ESPN draft analyst reveals bold comparisons for CJ Stroud, Bryce Young

After becoming Heisman finalists last year, CJ Stroud and Bryce Young could be gearing up for big years in 2022 and to move toward the top of draft boards for the 2023 NFL Draft. ESPN analyst Matt Miller made some bold comparisons for the two, as he discussed on ESPN’s Get Up on Tuesday.

Miller, dropped his latest 2023 mock draft on Tuesday, compared the duo to two NFL franchise quarterback to back up his point. He said Stroud reminds him of Justin Herbert and Young’s game resembles Kyler Murray’s.

“When I look at CJ Stroud, I see Justin Herbert back at Oregon,” Miller said. “The arm strength is there, the elite size is there and a lot like Justin at Oregon, I’d like to see CJ Stroud actually use his legs a little bit more. We know that Herbert was coached not to do that by Mario Cristobal’s staff. He goes to the [Los Angeles] Chargers, start using his legs, he’s a fantastic franchise quarterback. I think CJ Stroud will be very similar, but look for him this year to use those legs a little bit more in the RPO game.

“For Bryce Young, it is almost impossible to find a comp for a player who’s listed at 6-foot and 194 pounds. I don’t believe he’s that tall. I actually don’t believe he weighs that much, either. But his game is similar to Kyler Murray in the way he distributes the ball from the pocket. He’s a point guard. He’s going to set up his guys to win with yards after catch ability, with great touch and timing and anticipation. But you’re not getting those elite traits or measurables you’re going to get from someone like CJ Stroud or some of the other quarterback in this 2023 class, as well.”

ESPN’s Matt Miller on what teams could move on from their quarterbacks to take CJ Stroud, Bryce Young

Miller also discussed two teams — the Philadelphia Eagles and Miami Dolphins — who could be willing to move on from their current quarterbacks for cheaper options.

“I think for those teams, is have to evaluate, their room against these quarterbacks,” Miller said. “Not just Stroud and Young. This is a very deep quarterback class. Say going into year three, especially for Jalen Hurts, who is incredibly inexpensive, do we believe that year three Jalen Hurts is better than where these guys can have us right now? And do we believe they’re better three, four, five years down the road?

“CJ Stroud obviously has much better physical traits than someone like Jalen Hurts and better than Tua [Tagovailoa], given what we’ve seen from his arm strength. Hopefully that improves this year. I do think that will be a real conversation given CJ Stroud’s physical ability, given Bryce Young’s football IQ, that field vision, his decision-making. It’s going to be a fun year with like 10 quarterbacks that could be first-round picks and a lot of teams that are going to need those guys.”