C.J. Stroud has his eyes wide open ahead of the NFL Draft, knowing his fate is now out of his hands. He has done all he can to be one of the first players selected Thursday night. The rest is up to the teams making the picks, teams like the Lions at No. 6.
The Lions hosted Stroud for a top-30 visit earlier this month. While they don't have an immediate need at quarterback, they could play the long game by drafting one now. GM Brad Holmes has said he wants to bring in "somebody to continue to develop" behind Jared Goff.
Is Detroit a realistic landing spot for Stroud?
"It could be, yeah," Stroud told reporters Wednesday. "My eyes are all open. I know draft’s are crazy every year, especially with quarterbacks, so we’ll sit here and see. I had a great meeting with them and the 30 went very well, so we’ll see what happens."
The two-time Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year at Ohio State, Stroud was once viewed as the potential No. 1 pick. But his stock has taken a hit in the wake of a report that he scored in the 18th percentile on the S2 cognition test, which many NFL teams use to measure how quickly a quarterback can process information. Alabama QB and likely No. 1 pick Bryce Young reportedly scored in the 98th percentile.
"I’m not a test taker, I play football," Stroud said. "At the end of the day, I don’t got nothing to prove to nobody, so I’m not gonna sit here and explain how I process football. The people who are making the picks know what I can do, so that’s all that matters to me. There’s a whole bunch of people who know how to coach better, know how to play quarterback better, know how to do everything on social media better. But the man in the arena, that’s what’s tough, stepping into the arena, 10 toes, and I’m gonna stand on that."
Holmes said last week that the Lions "will definitely add a third" quarterback this offseason to compete with Goff and Nate Sudfeld, and that they're open to taking one in the draft "if it lines up." Stroud, who threw 85 touchdowns to 12 interceptions in his two seasons as the starter at Ohio State, just might be the guy.
"I know what I can do, I know I can process well," he said. "I know if I’m not the smartest quarterback in this draft, I’m one of the smartest quarterbacks in the NFL when I step in there. I have that confidence in myself. And I don’t think you can play at Ohio State and not be smart. I don’t got nothing to prove to nobody, man. At the end of the day, if you don’t trust and believe in me, all I can tell you is, watch this."
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