It’s likely that you didn’t see one of the best moments of Thursday’s NFL Draft coverage. And that’s to no fault of your own as the options are limitless and ESPN and NFL Network, but Bleacher Report’s stream, which included Adam Lefkoe, Mike Renner, Micah Parsons, and C.J. Stroud, had great moments of its own, including the Houston Texans quarterback stealing the show.
Stroud’s team didn’t have its first-round pick, so it’s reasonable that the Ohio State product would have his eye on Day 2 prospects. Last month, the Texans sent No. 23 overall and a seventh-rounder to the Minnesota Vikings for a 2024 second-round pick (No. 42), a sixth-rounder and a 2025 second-rounder.
So with the 10th pick of the second round, Stroud was keeping an eye on potential targets, like possibly a wide receiver, to help his team. It’s worth mentioning that a team that just traded for Stefon Diggs’ biggest need is probably not at the wide receiver position, but that didn’t stop Stroud from reacting the way he did when the commissioner announced the San Francisco 49ers’ first-round pick.
When Roger Goodell announced that the 49ers were taking Florida wide receiver Ricky Pearsall, Stroud just about lost his mind. He fell back into his seat and raised his hands in utter disbelief as he did his face.
“We probably wasn’t gonna get a receiver, but shoutout to Pearsall, man,” Stroud said. “Damn. I told people, bro. How? What? How is he even on their radar? I’m happy for him, though, because he wanted to go in the first round and get some more money. I talked to him a couple of times, man, congrats bro, that’s big time. Bro, he’s elite — you’ll see. Especially in that offense, man. Kyle (Shanahan) is gonna dial it up for him. That’s why I felt like he was gonna fit in our system so well.”
“Bro. He’s elite … I wanted him bad”
49ers fans are going to love CJ Stroud’s reaction to them drafting Florida WR Ricky Pearsall pic.twitter.com/ttFXmHLEsE
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) April 26, 2024
Lefkoe wanted to know what it was about Pearsall that had Stroud this effusive in his praise.
“I don’t know what it is, man,” he explained. “I’m not saying like I’m some guru or some receiver GOAT, but I know routes when I see them; I know football players at the receiver position. When I watch him, at first I was like, he’s good because I seen him at Arizona State. And then his first year at Florida was OK. But this last year, bro, he put it together…I wanted him bad, especially like before we didn’t know we were gonna get (Stefon Diggs).”
If 49ers fans were upset about the Pearsall selection, perhaps Stroud’s reaction might help change the narrative.
[B/R Gridiron on X]
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.