C.J. Stroud Passionately Defends Panthers’ Bryce Young After Woeful Rookie Season

The two first-round quarterbacks are looking out for each other.

Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud is looking out for the only player drafted ahead of him.

The former No. 2 pick came to Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young’s defense this offseason and gave him a short and sweet message: “You the one.”

Stroud joined Ryan Clark’s The Pivot podcast on Tuesday and explained why, despite Young’s first-year struggles, he still has the utmost faith in his fellow peer.

“I know everything’s gonna be fine for him. I told him like, ‘You the one. You the one for a reason, don’t ever, ever look at yourself different, bro,’” Stroud said. “I feel like a lot of stuff didn’t go his way that was out of his control. You can’t make a play if someone doesn’t block, you can’t make a play if someone doesn’t catch the ball.”

CJ Stroud defends Bryce Young rookie season “You the one bruh, you the one for a reason”

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The Texans starlet said he thought Young did “a lot of great things” in Year 1 and suggested that Young didn’t flourish because of his supporting cast, which paled in comparison to that of Stroud’s.

Stroud said, “I came into a situation where we were struggling, but we still had a lot of good pieces. Our GM brought in a lot of good vets. DeMeco [Ryans] was the perfect coach for our type of team.”

Young and Stroud, the respective No. 1 and No. 2 picks of the 2023 NFL draft, could not have had more divergent paths in their rookie campaigns. 

Young’s Panthers finished with a 2—15 record at the bottom of the league, ranking dead last in yards and points per game. Stroud’s Texans, on the other hand, soared to the top of the AFC South with a 10—7 record and stormed into the postseason with a young and feisty squad. In the wild-card round, the Texans became the fourth team in NFL history to win a playoff game with a rookie head coach and rookie starting at quarterback.

Stroud is currently touted to win Rookie of the Year, while Young will spend the offseason getting acquainted with Dave Canales, Carolina’s fifth head coach in the last four years (counting interims).