sometimes it’s so beautiful that, if you put together a highlight reel of his best 10 passes? It’s better than any other quarterback in this class,” McShay said.

Stroud has proven to be an elite passer at the college level. It is true that he has benefitted from stars like Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and Marvin Harrison Jr.. Still, numbers don’t lie and, in his two seasons as Ohio State’s QB1, he threw for just over 8,100 yards and 85 touchdowns on a 69.1% completion rate. Even with all those throws, he also only finished with 12 interceptions.

As a con, though, mobility is something McShay says every scout and evaluator has noticed with Stroud. However, his tape against Georgia in the Peach Bowl this season went a long way in changing their minds a tad on the issue. He showed some creativity outside of the pocket against the Bulldogs and, now, McShay says teams are hoping that can continue when he gets to the league.

“The knock on him has always been why isn’t he using his mobility? He’s a good athlete but, when pressure comes, there seems to be a little bit of the panic,” McShay said. “But then, against Georgia, it was like somebody got in his ear…He accepted the challenge and that tape is gonna be huge for CJ Stroud.”

“I talked to guys in the league all season long (and) everyone said the same thing. He’s got to be able to create more like Bryce Young creates. And he did against the best team they faced all year, the best team in the country in Georgia. That kind of changes the narrative a little bit,” said McShay. “If we can push him to be a little bit more creative, innovative, and mobile and create beyond the initial play? We have a special talent here.”

There’s no questioning the arm talent Stroud is about to bring with him to the next level. That alone is what is going to have a team selecting him highly come April 27th. However, if he can continue to show some imagination when under duress? That may be all the difference, according to McShay, in just how highly he’s taken.