If you were to sit down and rank the top-five quarterbacks in the NFL, there's a good chance that your list would not be the same as C.J. Stroud's.
The Texans rookie was recently asked to rank the five best quarterbacks in the league and although four of the names on his list were obvious ones, he decided to throw an absolute curve ball with his fifth name.
According to Stroud, here are the five best 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 isn't at the top. Just kidding, that's the second-most shocking thing because the most shocking thing is that JUSTIN FIELDS IS 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 instead, he went with Fields (while ranking his quarterbacks, Stroud did mention that he also likes Lamar, so we can probably go ahead and slot him in at sixth).
On the surface, the fact that Fields is on the list is a little crazy, but this seems like it's a case of Stroud backing up his buddy. The two guys went to Ohio State together and they're actually close friends. Fields was the starting quarterback for two years with the Buckeyes (2019-20), and after he left, Stroud took over as the starter.
The two quarterbacks were teammates at OSU in 2020 with Stroud serving as the backup QB for Fields. After Fields got drafted by the Bears, Stroud was watching closely in 2022 when the Chicago quarterback became just 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's so many times when you get knocked down, but I feel like a true man's character is when you get knocked down, you get up. And he's got up every time, and he's stepped up to the plate, and he hasn't blamed anybody; he hasn't pointed no fingers; and he hasn't done anything. As a human, that just shows you what type of man he is and what type of family he comes from."
Although it's hard to make a case for 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, although he had Hurts and Mahomes as the top two names on his list, he actually seems to have a huge appreciation for Burrow's game (Note: Burrow also went to Ohio State at one point, although he was never teammates with Stroud).
"Burrow is probably one of my favorites," Stroud said. "I model my game to Burrow a lot."
If Stroud can have the kind of impact in Houston that Burrow has had in Cincinnati through his first three seasons, then the Texans will be thrilled with their decision to take Stroud with the second overall pick this year.
