CJ Stroud to his doubters: ‘There are different way to be geniuses’

New Houston quarterback CJ Stroud had every negative story thrown at him in the days leading up to last week’s NFL Draft. Fortunately, despite the chatter, the ex Buckeye didn’t drop past pick No. 2.

So given a few days of hindsight, how is CJ Stroud reacting to being in the NFL Draft drum? Depending on who you listened to, Stroud’s agent was an issue as was his off-field testing. And Stroud’s attitude could be a problem.

“Humility is something I’m not afraid of,” CJ Stroud told NBC’s Peter King. “It’s something I’m accustomed to. This was all probably just a humble moment God wanted me to go through.”

The pre-draft criticism seemed to coalesce around Stroud’s S-2 score. It’s a test most folks don’t understand. But his performance never scared away Texans GM Nick Casario, who said Stroud was the team’s target for No. 2 all along. The rest of the stories probably were leaked by teams wanting Stroud to drop so that they could get him at a less-premium choice.

Stroud shrugged that off.

“A lot of people haven’t played the sport, and I mean critics are gonna critique,” Stroud said. “For me I know the film speaks for itself. Everything that I’ve done in college, I’ve been very consistent. I think I’ve been one of the most consistent players in college football for the last two years. If you turn on the tape, you can see, you can answer the questions.

“But those who don’t understand tape might want to go to other things and analyze other things. They’re more than welcome to do such. But the people who are making the choices and the picks, they knew what I can do. They understood the IQ that I do have.”

CJ Stroud says he’s both book smart and football smart

And then CJ Stroud offered his thoughts about the S-2 test, which is designed to measure the ability of processing information. But it’s not supposed to be a cognitive test.

“I have a great memory when it comes to football,” CJ Stroud explained. “I feel like there’s different ways to be geniuses. You don’t just have to be book smart. (Or) You can be analytics smart. You can be numbers smart. You can be football smart. I really think that there’s different types of ways to be smart. That’s something that I pride myself on. And I am book smart. I did have over a 3.0 in college (and) I had over a 3.0 in high school. I know that I can think. (And) I can process very, very fast. The film, you can see me going from first option to second and then back to one and then to three to four if I have to. I can check down. I can use my feet.”

And since he was the second overall pick, Stroud can afford to be magnanimous. “Everything happens for a reason,” he said. “I’m not upset. I’m actually blessed, I’m super blessed to be a Texan. Number two overall pick in the NFL draft, man. A little kid from the Inland Empire (in California). All smiles, man. I ain’t tripping about this.”