Six days before the 2023 NFL Draft, veteran NFL reporter Bob McGinn of GoLong.com published the S2 test results of several quarterbacks who were about to be coming into the NFL. For those unaware, the S2 test is a pre-draft cognition test that supposedly does a suitable job of predicting the mental capacity and quick-decision making skills of players, most notably quarterbacks, who are required to make countless micro-decisions on a given play.

The most notable names included in McGinn's column were Alabama's Bryce Young and Ohio State's CJ Stroud, the presumptive #1 and #2 picks in the NFL Draft. For most, the difference between Young and Stroud was minimal, but the results of the S2 test showed a noticeable gap between the two. Bryce Young scored in the 98th percentile, while CJ Stroud scored in the 18th percentile.

In the end, the results of the test likely didn't change much. Once they had acquired the 1st overall pick in the Draft from the Chicago Bears, the league-wide expectation was that the Carolina Panthers would select Bryce Young, and CJ Stroud would be made the 2nd overall pick by the Houston Texans. This is exactly how things played out. But even one year later, those around the league, including Stroud, are still displeased with the fact that the results of the S2 test were made public. And given how well Stroud performed during his rookie season — especially in comparison to Young, who struggled as the starter of the Panthers — it's made some question the importance of the test itself.

“You don’t pick a guy based on a test,” Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans said back in October, per Zak Keefer of The Athletic. “It’s silly to say, ‘Take one metric,’ when there are so many different variables that go into drafting a guy.”

“It made us all say, ‘Wait a minute, what?’ You watch his tape, and his tape is awesome,” one anonymous executive told Keefer. “He’s processing. He’s playing fast. He’s making good decisions. Maybe this is just an anomaly? Maybe he didn’t try?”

CJ Stroud has since come out and admitted that his lack of effort on the S2 test could be the reason he scored as poorly as he did.

“Some things I apply myself to, some things I don’t,” Stroud said when asked about the S2. “Look, I can show you my high school report card — I’m not a dumb kid. I’m not gonna lie, in school, I was lazy. I would get what I could get so I could play football. And I always had a 3.0 (GPA). That was the standard in my household. That was my mom’s rule.”

“If you only give 80 percent on this test, you’ll bomb it,” one league source shared with Keefer.

Stroud may have performed poorly on the S2 test, but his rookie season in Houston was an overwhelming success no matter what “test” you want to use to evaluate it.

The numbers: 319-499, 4,108 yards, 23 touchdowns, 5 interceptions, and a 100.8 passer rating

The team success: The Texans, despite finishing 2-14-1 in 2022, won the AFC South on the final day of the regular season after Stroud delivered a masterful performance on the road to defeat the Indianapolis Colts.

The eye-test: And friends, this is the most important test, and the one that Stroud routinely aced throughout his rookie season. Stroud made throws that rookies aren't supposed to be able to make yet. He stayed calm and composed in the face of situations where a 22-year-old is supposed to be rattled. He had more than one performance that made smart analysts think out loud, “Wait a second, is this kid a legitimate MVP candidate?”

The answer to that question should've been “yes.” And if the S2 test were that easy, I'm sure that CJ Stroud would've aced that one too.