Michael Lombardi calls out Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud ahead of NFL draft

On Apr 14, 2023

Michael Lombardi is not sold on C.J. Stroud being the second overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft.

The former Cleveland Browns general manager and executive for the Philadelphia Eagles, Oakland Raiders and New England Patriots was talking about the Houston Texans’ relative silence on what it was planning on doing for the No. 2 pick in April’s draft, with betting consensus being Alabama quarterback Bryce Young being selected first overall by the Carolina Panthers.

Ahead of draft day, Lombardi still has questions about the former Ohio State quarterback and two-time Heisman Trophy finalist.

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“C.J. Stroud is an interesting guy,” Lombardi said. “When you talk to people in the league, they will tell you C.J. Stroud is not — and this is not a knock, this is just a conversation — not an easy guy to coach… I think the word that people use is he’s very not-believing in what you are saying. So he’s a little bit challenging to coach, so it’s not like he comes in and embraces it. He’s got a little bit of a different style to him.

“He thinks he knows a little bit better, he’s probably hard to coach. I’m not saying he’s a good player. I’m not saying that at all. I’m saying the vibe that you get from talking to people who have interviewed him is he’s not an easy guy to coach. So what I have done is I have asked people, ‘I heard C.J. Stroud is not an easy guy to coach.’ And everyone echoes that back to you. I’m not saying he’s not a good player. I like C.J. Stroud. Would I pick him at two? I don’t know.”

What other NFL draft analysts think of C.J. Stroud: ‘That looks like a Sunday quarterback’

Lombardi seems to be alone in this thinking regarding Stroud.

Big Ten Network analyst and former Michigan tight end Jake Butt called Stroud his top quarterback in the NFL draft.

“The dude has all the talent in the world,” Butt said. “There’s not a throw on the field that he can’t make.”

Former NFL quarterback and ESPN NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky broke down a set of plays of Stroud’s against Penn State, comparing his pre-snap demeanor to former Colts quarterback Peyton Manning.

“Just tell me this dude doesn’t look like a pro, a Sunday pro,” Orlovsky said, breaking down his film against Penn State.

“That looks like a Sunday quarterback. And a good one.”

Stroud is also one of ESPN NFL analyst Louis Riddick’s favorite prospects, calling him “the gem of the quarterback class.”

“At 6-foot-3 and 214 pounds, he was one of the most accurate passers in college football over the past two seasons, and he makes good decisions with the ball,” Riddick wrote. “He can win throwing the ball from the pocket, but he also shows the mobility to escape the pass rush, get outside the pocket and win with his legs or his arm. A lot of people will say we saw that ability to create outside the pocket in only one game last season — Ohio State’s loss to Georgia in the College Football Playoff — but I think we’ll see it regularly at the next level. Don’t underestimate what Stroud can do there.