ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper explained why CJ Stroud may slide in the NFL Draft

Immediately ahead of the NFL Draft, there have been rumors that Ohio State quarterback CJ Stroud is seeing rumors about his draft stock falling.

During a segment on First Take, Mel Kiper admitted that he has no idea where CJ Stroud is going to be drafted at this point, sparking debate about him as a prospect.

“I have no idea where CJ Stroud is gonna go,” Kiper said. “So, I have no clue. If he’s not going two, guys, I’m just being honest. I’m being totally honest, I couldn’t even give you a guess because that third spot, who trades in there?”

As Kiper explained, once Stroud slides, all bets are off about who gets taken where in the draft.

“Do they trade in there for Stroud? Do they trade in there for [Will] Levis? Do they trade in there for [Anthony] Richardson? That’s what is going to make Thursday night fun and mysterious and great, if we don’t know we can’t predict it and I have no idea right now.”

Kimberly Martin then chimed in, pointing out that it may not be that Stroud is falling, rather more information is being put out right ahead of the draft. So, now that information needs to be deciphered. Is this new information to the public, or is it misinformation being leaked for one reason or another?

For his part, Robert Griffin III is shocked at the potential for CJ Stroud to slide in the draft.

“Well, CJ Stroud is the second best quarterback in this draft and I’m trying to figure out, am I losing my mind? Am I losing my senses? When did CJ Stroud become a guy who was going to drop outside the top two or three into the top 10?”

RGIII emphasized that you need to take rumors about Stroud with a grain of salt because the talent is clear on tape. Dan Orlovsky pointed to that tape, arguing concerns about his processing are unwarranted.

Bryce Young on CJ Stroud

Alabama quarterback Bryce Young is close with CJ Stroud. This pre-draft process can be difficult. However, Young knows that Stroud is a special player.

“I think, I’ve been around him for a really long time. We’ve known each other for awhile. Obviously we’re super close. Seeing how he carries himself, for me, it’s really cool. … I’ve watched film on a bunch of guys, just from studying my mutual opponents, and you can watch the highlights, but seeing how people are in the moment, how they process, that’s stuff that’s hard. … That’s really hard to find if you’re just watching television. But I was able to watch how CJ was in the Elite 11. That’s a big moment,” Young said.

“Everyone’s trying to be the MVP, and then everyone’s trying to win the 7-on-7 tournament. … Seeing how he carried himself during that time. Seeing how every time there was a big moment, he stepped up. Every big occasion. Seeing that through high school, I had watched him play before but seeing that and high pressure situations, and seeing how he carried himself, like that was something that really stood out to me. So of course, of course the accuracy, the decision-making, all the intangibles, all the great things that I hear. I’ve been around a bunch of people that played with him, and when you hear how they talk about him, I feel like that’s always a pretty good measurement of how people are. Hearing that, of course that’s all there, but I think we all kind of know that, we all see that. But being able to see how he carries himself and how he works on a day-to-day, and you know, just seeing what goes into those kind of moments, that was something that was really big for me.”