Quarterback C.J. Stroud’s dazzling playoff debut continued to legitimize the Houston Texans as a contender with long-term staying power.
His meteoric rise coupled with the guidance of first-year head coach DeMeco Ryans not only accelerated the Texans’ rebuild but also placed them among the NFL’s final eight postseason teams. And because Stroud has the appearance of a generational talent, the Texans should have a puncher’s chance Saturday against the top-seeded Baltimore Ravens.
Those ramifications of the Texans’ sudden rise can be felt in Carolina, where the Panthers have cleaned house after finishing with the league’s worst record. And, of course, this all happened on the heels of the Panthers trading up in the 2023 NFL Draft to select quarterback Bryce Young with the No. 1 pick — a selection one spot ahead of where Houston took Stroud.
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As such, it’s fair to wonder whether the Panthers made the wrong call with Young or if Stroud simply wound up in a situation that was more conducive to early success. There’s an argument to be made for each side.
“Houston has a better situation,” an executive from another team said. “If you drop Stroud in Carolina, would he have the same success? No way in hell.”
Texans general manager Nick Caserio has recalibrated the salary cap since taking over in 2021 by moving quarterback Deshaun Watson, unloading bad contracts and building the team around strong draft classes. As the Texans were expected to lose in Caserio’s first two seasons, he prioritized short, budget-conscious contracts for players with reputations for playing hard and smart as the team searched for a longer-term identity.
Then, Houston finally hired the right coach in Ryans, who was viewed to have star potential as he gained experience with the San Francisco 49ers’ staff, and he quickly established a winning culture. Ryans will be in the running for NFL Coach of the Year, and Stroud is the heavy favorite to win NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. The Ohio State product completed 63.9 percent of his passes for 4,108 yards, 23 touchdowns, five interceptions and a 100.8 passer rating. He also rushed for 167 yards and three scores in 15 starts.
The Panthers, meanwhile, operated on a nearly identical timeline, but the results haven’t followed. General manager Scott Fitterer was hired in 2021, and head coach Frank Reich took over last year. Both were recently fired, with Reich’s tenure lasting a mere 11 games. Whether it was meddling from owner David Tepper, a roster that was constructed to fit the prior coaching staff’s philosophy or a combination of both, the Panthers weren’t competitive this season.
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Young completed 59.8 percent of his passes for 2,877 yards, 11 touchdowns, 10 interceptions and a 73.7 passer rating. He added 253 rushing yards in 16 starts. There was an emphasis on keeping him in the pocket to protect him from injuries, but that seemed to restrict the creativity that set him apart at Alabama. And yet, Young was sacked 62 times behind a bad offensive line and couldn’t lean on the league’s 20th-ranked rushing attack or get enough plays out of his receivers and tight ends.
“There are a lot of failures there in Carolina,” an executive said. “It’s not all on Bryce. Carolina had no run game or playmakers, and the offensive line was a mess. You tried to drop a unique QB into a bad situation, and you can’t protect him.”
Young wasn’t playing with the same confidence, partly because of the results and partly because of the number of voices in his ear trying to pass along too many messages. It’s difficult to imagine any quarterback thriving under those circumstances, let alone a rookie.
“The situations, staff, surrounding cast, etc., have a bearing on success and (what is labeled as) failure, especially at that position,” another executive said.
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Even if it’s acknowledged that the circumstances in Carolina were worse than they were in Houston, it’s also still possible the Panthers simply left the better player on the board.
Young had plenty of support around the league as the best quarterback prospect, but it wasn’t unanimous. The concerns were real over his 5-foot-10, 204-pound measurement at the combine, to the point that some executives said they couldn’t justify spending such a high draft pick on him.
Stroud had been viewed as the best pure pocket passer in the class, and executives and coaches around the league believed he would have been better suited for Reich’s style. Reich, a former NFL quarterback, had an extended history working with QBs who preferred to stay in the pocket rather than scramble to make plays off schedule. Stroud was certainly Caserio’s type of quarterback after spending so much time around Tom Brady with the New England Patriots.
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Even though talent evaluators had their preferences for Young or Stroud, it was largely considered a tough call because they’re such different players. That led to one executive telling The Athletic last April that he’d “rather be (the Texans) and take Kevin Durant.” It was a reference to the 2007 NBA Draft, when there was a debate between Greg Oden and Durant for the top pick.
There also was Anthony Richardson, who went No. 4 to the Indianapolis Colts. Richardson started only four games due to injuries, so his evaluation is far more limited, but one executive wondered whether Richardson would have been the better pick for Carolina. The thinking was Richardson could improvise and use his athleticism to offset the other issues with the offense, but the injury issues could have presented themselves with the Panthers, too.
“I was never a huge Young fan,” an executive said. “So I would say they took the wrong guy.”
Another executive agreed.
“I think they took the wrong guy,” the executive said. “(Young) is very small. (There was) no talent around him, but in the end, Stroud was the better prospect.”
It’s still way too early to close the book on Young. He has more than enough talent to rebound in an improved environment, just as Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence recovered from a miserable rookie season in 2021.
The other problem is the price the Panthers paid to select Young. They traded two first-rounders, two second-rounders and wide receiver D.J. Moore to move up for the quarterback. Whatever Young’s future holds, at that cost, the Panthers would prefer to have more of a sure thing after one season. But it’s the Panthers’ fault for dropping Young into a bad situation.
Stroud, on the other hand, is that sure thing. He has shown poise with his ball security, a penchant to deliver in clutch situations and the moxie to produce a near-perfect passer rating (157.2) in his playoff debut against a Cleveland Browns defense that allowed the fewest yards in the regular season.
Before the draft, though, there were reports that Stroud performed poorly on the S2 Cognition test. Since S2 only releases the test results to the teams that pay for their services, the theory is a team leaked the scores to hurt Stroud’s stock.
It just didn’t seem to fly with the teams that had already gotten to know Stroud through the interview process.
“Stroud is a really smart guy,” an executive said. “Whoever leaked that S2 score, that was bulls—. I don’t know what they were trying to accomplish. When we met with him, turned on the tape and talked ball, we knew he was an incredibly smart quarterback.”
And the Texans know they have the face of their franchise, while the Panthers are still trying to figure it out.
(Photo of C.J. Stroud and Bryce Young: Bob Donnan / USA Today)
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