CJ Stroud is Getting the Dumb Black Quarterback Treatment

If I’ve learned anything listening to NFL draft coverage over the years, it’s that no one understands how to properly evaluate quarterbacks. Not NFL organizations, not college football media, not NFL media and not fans.

No one understands what it takes to succeed in the National Football League which means we have to list off all the things these kids can’t do because it’s more tangible and easier to discuss and wrap our heads around.

CJ Stroud, a QB out of Ohio State, was most likely going to be drafted no. 2 overall until this week when rumors started that he was falling down teams’ draft boards. These QBs haven’t played football in months so there isn’t suddenly new information to comb through.

Now is the time when teams either leak lies to the media in order to game the draft and throw other teams off their scent or they overthink the process and start nitpicking the most irrelevant bullshit they find in order to split hairs between similar players.

Unfortunately, it’s usually the black quarterback who gets knocked for the most ridiculous nonsense because most of these organizations don’t feel comfortable making a black quarterback the face of their franchise.

Lamar Jackson went 32nd overall in a draft where Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold and Josh Rosen were all drafted ahead of him. Lamar has an MVP. Baker is on his 4th team in 3 years, Sam Darnold is on his 3rd team in 3 years and Josh Rosen is probably applying for CDL right now.

Apparently, CJ Stroud bombed the S2 test. I have never heard of that test until this week which makes you question how important this test could really be if it has only been mentioned recently with the sole purpose of shitting on Stroud.

And today, former NFL bust Brady Quinn, went on a podcast and explained why Stroud is dropping down draft boards.

“I’ve been told that he committed to [the Manning Passing Academy] the night before, [and] just kind of ghosted them, didn’t show up. That’s football royalty. And when you do that, that’s going to set off some alarms for people like, ‘Hey man, that’s not how you conduct yourself, especially around the Manning family, or just in general if you’re going to be a franchise quarterback.’”

Just reading that, it sounds terrible. It reads like a man tearing down a 21-year-old’s character because he missed a random football camp that is not and has never been required for quarterbacks to be drafted in the NFL. It sounds like a goalpost was created just so that it could be moved to make Stroud look bad, similar to what that S2 shit feels like.

But here’s the video clip that takes some heat off Quinn:

Report: CJ Stroud made a commitment to the Manning Passing Academy but “the night before he ghosted them and didn’t show up”, per @Brady_Quinn

“When you do that, that’s gonna set up alarms for people.”

Quinn noted that as one of three concerns with Stroud (h/t @PanthersAnalyst) pic.twitter.com/z2Y9gAPbFe

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) April 19, 2023

When you watch the clip, you realize Brady Quinn was asked why he believes teams don’t like Stroud so much and Quinn is answering on behalf of the teams. He’s not sharing his own personal feelings on Stroud and as much as ESPN media guys like Ryan Clark and RGIII want to attack Quinn for perpetuating the same bullshit that black quarterbacks have to face every year, I think focusing on Quinn is a mistake and we have to once again look at the teams who are looking for any reason not to draft this kid.

Who gives a fuck about going to sleepaway camp at Eli Manning’s house?

Here’s what I know about CJ Stroud: he threw for 3,688 yards, 41 touchdowns and six interceptions while completing 66.3 percent of his passes last season for the Buckeyes. I also know that Ohio State consistently has a super-stacked roster and QBs from that program frequently disappoint when they get to the NFL.

It’s wild that we just watched the first-ever Super Bowl with two black starting quarterbacks and NFL teams are still inventing reasons not to draft Stroud.

But perhaps I’m being cynical. Bryce Young might go no. 1. People, including myself, believe Anthony Richardson is the best prospect in the draft. I’m hearing teams talk themselves into Hendon Hooker.

There are plenty of black quarterbacks to choose from this year and it’s possible that this Stroud slander is just part of the process and isn’t racially motivated at all.

But again, I’ve seen this happen too many times to give any of these assholes the benefit of the doubt. NO ONE WANTS TO PAY LAMAR JACKSON MONEY. We can all see that NFL organizations are veryyyyyy good at talking themselves out of the brown QBs.

I have no idea if CJ Stroud will succeed or not. But I do know it’s the NFL which means it’ll be an uphill battle for him regardless of where he’s selected. If only he went and had that catered lunch with Peyton Manning…

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