Is CJ Stroud the Best Rookie QB Ever?

Sports Illustrated

Texans rookie CJ Stroud continued his stellar season after a huge win over the Cincinnati Bengals. Stroud now finds himself in the MVP conversation. SI's Robin Lundberg and Dakota London debate if Stroud is the greatest rookie QB ever.

Transcript

00:00 Is he the best rookie we've ever seen?

00:01 - I'm gonna say no.

00:05 I think CJ's great.

00:07 I also think it's a little unfair to be asking the question

00:09 because the season's not done yet,

00:11 but I think he's looked fantastic.

00:12 But I'm gonna go with Ben Roethlisberger.

00:15 Roethlisberger went 13 and 0 in a regular season

00:17 his rookie year in 2004.

00:19 And obviously he wasn't putting up the numbers that CJ is,

00:22 but for what they needed him to be, he was.

00:25 I would also throw Dan Marino's name in there

00:26 just in the passing 'cause Dan was so special

00:28 when he first came out.

00:29 But Roethlisberger going 13 and 0 in a regular season

00:33 in your first year,

00:34 when he wasn't supposed to be the starter that season,

00:37 yeah, I'm definitely going big Ben.

00:38 - Well, the Steelers had that record,

00:40 not Ben Roethlisberger.

00:42 He wasn't exactly lighting the world on fire.

00:45 - It don't matter.

00:46 They didn't go 13 and 0 without him.

00:48 I mean, like, they finished that year 13 and 3.

00:51 They won 13 games because of him.

00:53 - To your point though, I mean, the season isn't over

00:56 and there have been some great rookie campaigns,

00:58 Andrew Luck.

00:59 Cam Newton might be the best rookie quarterback

01:02 I've ever seen in part due to what he did with his legs.

01:05 But when it comes to being a passer,

01:07 CJ Stroud is the best rookie passer of all time.

01:11 When you look at the depth of field that he's throwing,

01:13 when you look at the fact that he's averaging

01:15 more yards per game than any quarterback

01:17 in the NFL currently,

01:19 and that includes a crop of quarterbacks

01:21 with some of the greatest of all time,

01:23 Patrick Mahomes' name comes to mind.

01:25 And that the Texans are relevant,

01:28 I would have never expected to be talking about CJ Stroud

01:32 in the same breath as some of these other guys

01:34 that we're talking about him with.

01:36 And by the end of the season,

01:38 I do believe he will have a case

01:40 as the best rookie QB ever.

01:41 - Yeah, I'm gonna go flag on the play.

01:44 You say best passing rookie ever.

01:47 I saw, well, not in real time,

01:49 but Dan Marino, who is still regarded

01:51 as one of the greatest passers the game has ever seen,

01:54 was flinging that ball his rookie season too.

01:57 7-2 record as a rookie, but whatever.

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