ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith is starting C.J. Stroud over Jordan Love

It usually takes time for young quarterbacks to find their footing in the NFL, but Texans QB C.J. Stroud arrived in Houston fully assembled for his rookie season. The 22-year-old passed for 4,108 yards, 23 touchdowns and five interceptions while leading his team to a division title and playoff win.

Stroud wasn't the only first-year starter to have success in 2023. Packers QB Jordan Love balled out in his first season replacing Aaron Rodgers. Love passed for 4,159 yards, 32 touchdowns and 11 interceptions before leading Green Bay to a postseason win over the Dallas Cowboys.

Nobody hates (or pretends to hate) the Cowboys as much as ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith. However, even Smith said he would pick Stroud over Love if he were starting an NFL team.

"Let's look at C.J. Stroud," Smith told his "First Take" co-hosts. "Third quarterback in the last fifty years to lead the NFL in both passing yards per game and touchdown-to-interception/turnover ratio."

Stroud not only won the 2023 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award, he became the youngest QB in NFL history to win a playoff game after defeating the Browns.

"This brother had a 157 passer rating in his first playoff game against the No. 1 ranked defense in the NFL," the ESPN analyst ferociously elocuted.

While both quarterbacks excelled last season, Stroud's accomplishments as a true rookie elevated him to a different level than Love in Smith's eyes:

"From 2010 to 2023, forty-three quarterbacks were drafted. One of them won a playoff start as a rookie. One! It's C.J. Stroud."

As good as Love was last season, it's tough to compare his success as a fourth-year player to someone who was asked to start in Week 1 as a rookie. For all the crazy things that Smith has said, it's hard to argue with him on this one.