One of the perceived weaknesses to C.J. Stroud’s game in the pre-draft process was his football IQ.
Stroud allegedly had the lowest score of the 2023 NFL draft quarterback class in the acclaimed S2 Cognition Test. In the fortnight leading to the draft, Stroud’s stock seemed to take a tumble for this reason.
The Houston Texans were scared and went ahead and selected the Ohio State signal caller No. 2 overall in Round 1 of the draft on April 27.
Stroud told NBC Sports’ Peter King that he was not bothered by the speculation. Rather, Stroud looked at the questions surrounding his football intelligence as a challenge to overcome and an opportunity to have humility.
The former Buckeye also clarified that he is indeed football intelligent.
“I have a great memory when it comes to football. I feel like there’s different ways to be geniuses. You don’t just have to be book smart. You can be analytics smart. You can be numbers smart. You can be football smart. I really think that there’s different types of ways to be smart. That’s something that I pride myself on. And I am book smart. I did have over a 3.0 in college. I had over a 3.0 in high school. I know that I can think. I can process very, very fast. The film, you can see me going from first option to second and then back to one and then to three to four if I have to. I can check down. I can use my feet.
“But, you know, everything happens for a reason. I’m not upset. I’m actually blessed, I’m super blessed to be a Texan. Number two overall pick in the NFL draft, man. A little kid from the [California] Inland Empire. All smiles, man. I ain’t tripping about this.”
Stroud compiled a 21-4 record as a starter through his final two years at Ohio State.
