[2023 NFL Draft/1-2] C.J. Stroud, QB, Ohio State

The o line was better this year than last year and WSH now has to pay Tunsil a massive bag

 

Never watched him at Ohio State besides the peach bowl but everything the posters were saying he showed over the last two seasons, he's not good under pressure. Defenses know this, Nick should've known this. Offensive line should be the number priority!! Why the **** was Jake bum ass Andrews playing center for a qb that doesn't handle pressure well? Wtf?! This team is so ****ing infuriating

 

I remember the Northwestern game this poster was referring too. A lot of analysts threw this game out as an outlier because of the bad weather, Coming full circle it's the same thing that happened in the Patriots game. The Northwestern game is the only game that CJ really had to hurry things up and get the ball out fast and he made a lot of mistakes. The Norhtwestern defense was blitzing and causing all sorts of problems. Cj was throwing really errant passes, bad footwork, awful timing.. He looked bad. All the other games during the year, CJ had pl plenty of time to setup and wait for his receivers to get open. The Ohio State offensive line that year was awesome. When Stroud has time to throw and is comfortable he is really good and as the poster above said, Cj can make any throw. But that Northwestern game really showed what happens when you can rattle Stroud.

 

If it was better it wasn't by much and losing Tunsil hurt CJ.

 

Maybe it was one of those notoriously super-windy days in Chicago.

 

That would definitely explain his cognitive collapse.

 

I think it's a little early to evaluate how he's done since the last concussion, but if he starts rambling on about invading Greenland then I'm definitely concerned.

 

Or if he calls Greeland, Iceland

 

Is it true that Caserio is noncommital about exercising the 5th year option for CJ?

I think a divorce would be great for both parties. Houston needs a QB that someone else has developed. He doesn't have to be great, just mediocre. As for CJ, he can go where he'll receive far superior coaching and development and become a quality QB. I call that a win-win for everybody!

 

That would be hella stoopid to not exercise CJ's 5th year. He has plenty of value if you do decide to move in a new direction. It's ~$40M for the option - which still wouldn't put Coleridge in the top 16 QB contracts.

 

We need to stop doing this... CJ Stroud is not trash. He was, over the course of this season, an above average QB by every metric we have available to evaluate QBs. We can't allow two, admittedly very bad, games make the other 14 disappear.

Two things are working against CJ: an unprecedented rookie season that set the bar too high and an unexpected team turnaround that increased the urgency. He's not been allowed to be a young QB going through the normal ups/downs of young QBs.

The Texans were 3-13-1 in '22; they had no business winning 10, 10 and 12 games in the subsequent seasons. That's not how rebuilds go. But it has accelerated our expectations and demands on Stroud - who's still 23! Do you all realize how many "regular" starting QBs are younger than CJ Stroud? Five: Dart, McCarthy, Ward, Maye, and he's just a month older than Caleb Williams. He's younger than every other starting QB in the league.

All this talk of moving on from him is flat-out absurd. People need to take a deep breath.

 

Everybody is on board with picking up Stroud's 5th year option. That will be the easiest decision the Texans will make this offseason. The problem is that everybody knows who Stroud's agent is. If Stroud's agent forces the issue this offseason and demands a new contract, then the Texans should explore trading Stroud. I wouldn't be comfortable paying a max contract to a player that hasn't improved since his rookie year. What it looks like is the league has caught up to Stroud and learned how to gameplan him. If Stroud's agent doesn't demand a new contract and threaten sitting Stroud out then I want Stroud on the roster next year. I don't want to see a Tua situation in Houston, especially since the Texans have seen significant improvement in Mills who is on a cheap contract.

 

I’d check with the Jets and see how many FRPs I could get. Get at least the #2 this year and the next years pick.

Trade down from #2 ideally twice for FRPs next year. Go into 2027 with 4 FRPs to maneuver for a QB. Let Mills play out the year. Most of your core players on defense are still young. WAJ, Sting, Bullock, Lassiter, Pitre, etc. Then you have Sayin, Moore, Manning, etc. to trade up for.

 

If you're the Texans, and you think Stroud is your franchise QB, now might be the best time to lock him up: 1) QB costs are only going to increase; 2) he would not, performance-wise, have as much leverage and might come at a slight discount; 3) you'll look back and regret not locking him down if he regains his rookie year form in '26; 4) with two years + the franchise tag viable, Stroud is more apt to come to the table and amicably negotiate as you'd essentially be buying out two below-market years.

Right now, Stroud is set, as is, to make... ~$40M the next two years. So, offering to rip those two years up and give him... $40-45 AVP for the next 5/6 years...

 

This is where I am at. I would put some substantial bonuses in there related to personal & team performance (e.g. lead league in passing yards; less than 15 INT's; team makes it to Super Bowl, etc.).

It would be below market in AAV, but Coleridge could earn BIG $$$$ if the team is performing better (e.g. past divisional round, winning conference, playing in Superb Owl) and he is the QB doing it.

EDIT: the contract would not have tons of guaranteed $$$ in it so if both parties want a do over / fresh start = it could happen with the new team bearing the bulk of the cost.

 

I'd take quite a few of those quarterbacks listed below Stroud in a heartbeat. I wouldn't even hesitate. When you look at strength, mental toughness, attitude, rushing ability, and adaptability he pales to some of them.