Houston Texans rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud has taken the league by storm. He is putting up some historic numbers through Week 9, re-writing the franchise and NFL record books. His performance last weekend against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was a historic one as he threw for 470 yards and five touchdowns without an interception.
Stroud has the Texans off to a great start at 4-4, matching or exceeding their win total from each of the previous three seasons. It would be interesting to see where the team would be this season had they not ignored one of the pre-draft tests administered to Stroud and his fellow draft mates.
One of the things teams put a lot of stock into is the S2 Cognition Test. It is supposed to measure how quickly a player processes data and makes decisions on the field. Stroud scored an alarmingly low 18, which was flagged by many franchises as a red alert.
He wasn’t close to his fellow first-round quarterbacks on the test, as Bryce Young scored a 98 and Anthony Richardson scored a 79. Second-round pick Will Levis scored a 96, as teams likely moved all three ahead of Stroud and put a lot of stock in the test.
Evidently, the Texans are not one of those teams, as they used the No. 2 overall pick on Stroud and are currently reaping the benefits. Stroud is running away with the Offensive Rookie of the Year award and some NFL insiders believe that he could even be in the MVP running when it is all said and done.
They are certainly happy about the decision they made as Stroud could be changing the pre-draft process landscape in the future. “I’m not a test taker; I play football,” is what Stroud told reporters after his test score leaked.
He is certainly right about that. The emerging Texans star has completed 62 percent of his passes for 2,270 yards and 14 touchdowns with only one interception. He is putting together an incredible rookie season and changing how teams will evaluate the S2 Cognition Test in the future.
Want the latest NFL analysis, breaking news, and insider information? Click here. Interested in reading storylines and analysis about the NBA? Check out our partner NBA Analysis Network.
