"Poised, uber productive, spread passer with arm talent and grit. The elephant is that he can tweak his knee getting off the bus."
Strengths:
Poised, productive, spread passer with arm talent and grit. Flashes ability to turn progression reads, sees the field and generally makes good decisions. Adept bucket thrower with good timing and touch.
Adequate underneath arm strength that levels up on deeper throws. Can change up his arm angles. Comfortable throwing on the move and from awkward positions. Clutch and tough. Lauded character guy and team leader.
Strong's looked like a pro QB every season at Nevada. His arm talent, footwork and decision making are top tier. But he's decidedly more efficient with space in the pocket and a gimpy knee only exacerbates this.
Weaknesses:
Injury prone with a gimpy knee. Process and mechanics are often a beat slow. Needs space to operate and struggles in clutter and on the move. Ball placement can get shoddy. Inordinate amount of production stems from 9 throws and isn't as effective in the red zone.
Suffers from Osteochondritis dissecans and the long term stability of his knee is in question.
Overall:
The elephant is that Strong can tweak his knee getting off the bus. His adequate pocket mobility becomes a liability with his oft injured knee. He's tough and absorbs punishment but it'll only get harder at the next level.
That said, his arm talent and grit stand out. He's adept running the air raid spread and makes good decisions when he has time to throw. Despite his mobility limitations he's comfortably throwing on the run and can manipulate a pocket somewhat. He can be a bit slow with his mechanics and process but that's likely an effect of operating an air raid scheme.
Durability is it with Strong. His arm talent, poise and intangibles are starting QB caliber but playing on a deteriorating knee this past season he often looked like a liability under heavy pass pressure. If it's possible to manage his heath, he could be a steal, but lingering time in the training room is going to undermine his growth.