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C.J. Stroud may have dealt death blow to S2 Cognition Test

Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud. Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

C.J. Stroud may have dealt death blow to NFL’s trust in S2 Cognition Test

By Michael Gallagher | Last updated 11/7/23

“I'm not a test taker; I play football.”

That’s what C.J. Stroud told reporters in response to his S2 Cognition Test results being leaked ahead of the 2023 NFL Draft and presumably hurting his chances of going No. 1 overall to the Carolina Panthers.

Stroud’s score of 18 was flagged as a “red alert” by an anonymous executive, according to longtime NFL reporter Bob McGinn, who leaked the results of the test and showed the large disparity between Stroud’s score compared to the draft’s other top QB prospects including Bryce Young (98), Will Levis (96) and Anthony Richardson (79).

After his record-setting performance in Sunday’s 39-37 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in which he threw for an NFL single-game rookie record 470 yards and tied the rookie record with five touchdown passes, Stroud is proving exactly why teams shouldn’t put much stock into some of the bizarre pre-draft testing the league puts its prospects through.

Must have missed all this on Stroud's S2 test. https://t.co/OAu29qhois
— Conor Orr (@ConorOrr) November 5, 2023

The S2 was designed to measure how quickly a player can process data and make decisions. Stroud’s stats already do a pretty good job of that.

The Ohio State alum has thrown for 977 yards, eight touchdowns and just one interception with a completion percentage of 69.8 on plays where Stroud has 2.5 seconds or fewer to get rid of the ball, per Pro Football Focus.

In those situations, he has the third-best yards per attempt (7.6), fourth-most touchdowns, fifth-best passer rating (109.2) and 11th-most passing yards, and he’s taken the seventh-fewest sacks (two).

Among QBs to start eight or more games, Stroud has only been sacked 18 times through nine games (10th-fewest), and he’s the only one who hasn’t thrown multiple interceptions.

Never forget that they tried to say CJ Stroud wouldn’t be a good NFL QB because of the S2 Cognitive Test.
— Colb (@___Colb___) November 5, 2023

Stroud is having a rookie season for the ages. He’s on pace to be just the fourth first-year QB to finish with a passer rating over 100, and he’s on track to throw for 4,824 yards, which would shatter Andrew Luck’s single-season rookie record for passing yards (4,374).

The 22-year-old signal caller is also well on his way to finishing with the fewest interceptions (two), second-most touchdown passes (29), third-most completions (367) and sixth-most pass attempts (592) among rookie QBs in NFL history.

While the S2 was created to give general managers another tool on their belt during the pre-draft player evaluation process, Stroud’s phenomenal rookie season may just be a death blow to the test’s credibility.

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