Whether fair or unfair, the top two picks in the NFL Draft are often intrinsically linked to one another far beyond the day they each enter the league. Troy Aikman and Tony Mandarich. Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf. Courtney Brown and LaVar Arrington. Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III. It feels like a fair assumption that C.J. Stroud and Bryce Young will be the next #1/#2 duo that this rule is applied to. But even if Stroud and Young will be pitted as rivals by the media, the Texans rookie QB made it clear he has nothing but love for his counterpart in Carolina.

“That's my brother, man,” C.J. Stroud told reporters of Young at a press conference on Wednesday, per Hunter de Siver of Sports Illustrated. “He's someone I have a lot of respect for and I've known him since middle school. We got really close right after high school and we always rooted for each other.”

C.J. Stroud and Bryce Young have had plenty of opportunities to root for each other. Bryce Young was the winner of the Heisman Trophy in 2021, and C.J. Stroud made two appearances as a finalist on the Heisman ballot in both 2021 and 2022. They combined for 165 touchdowns and only 24 interceptions, and finished their college careers with a combined 44-8 record as starters at two powerhouse programs who perennially enter the season with a championship or bust mindset. Even though neither Young or Stroud won a National Championship as a starter in college (Young was part of the 2020 Alabama team that won the National Title, but was the backup for Mac Jones), they did enough to solidify themselves as the two top prospects in the 2023 NFL Draft.

C.J. Stroud and Bryce Young both played high school football on the west coast and even though their football journeys have brought them east, Stroud still reflects on that California upbringing.

“It's really cool to know that we're from the same area, as we grew up knowing each other and our parents did too,” Stroud said. “Our moms are really close and our dads knew each other. It's cool to see someone's journey from high school to college to the league and it's a blessing to have a brother like him.”