Houston Texans safety Jalen Pitre (5) is seen during the second half of an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys, Sunday, Dec. 11, 2022, in Arlington, Texas. Dallas won 27-23. (AP Photo/Brandon Wade)
Let’s start by settling on the following: all data is valuable when it comes to the NFL Draft and player evaluation. Height, weight, pace, size of hands, level of education…
Yes, even the contentious S2 Cognition test, which rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud of the Houston Texans scored poorly on.
However, the mere fact that the information is worthwhile does not imply that it is accurate. Furthermore, the designers of the S2 Cognitive Test are now admitting that Stroud’s assessment may have been flawed.
With the No. 2 overall pick getting ready for today’s NFL playoffs second-round matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and the upstart Texans, and with Stroud seemingly headed for Rookie of the Year, MVP, and franchise quarterback status, the Wall Street Journal is informing us about the potential mishap.
The S2 Cognition test’s developers told the Wall Street Journal that Stroud’s scores were marked as “potentially invalid and an unreliable result,” and that they 1) shouldn’t have been made public.
Lamar and CJ
That’s a damn shame, of course, because a “potentially invalid” result might’ve cost the player his draft slot and millions of dollars. Indeed, while it didn’t impact Stroud that way – he long ago laughed off the result, saying, “I’m not a test-taker; I play football” – how much do you want to bet that other prospects have been victimized by “an unreliable result”? Bottom line: The best way to judge a football player, even once a mountain of other info is gathered, is by how he plays football.
