1. Can he win from the pocket. Because that is where the protections are. It is where you can string together a long career so QBs who can do this are the most valuable version of prospects for this position. If you're a "contain him in the pocket and we can win" QB then you are going to limit your team until you're not that QB.
2. Does he stand up to a rush with confidence. This is the "does he have cajones" question. There's a lot of different ways a lack of cajones show, but basically guys who panic are not my kind of QB. An easy and confident air in the pocket is paramount, to me at least.
Re: Stroud... Right now he looks to me like a young Aaron Rodgers. Quirky in his personality but athletic when he needs to be, lethal on the field and quick to punish defenses when they make mistakes. He can win from the pocket so he's gonna be around a long time. Question I would have is to what extent his pre-snap reads and preparation are part of his excellence, i.e. when Slowik gets hired away will his efficiency dip. But I think this guy is a rare talent at this juncture.
This past QB class was pretty good. I suspect Young will be a solid system QB at some point, he's just not dominant enough to elevate that roster without help. Stroud is a stud. Richardson might not survive (got hurt his 4th game) but when he was in there he showed he belongs. Levis looks much the same, you can see the talent it leaps off the field the moment he went out there it's just can he survive, both him and Richardson are TE type athletes who forget they should be careful. O'Connell did some good things with the Raiders. Still might have another one or two emerge as backups or spot starters. We'll be feeling that class for a while.
Re: Penix he has the two things I prefer nowadays in a QB in spades. What we don't know with him is his medical side and that probably muddies the water on where he will go. But since he looks like he can win from the pocket maybe some teams aren't too worried about the medical stuff. I do think he would be well suited to sit on a roster for a year, as I would say with any young QB. Just to make sure that once the fans see him it is with full command of the offense. But having balls can help these young QBs show well in many outings if they do need to start right away.
