Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud hadn’t had a moment to reflect as they sat in the corner of a lavish downtown L.A. hotel minutes after chatting with Michael Vick and hours after a meet-and-greet lunch with Tom Brady, hip-hop artist Travis Scott and Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin.
Stroud isn’t one to look back, and Young avoids looking ahead. They’re also uncomfortable discussing their Oct. 29 game between Stroud’s Texans and Young’s Panthers—potentially the first time the two quarterbacks will face each other since the eighth grade.
“We still don’t have starting positions yet,” Stroud told Sports Illustrated on Thursday. “There’s a lot of work to be done. A lot of camaraderie to get. That’s just way down the line. We’re locked in on OTAs next week.
“I’m looking forward to just the jersey swap.”
John David Mercer/USA TODAY Sports (Stroud); Marvin Gentry/USA TODAY Sports (Young)
Jersey swaps are guaranteed, because Young and Stroud were selected Nos. 1 and 2 last month, becoming the first pair of Black quarterbacks to be picked back to back at the top of the NFL draft. They also happen to be childhood friends, and they were together again for their first NFL business trip in their hometown while rubbing elbows with billionaires and legendary quarterbacks.
After an eventful first day of networking at the NFLPA Rookie Premiere, Stroud and Young didn’t need a reminder of their accomplishments, but time stopped for just a few seconds.
“I don’t want to sound desensitized to it, but we’re used to doing a lot of things together,” Stroud says. “Honestly, since the process started, we were training together. We got to play basketball together. We got to do a lot of things together, [NFL scouting] combine, drafted one and two. That’s a blessing to see somebody from the same place and the same skin color to be able to prosper even better than you.
“I think that’s something that’s a testament to both of us, that we care about each other. We want to see each other succeed more than ourselves, honestly. Always check up on each other, make sure we’re straight. It’s a blessing because that’s very rare. You don’t get that a lot to where two people are from similar areas, similar backgrounds. Usually they collide. Me and Bryce are kinda like yin and yang.”
Stroud went on to say he meshes well with Young, despite having a different personality. He referred to himself as an extrovert and Young as an introvert.
“We play off each other like Shaq and Kobe,” Stroud says.
Seconds later, the two rookie quarterbacks flashed their “yin and yang,” poking fun at each other.
Stroud: “We have flips. Like, he messes with me more. More than I mess with him, but I mess with other people.”
Young: “That is not true.”
Stroud: “That is true. He’ll mess with me for no reason, and I wouldn’t be messing with this guy. I mess with you a lot, Bryce?”
Young: “Yeah.”
Stroud: “That’s not true.”
Young: “That’s not true?”
Stroud: “No.”
Young: “I would … all right.”
Stroud: “He makes fun of my … he says I’m ashy.”
Young: “Sometimes you are.”
Stroud: “That’s O.K. It’s 6 in the morning in the middle of Huntington Beach, and we’re at a field. I’m not worried about being ashy. I brush my teeth. I took a shower. I’m good.”
Young, after possibly feeling bad about his joke: “I wouldn’t say you mess with me a lot.”
Stroud: “I do mess with him a lot, though.”
Stroud wrapped up the back-and-forth saying Young looks similar to a Golden State Warriors guard followed by a compliment, which was a nice way to even the comedy scoreboard.
“Well, a poor man’s Jordan Poole,” Stroud says. “He can hoop, though. Bryce can hoop. I’ll give him his flowers with that.”
Darron Cummings/AP
It’s easy to see why the two NFL quarterbacks refer to each other as siblings.
“We have a genuine brotherhood; that’s my brother,” Young says. “We root for each other. We want each other to succeed just like we want ourselves to succeed, like it’s that close.”
Young’s genuine reaction to hearing Stroud’s name called by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell as the No. 2 pick was one of the best moments of the 2023 draft.
“It was great hearing his name called,” Young says. “It almost felt like I had that same joy that I had experienced a little bit before. I had that same joy hearing his name called because I’ve seen him grow. I know how much he deserves it, how hard he works, just knowing the person, not just the football player, too. Regardless, if I was where I was at or anything, I would be a C.J. Stroud fan. Like from knowing him, I’d always root for him.”
Stroud said he noticed when Young got the call from the Panthers informing him of being the No. 1 pick and walked to his side of the draft green room to hug Young and his family.
Young called it surreal to receive knowledge from Brady, Scott and Rubin, successful businessmen in three different fields. He also connected with more than 25 NFLPA business partners during the rookie premiere, which helps first-year players learn the business side of football, such as endorsements and brand building.
“There’s really a lot of parallels of just hearing their approach toward whatever aspect of their life,” Young says. “It may be individual, but there are so many parallels there, and for us being young quarterbacks, especially getting to hear wisdom like this, you know it’s a blessing for sure, so I just want to soak it all in and learn as much as I can. I definitely took a lot away from it.”
Stroud viewed the meet-and-greet lunch with Brady as a way for him to share a blueprint for how to be successful on and off the field. Also, the competitive Ohio State product took it as a challenge for him and Young, as they begin their pro careers trying to match Brady’s career milestones.
“They weren’t able to get that knowledge at such a young age, so if we don’t use it, then that’s on us,” Stroud says. “Definitely going to use it to the best of my ability and put it to what I’m comfortable with and what I want to do with my life, and hopefully try to chase these greats down and try to be greater than them. I know that’s what they want for us.”
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Stroud doesn’t have much time to look back, but he’s proud of making history with Young as the first pair of Black quarterbacks selected with the top two picks in the NFL draft because of the message it sends to the next generation of kids who look like them.
“I was never someone who thought super far ahead, so when it happened, all that coming to fruition, it was really surreal for me,” Young says. “It definitely does mean a lot. I think it’s pretty poetic that things happened the way that they did.”
Young’s achievements will also make an impact in the Mexican American community. His grandfather on his mother’s side was born in Mexico, and he made a lasting impact on Young’s life before he died while Young was in elementary school.
“I wish I could have a conversation with him as the man I am now,” Young says. “I know he sees everything, but I just miss him a lot. I wish I was able to be around him, and with that being said, I’m grateful for who I am, for my whole culture and background. I’m grateful for my family.”
Stroud’s and Young’s families will be together again for the unveiling of their NFL jerseys this weekend. It will be the latest but not the last achievement the childhood friends accomplish together.
