J.D. PicKell: Why CJ Stroud is the favorite to win the 2022 Heisman Trophy

The Heisman Trophy race in 2022 appears to start with a battle between Ohio State’s CJ Stroud and Alabama’s Bryce Young, and On3’s JD PicKell agrees. However, rather than go with the defending winner, he believes the race could turn out different this time around.

While breaking down the 2022 Heisman race on On3’s YouTube channel, JD PicKell provided his rationale behind choosing CJ Stroud to become the favorite over Bryce Young.

“The favorite in the clubhouse to me is CJ Stroud, the Ohio State quarterback,” said PicKell. “And a lot of people are going to come at me and say, ‘Bryce Young,’ this that and the other. It is so hard to repeat. … But for CJ Stroud, the firepower they have on offense is ridiculous. Jaxon Smith-Njigba, we saw what he did in the Rose Bowl a year ago. Marvin Harrison Jr, he’s probably going to put up big numbers – see what he did in the Rose Bowl as well if that’s a preview of things to come. They have a phenomenal run game.

“The thing that I’m looking for from him – determining factor if you will – is consistency. Because he put up video game numbers a year ago, 70-plus percent completion percentage, over 40 touchdowns, good ratio to interceptions, but consistency game to game is what I want to see from him. The Heisman Trophy voters, if you give them a reason to not vote for you, they’ll take it. We saw it last year, there were times where he looked like a first-year starter. And that’s ok, that’s allowed, but to win the Heisman Trophy you’ve got to bring it every single game. You can’t come out lackluster against Tulsa and you can’t have a slower start against Oregon. Need big numbers, need big performances.”

2022 Heisman Trophy odds

Vegas Insider recently updated their 2022 Heisman Odds. CJ Stroud leads the way as the favorite at +200 with 2021’s winner not far behind in 2022.

Stroud is preparing to build on a phenomenal redshirt freshman season in Columbus. He finished Top 5 in the nation in passing yards, passing touchdowns, and QBR. His elite numbers along with Ohio State’s projected record will have him firmly in the mix all throughout the 2022 season.

While extremely rare, a repeat win for Bryce Young is not out of the question at +350. How difficult a feat it is is likely what’s holding Young back from being closer to the top spot. His stats from last season were phenomenal with second place finishes in yards, touchdowns and QBR in the NCAA.