Heading into the 2023 NFL Draft, Bryce Young was the consensus QB1 of the class, and C.J. Stroud was seeing more coverage for being a bad ‘test taker’ than anything else. Now, heading into Week 3 of their third season in the league, you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who would rather have Young on their favorite team than Stroud.
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Prior to his Week 2 outing against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Stroud had over 2,250 more career passing yards than Young. When it comes to passing touchdowns, Stroud has 43 where Young has 30.
Suffice to say, it’s another instance that proves that draft spots don’t always determine a player’s value or potential. If you need another example, look no further than the two top quarterbacks of the 2018 NFL Draft, Josh Allen and Baker Mayfield.
The Cleveland Browns shocked the world by selecting Mayfield with the first overall pick in the draft, while Allen was famously the third signal caller to be selected that night. Nevertheless, Allen is obviously the superior product.
Throughout the first eight years of their respective careers, Allen has managed to produce a total of 26,976 passing yards, while Mayfield has recorded 25,000. The real thing that separates them, however, is hardware and postseason success.
Mayfield currently sports a losing playoff record of 2-3. Allen, on the other hand, currently has seven playoff wins and 13 postseason contests under his belt. Allen also has him beat in both Pro Bowl nominations and regular season MVP awards.
Nevertheless, the former Brown is far more concerned with Stroud than he is Allen this week. Through the opening moments of Monday night’s contest, it almost seemed as if both QBs were playing with a bit of a chip on their shoulder.
Each of them managed a touchdown on the opening drive, as Stroud’s 29-yard strike to Nico Collins was immediately met with a 20-yard throw from Mayfield that saw Ryan Miller score the second touchdown of the day. The Buccaneers weren’t done, however, as Mayfield delivered another touchdown pass on the very next time, and this one was good for 15 yards to his surging rookie, Emeka Egbuka.
Through two quarters, Mayfield has completed 13 of his 18 pass attempts for a total of 109 yards and two touchdowns. For Stroud, eight completions on 13 pass attempts has been enough to produce 131 passing yards and a touchdown.
In typical Buccaneers fashion, it’s ultimately been the run game that has dictated the results of the contest so far. Sophomore sensation Bucky Irving has tallied 41 rushing yards on just seven carries, and his counterpart in Rachaad White has even managed to generate 25 rushing yards on only five attempts himself.
Should that trend continue, then the Texans will need Stroud to look like the second overall QB that they drafted him to be. Otherwise, they’ll risk starting the season with an 0-2 season for the second time in the last three years.
