Should C.J. Stroud Be The First Overall Pick?
C.J. Stroud has everything you’d want in a franchise quarterback. And as most of us saw in the Peach Bowl against Georgia last year, his ceiling is incredibly high if he can put his entire game together.
As is the case with Bryce Young, if the Panthers select Stroud first overall, they wouldn’t be making a bad decision. But that doesn’t mean he’s a sure thing.
There are plenty of areas of Stroud’s game that need improvement but didn’t necessarily come to the surface all that often in college. They will become more visible in the NFL, though, which means they have to be factored into the decision to select him with the first overall pick.
I’ll get to the those areas in a bit. First, let’s start with his strengths.
Intermediate and Deep Passes
Stroud has a strong arm. I wouldn’t classify it as a gun or a cannon. But it’s well above the threshold necessary to make every single throw an NFL quarterback needs to.
You could see it on this far-hash deep out/comeback against Georgia:
That type of throw is the litmus test for arm strength, and Stroud passes easily.
But Stroud’s calling card isn’t his arm strength. Instead, it’s his exceptional accuracy on intermediate and deep passes. Just look at some of these ridiculous throws below:
Stroud can make every type of throw. And he’s particularly good on those passes that require firm touch, meaning the ability to put the ball over 2nd-level defenders and under 3rd-level defenders.
Just look at this play as an example:
There really isn’t a type of throw that Stroud can’t make, and that’s a great skillset to start with for any quarterback.