If you were to sit down and rank the top five quarterbacks in the NFL, chances are your list wouldn’t be the same as CJ Stroud’s.
The Texan rookie was recently asked to rank the top five quarterbacks in the league and while four of the names on his list were obvious, he decided to throw an absolute curve ball with his fifth name.
According to Stroud, here are the top five quarterbacks in the NFL (via the Caps Off pod):
I think we can all agree that the most shocking thing about this list is that Mahomes is not at the top. Just kidding, that’s the second most shocking thing because the most shocking thing is that JUSTIN FIELDS WAS INCLUDED ON THIS LIST.
Stroud could have put Lamar Jackson at five or Aaron Rodgers or Justin Herbert or Tua Tagovailoa or Trevor Lawrence, but he went for Fields instead (while ranking his quarterbacks, Stroud did say he likes Lamar too, so we can probably continue and put him in sixth place).
On the face of it, it’s a little crazy that Fields is on the list, but this looks like Stroud is backing his mate. The two boys went to Ohio State together and they are actually good friends. Fields was the starting quarterback with the Buckeyes for two years (2019-20), and after he left, Stroud took over as starter.
The two quarterbacks were teammates at OSU in 2020 with Stroud as backup QB to Fields. After Fields was drafted by the Bears, Stroud watched closely in 2022 as the Chicago quarterback became only the third QB in NFL history to rush for at least 1,000 yards in a season.
“I was proud of him,” Stroud said in February. “There are so many times when you get knocked down, but I feel like the character of a real man is that when you get knocked down, you get up. And he got up every time, and he stepped up to the plate, and he didn’t he didn’t blame anyone; he didn’t point the finger; and he didn’t do anything. As a human being, that just shows what kind of man he is and what kind of family he comes from.”
While it’s hard to defend Fields as a top-five QB right now, he could at least join the conversation if he has a huge 2023 season for the Bears.
As for Stroud, even though he had Hurts and Mahomes as the top two names on his list, he actually seems to have a huge appreciation for Burrow’s play (Note: Burrow also went to Ohio State at one point, although he never saw teammates was with Stroud.).
“Burrow is probably one of my favorites,” Stroud said. “I often model my playing after Burrow.”
If Stroud in Houston can have the kind of impact that Burrow has had in his first three seasons in Cincinnati, then the Texans will be very happy with their decision to pick Stroud second overall this year.