Marvin Moore September 29, 2023
Bryce Young or C.J. Stroud? Although it’s way too early to tell which rookie quarterback will have a better NFL career, there is no doubt that Stroud has been the most impressive young signal-caller heading into Week 4.
The Carolina Panthers made Young the top overall pick in this year’s draft, while Stroud was taken second by the Houston Texans. That decision earned Young a rookie deal worth about $1.65 million more than Stroud’s contract.
Young has played like a fledgling NFL passer despite a solid supporting cast. The former Alabama standout is averaging just 149.5 passing yards each week with an ugly 4.2 yards per pass attempt. Can you say mediocre?
The 2021 Heisman Trophy winner has thrown two touchdown passes and an equal number of interceptions. Young has also tallied a 26-yard run, which is five yards more than his longest completed pass. To say the top pick has struggled is a massive understatement.
Meanwhile, Stroud is turning heads with his rapid development. The Ohio State product is the first quarterback in league history to post 900 passing yards, four passing TDs, and zero interceptions in his first three career starts. His 906 passing yards are also the third-most by a rookie field general in their first three career games in over five decades.
Stroud has completed over 63% of his passes in every game this season, and his yards per pass attempts have increased from 5.5 in the season opener to 9.3 in Week 3. He also tallied his longest completion – a 68-yard scoring bomb – in a 37-17 upset win against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The performance of the rookie passer has caught the attention of former Texans star pass rusher J.J. Watt.
“It’s very early, but C.J. Stroud is a rookie quarterback who’s playing without the majority of his offensive line, under heavy pressure, and yet he’s been poised, confident, and in control,” Watt wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Again, it’s early, but Houston has to be excited right now.”
The top two picks will square off in less than a month at Bank of America Stadium in North Carolina. While the dynamic duo never battled at the collegiate level, they did square off in California’s U14 Snoop Youth Football League – founded by the iconic rapper Snoop Dog. Young’s IE Ducks captured a 20-0 win over the Stroud-led Pomona Steelers.
While the Southern California standouts will forever be linked because of the draft, Young and Stroud have been gridiron rivals since their middle school days. It’s a rivalry that the NFL hopes will develop into an excellent quarterback duel like Tom Brady and Peyton Manning or Troy Aikman and Steve Young.
Stroud and the Texans will have an uphill climb to make the playoffs this season. Houston has a woeful 11-38-1 record over the previous three seasons and is in the early stages of a massive rebuild. However, there’s no reason the Texans cannot finish with a .500 card if Stroud continues to play at a high level.
More than a dozen NFL teams do not have long-term options at the quarterback position. The new crop of young quarterbacks – Young, Stroud, Anthony Richardson, Brock Purdy, Kenny Pickett, Sam Howell, Zach Wilson, Mac Jones, Jordan Love, Justin Fields, Desmond Ridder – boast few bonafide franchise signal-callers. Some will develop into league stars, but most will become career backups.
Predicting the career trajectory of young quarterbacks is an impossible task. But Stroud isn’t playing like a rookie. The soon-to-be 22-year-old has thrown for more yards than Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts, and Trevor Lawrence. That’s impressive!
It’s still very early, but it’s already starting to look like Houston struck gold in this year’s draft.
