Todd McShay compares Dante Moore to C.J. Stroud

Oregon quarterback Dante Moore has been a worthy successor to Heisman Trophy finalist Dillon Gabriel this season.

Moore has led the Ducks to a 10-1 (7-1) record with one game remaining in the regular season. They are likely on a path to make their second consecutive College Football Playoff, unless they lose to Washington on Saturday. In that case, a CFP appearance wouldn’t be so certain.

Through 11 games this season, Moore has completed 72.9% of his passes for 2,447 yards, 23 touchdowns, and just six interceptions. During Monday’s edition of ‘The McShay Show‘, NFL Draft analyst Todd McShay compared Moore to another former Big Ten standout quarterback.

“Dante Moore is C.J. Stroud,” McShay said. “He’s got some mobility but he won’t run, unless it’s wide open. Then, he’ll run and hit the sideline and get out of bounds. Doesn’t love getting hit. Not twitchy in the pocket, so he’s gonna take some hits. And he does take some hits. But, he’s the best pure passer in the country. He sees the whole field. He stays in rhythm. He goes from one progression to the next, and he’s still developing because he doesn’t have the great game experience. But you can see him do it, and I’ve seen it in the past two games (Minnesota and USC).”

McShay calls Moore’s passing skills ‘special’

“There is a definitive progression being made by Dante Moore right now. And I’m also seeing the easiest stroke you can find out there. Smooth stroke. Everything is thrown catchable, layering the ball, hitting spots, and leading receivers open. USC’s like ‘go ahead, beat us in tight windows and these seams vs. this zone and hit these throws that are NFL throws and you can beat us.’ What did he do? The guy is special with his passing skills.”

While the two quarterbacks certainly boast some similarities, Stroud boasted much stronger numbers in college than Moore. In his first season (2021) as Ohio State‘s starting quarterback, Stroud passed for 4,435 yards, 44 touchdowns, and six interceptions. He followed that up with 3,688 yards, 41 touchdowns, and six interceptions the following season (2022), which led to him being taken No. 2 overall in the 2023 NFL Draft by the Houston Texans.

Per multiple mock drafts, Moore is projected to be the No. 2 or No. 3 quarterback taken off the board in the upcoming NFL Draft. He will look to become yet another successful former Oregon quarterback in the NFL, joining Justin Herbert and Marcus Mariota.