Story byNickschwagerThu, January 22, 2026 at 8:43 PM UTC·2 min readIf you told most people in 2023 that there would be real doubt surrounding C. J. Stroud’s future as a top-tier NFL quarterback, you would’ve been called insane. Since his historic rookie season, Stroud has been chasing that same level of play — and he hasn’t consistently looked like the same quarterback. There are still moments almost every game where you’re left in disbelief at how special some of his throws are, but the overall standard hasn’t matched what he set for himself. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThere’s a very real case for why the drop-off has happened over the past two seasons.