Texans rookie CJ Stroud continued his stellar season after a huge win over the Cincinnati Bengals. Stroud now finds himself in the MVP conversation. SI's Robin Lundberg and Dakota London debate if Stroud is the greatest rookie QB ever.
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00:00 Is he the best rookie we've ever seen?
00:01 - I'm gonna say no.
00:05 I think CJ's great.
00:07 I also think it's a little unfair to be asking the question
00:09 because the season's not done yet,
00:11 but I think he's looked fantastic.
00:12 But I'm gonna go with Ben Roethlisberger.
00:15 Roethlisberger went 13 and 0 in a regular season
00:17 his rookie year in 2004.
00:19 And obviously he wasn't putting up the numbers that CJ is,
00:22 but for what they needed him to be, he was.
00:25 I would also throw Dan Marino's name in there
00:26 just in the passing 'cause Dan was so special
00:28 when he first came out.
00:29 But Roethlisberger going 13 and 0 in a regular season
00:33 in your first year,
00:34 when he wasn't supposed to be the starter that season,
00:37 yeah, I'm definitely going big Ben.
00:38 - Well, the Steelers had that record,
00:40 not Ben Roethlisberger.
00:42 He wasn't exactly lighting the world on fire.
00:45 - It don't matter.
00:46 They didn't go 13 and 0 without him.
00:48 I mean, like, they finished that year 13 and 3.
00:51 They won 13 games because of him.
00:53 - To your point though, I mean, the season isn't over
00:56 and there have been some great rookie campaigns,
00:58 Andrew Luck.
00:59 Cam Newton might be the best rookie quarterback
01:02 I've ever seen in part due to what he did with his legs.
01:05 But when it comes to being a passer,
01:07 CJ Stroud is the best rookie passer of all time.
01:11 When you look at the depth of field that he's throwing,
01:13 when you look at the fact that he's averaging
01:15 more yards per game than any quarterback
01:17 in the NFL currently,
01:19 and that includes a crop of quarterbacks
01:21 with some of the greatest of all time,
01:23 Patrick Mahomes' name comes to mind.
01:25 And that the Texans are relevant,
01:28 I would have never expected to be talking about CJ Stroud
01:32 in the same breath as some of these other guys
01:34 that we're talking about him with.
01:36 And by the end of the season,
01:38 I do believe he will have a case
01:40 as the best rookie QB ever.
01:41 - Yeah, I'm gonna go flag on the play.
01:44 You say best passing rookie ever.
01:47 I saw, well, not in real time,
01:49 but Dan Marino, who is still regarded
01:51 as one of the greatest passers the game has ever seen,
01:54 was flinging that ball his rookie season too.
01:57 7-2 record as a rookie, but whatever.