We adore C.J. Stroud. The youngster has proven himself to be a phenomenal quarterback in the NFL. Scores of awards, numerous examples of defying expectations, and helped turn around the Houston Texans in just one year. He's truly remarkable. So much so that he's currently in the top 10 quarterback discussions. Some have him as high as five.
Yet, some are greatly overvaluing him. To be clear, we don't think it's a bad thing to be high on Stroud, we do think some people are putting too much weight on his shoulders so soon. CBS Sport's Douglas Clawson compiled his list of the 10 most clutch quarterbacks in the NFL according to a metric he created.
On this list, he had Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers at number 10, the Baltimore Ravens' Lamar Jackson a nine, and the New York Giants' Daniel Jones at eight. Seven saw Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals, while six and five had Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys and Jared Goff of the Detroit Lions respectively. Fourth was Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills, and Jalen Hurts was third, hailing from the Philadelphia Eagles.
Second, of course, was our very own Stroud while Patrick Mahomes represented the Kansas City Chiefs.
Now, Clawson makes some good points. He does, and we're not denying that his argument has facts. Yet, the clutch is more than just a timely throw or two. It's about being able to overcome the obstacles of an entire team with just a few, key plays. Mahomes is clutch like that. Tom Brady was clutch like that. Joe Montana was clutch like that.
We don't know if Stroud is that type of clutch. He's certainly not one who whilst when the heat is on, that's for sure, but until he starts to develop a reputation as being a guy who comes through in big moments, we can't put him as high as number two when he only has on season of work to judge him on. Even Cam Newton had a good season, but that doesn't mean he was clutch.
Stroud has got to put in some more work and win some bigger awards before we have him over the likes of Burrow and Allen.
