Joel Klatt projects CJ Stroud to Houston Texans with 'no suspense'

Are you looking for a gigantic surprise at the 2023 NFL Draft later this April? Avoid Joel Klatt’s theories, as he believes Ohio State quarterback CJ Stroud will be selected second overall by the Houston Texans, adding that there will be “no suspense” with the pick.

During his 2023 NFL Mock Draft, Klatt predicted all the suspense will come at No. 1, where he slotted former Alabama star Bryce Young to the Carolina Panthers. While Klatt thinks Stroud has a shot to go first, once the pick is in, it’ll be obvious he’s destined to be the Texans next quarterback.

“This is not a knock on CJ Stroud. I think he absolutely could be the pick, and that would be a great pick. However, in this mock draft, he’s left for the Houston Texans at No. 2. So now Houston’s on the clock and they’re sitting there with the second pick in the draft, and CJ Stroud’s going to be the pick, the quarterback from Ohio State,” predicted Klatt. “There’s going to be zero controversy, or I guess I should say, what’s the word, there’s going to be no suspense with the No. 2 pick.

“Regardless of who goes No. 1, there’s going to be some suspense there, I suspect, unless there’s something leaked draft week as we get closer to Kansas City. I do think that there’ll be a little bit of suspense between the two players for that No. 1 pick, although we should have a decent idea up at that point. There’s going to be zero suspense with No. 2, because whoever goes No. 1, I believe that the other quarterback is going to go No. 2.”

Now, while many believe Florida’s Anthony Richardson can disrupt Klatt’s claim, the FOX analyst simply thinks Young and Stroud are too good for that to happen.

“Now there’s a lot of talk that maybe Anthony Richardson is going to jump up there to that top two. I don’t see it, because these other two guys are way too good, and way further along in their development to pass them up,” explained Klatt. “I think CJ Stroud has a higher ceiling than Bryce Young actually.

“Bryce, in my mind, might be a little bit of a safer pick, only in the sense that you know exactly what you’re going to get, and from Day 1, he’s going to be able to step in there and play and do it very efficiently. Now, CJ has some growth that’s still left, which means that he’s got higher potential. So if you’re going to take this pick based on potential, then I think CJ would probably go No. 1 to Carolina. Now, you might be asking yourself, ‘Well Joel, that doesn’t make any sense, if you’re taking it on potential, wouldn’t it be Anthony Richardson?’ It’s just too far, right? That’s a bridge too far.”

Even though he’s not predicting him to go first overall, Klatt couldn’t sing enough praise for the former Ohio State star.

“CJ is so good,” continued Klatt. “He’s so clean from the pocket. He’s accurate. He anticipates well. He controls the line of scrimmage. This guy was a consummate leader at Ohio State. He played his best game in that last game, even though it was a loss against Georgia, and he really proved his doubters, in particular the doubters that thought that he didn’t move well enough in the pocket, he proved them wrong.

“So that’s the pick that I like for the Houston Texans. I really love CJ Stroud. Those two guys, I hope, will have great NFL careers moving forward.”

Time will tell if Joel Klatt is right regarding CJ Stroud, but it’s evident he has a lot of love for the former Ohio State quarterback, and is itching to see him play in the NFL.