Texans' C.J. Stroud addresses critics after cognitive test concerns

New Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud has addressed individuals who questioned his intelligence ahead of the 2023 NFL Draft. 

"Everything that I’ve done in college, I’ve been very consistent," Stroud told NBC Sports' Peter King. "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." 

Stroud's draft stock became somewhat of a moving target in the weeks and days leading up to the start of the draft, in part because he reportedly posted a poor score in the S2 Cognition Test. Stroud noted the day before the draft that he is a football player and "not a test-taker," and Houston happily grabbed him with the second-overall pick, presumably to start him over the likes of Davis Mills and Case Keenum. 

Stroud told King he believes that "everything happens for a reason" and that he is "super blessed" to have gone to the Texans.

"I feel like there’s different ways to be geniuses," Stroud added. "You don’t just have to be book smart. 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. I had over a 3.0 in high school. I know that I can think. 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." 

King mentioned that Stroud now has an extra "bit of motivation" to prove doubters and critics wrong. The 21-year-old can begin doing just that as soon as summer training camp workouts open.