From now until the 2026 NFL Draft, we will scout and create profiles for as many prospects as possible, examining their strengths, weaknesses, and what they can bring to an NFL franchise. These players could be potential top-10 picks, down to Day 3 selections, and priority undrafted free agents. Today, a scouting report on Minnesota State Morehead QB Jack Strand.
#15 JACK STRAND/QUARTERBACK MINNESOTA STATE MOORHEAD (SENIOR) – 6037, 243 pounds
Measurements
Player Ht/Wt Hand Size Arm Length Wingspan
Jack Strand 6037/243 10 32 3/4 75 7/8
40-Yard Dash 10-Yard Dash Short Shuttle 3-Cone
4.78 1.49 N/A N/A
Broad Jump Vertical Bench Press
10’1″ 35 N/A
THE GOOD
– Quick release
– Snappy arm that allows him to use different angles to create throwing windows
– Good arm strength
– Can push the ball from the hash to the opposite sideline
– Good footwork in a clean pocket
– Processes quickly
– Makes full field reads
– Attacks the middle of the field with good accuracy
– Can throw receivers open at all three levels of the field
– Throws with good anticipation and timing
– Makes quick decisions
– Makes off-platform throws
– Always looked like the best player on the field
THE BAD
– Average athleticism
– Will not have rushing upside in the NFL
– Can be slow to react to pressure
– Average pocket mobility
– Struggles to make defenders miss in the open field
– Inconsistent accuracy outside the numbers
– Accuracy will decrease when making an immediate throw to a new read
– Can blindly throw to a new read, which leads to interceptions
– Average accuracy on the run
– Arm angle can dip, which leads to sailed passes
– Does not put a good touch on passes in goal-line situations, which leads to batted passes
– Struggles to read disguised coverages
STATS
– Started 42 games across four seasons at Minnesota State Moorhead (Division II)
– 2025: 303 completions (63 percent), 3546 yards, 42 touchdowns, 14 interceptions
– Career: 1247 completions (64 percent), 13161 yards, 126 touchdowns, 76 interceptions
– Career: 348 rushes, 55 yards, 9 touchdowns
– 2025: 112 rushes, 288 yards, 5 touchdowns
INJURY HISTORY
– 2024: Suffered a shoulder injury vs Minnesota State but did not miss any extended time
BACKGROUND
– Received 2025 Division II First Team All-America honors
– Named the 2025 D2CCA Super Region 3 Offensive Player of the Year
– Was a Harlon Hill Trophy Finalist in 2025 (Best Division II Player)
– Named the 2025 NSIC Offensive Player of the Year
– 2025 CSC Academic All-America
– Received All-NSIC First Team Honors in 2024
– Named NSIC Offensive Player of the Year in 2023
– Zero-star recruit out of Bloomer High School in Wisconsin
– Named All-Conference twice
– Was an All-Region selection as a senior
– Also played baseball in high school
– Strand’s hometown of Bloomer is a small community known for supporting high school sports, which helped him develop his love for football
TAPE BREAKDOWN
Jack Strand has dominated Division II for a couple of years now and is getting deserved hype as an underdog prospect in this year’s draft. His traits are impressive, with good size and a strong arm that can stretch all over the field. Sometimes, a player who dominates at a lower level does so with pure size and athleticism. But Strand wins in a traditional quarterback way. He is a pure pocket passer and gets through reads quickly.
Minnesota State Moorhead was an air raid offense, but Strand was reading the entire field and quickly got through his progressions. On this play, he gets all his reads in a short amount of time and hits an explosive play on the sideline.
As a passer, Strand’s accuracy is inconsistent, but some of his high-level throws are not normal for a Division II quarterback. In a clean pocket, he sets his feet and launches the ball with ease, showcasing his arm strength.
He delivers throws with fast velocity and makes it so the defense cannot react to the ball in the air. He will place the ball in windows that only the receiver can get, like on this deep ball to the middle of the field.
Strand has a quick release that helps him in quick game situations, which Minnesota Moorhead ran a lot of. He has some flaws in throwing the quick game, such as throwing it blindly, which can lead to interceptions. But he improved on this throughout the year and protected the ball better.
He uses his big hands to spray the ball all over the field, giving the defense no time to disperse the routes. He gets through progressions extremely fast in the quick game as well, which is an underrated skill of a quarterback. Here, he takes a three-step drop and throws a touchdown with great accuracy.
One of the things I admire about Strand is his aggressiveness in attacking the middle of the field.
He seems unfazed by defenders being near his target and will rip the ball into tight windows. This could be due to the level of competition he faces, and I would like to see him continue to do this at the next level. Here, he cannot really step into the throw but delivers with accuracy, which speaks to his arm strength.
Strand has a lot to like about his game, but you must take the film with a grain of salt because of his opponents. The film is mostly impressive, but there are some recurring red flags worth noting. His athleticism is just average, which feels unfair to say given he weighs 243 pounds, but it is noticeable when he navigates the pocket.
He struggles to escape defenders in Division II, so I do not think it will translate to NFL speed. When he creates yards while scrambling, it is mostly due to competition rather than his athletic ability.
When defenses change post-snap, he looks very confused and can make bad decisions. He threw several interceptions in his college career because of this problem. Teams at the next level will exploit this problem and really hurt him. Here, he thinks the corner will sink with the vertical, but he stays in the flat.
This is very basic Cover 2, and if that is causing him problems, he will need to learn a lot in the NFL.
While he shows flashes of great accuracy, it is very inconsistent. When he is under pressure, his footwork speeds up, and his elbow can get deep, leading to sailed passes.
Sometimes he seemed too relaxed in the pocket, like he was throwing routes against air, which led to problems connecting downfield. Here, his receiver has steps on the defensive back, but he misses him long.
CONCLUSION
Jack Strand has many desirable traits, but because of his competition, he is not worth an Early or Mid-Day 3 pick. I would feel fine taking him in the 7th round if I felt good about the rest of the draft board, but he projects best as an undrafted free agent that needs to adjust to NFL speed and develop his accuracy.
Teams could take a chance on him because of the traits and room to grow.
NFL Projection: UDFA
Steelers Depot Grade: 5.9 (Fringe Roster Player)
Grade Range: 4.9-6.2
Games Watched: at Northern Michigan (2025), vs Wayne State (2025), at Minnesota Duluth (2025), at Northern State (2025), at Minnesota State (2025)
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