CJ Stroud looks absolutely amazing and on a team that I would say is on par with our roster at best.
Poles said all along he needed to be blown away to stick at #1 and take a QB last year. By the time the combine rolled around he all but announced to the world the pick was for sale. I understand Fields showed flashes towards the end of last year and that played into that decision.
Fast forward to now and Stroud is blowing everyone away.
I think it’s fair to question what our staff missed on Stroud to be out on him immediately and whether or not we should be worried about them making the next decision on who our QB is.
20/20 hindsight – I would much rather have Stroud instead of the DJ Moore package and it’s not even close. Give me a franchise QB and figure out the rest of the line and WRs after that.
Our goal wasn’t a QB. We have Fields going into a decision year on him. Our lead receiver was a WR2 or 3 on any other team. And still, with a roster so devoid of talent, there were bright spots. We needed a proper way to evaluate Fields and coaching.
We got a true WR1. We got significantly better on the Oline. We got picks. This season proved we need a new QB, and we still have the assets acquired that we can more easily slot him right in when picked (unlike the Bryce Young situation in Caroline who doesn’t have a WR1 or Oline).