CJ Stroud Says Two Of The Quarterbacks He Looks Up To Are Noted Role Models Michael Vick And Deshaun Watson

Look, I see what CJ Stroud was going for here. The two quarterbacks he named — before throwing Joe Burrow in there — are undeniably talented and play the position similarly to Stroud. But you don't say this at the Combine when you're under a microscope.

You could maybe get away with Vick because he's at least done a lot of seemingly genuine good to rehabilitate himself since he got out of prison. And Stroud had a chance to cut it off there, where he probably would have been fine, but he kept going and said he also looks up to Deshaun Watson.

You can say almost literally anyone else. Or you could say nothing, because the answer to this question does not matter at all. Did Stroud not spend the last two months — let alone the previous three years — preparing to speak to teams and the media? That's the biggest takeaway here — even if he admires their play at QB, his agent has to let him know what he should or should not say.

I think I should be hired to help these folks prepare. Look how easy it is:

"I love watching guys like Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow play, but I mostly just play my own style of football."

"I think I can bring a dual-threat element to the position similar to Josh Allen and Justin Fields."

You have to go very out of your way to make an answer to this question remotely controversial. I guess Stroud's agent should just be happy nobody asked CJ who his favorite former Bills running back is.