C.J. Stroud's supposed score on a pre-draft cognition test made headlines this past week.
According to a report from NFL writer Bob McGinn, the two-time Heisman Trophy finalist and top NFL draft prospect only scored an 18% on the S2 test, which was significantly lower than the rest of the 2023 quarterback draft class.
In the aftermath, many critics questioned the validity of those results, as well as the value of the assessment in projecting success for an NFL quarterback. On ESPN's NFL Live ahead of the draft Thursday, Ryan Day weighed in on the topic and said he actually spoke with those involved with the S2 test in order to gain more clarity.
"I wasn't sure much about it, because when I was in the NFL, this wasn't a test that the guys took. So this morning I actually met with the folks on Zoom with the S2 cognitive test. I learned quite a few things about it," Day said. "First off, it's all based on your eye reaction and reaction to buttons. Pressing buttons. So there's no IQ test, there's no question and answer, there's nothing like that. The second one is only 15 teams actually subscribe to this test. So less than half the teams actually have this information."
Day also believes the scores were leaked for strategic draft purposes and the reported test results were either inaccurate or out of context given the breadth of the S2 evaluation.
"I also learned that the information that had been leaked – which I'm assuming it was for sort of strategic reason, otherwise why would somebody actually do it – that some of those test scores weren't accurate," Day said. "And then the last thing is there's 10 scores that actually get evaluated during the S2 process, and you don't know what those scores mean, they're all evaluating different things. So to just kind of take a number that got leaked and make an evaluation of somebody is a little irresponsible."
Day said he views Stroud's cognitive processing on the football field as one of his greatest strengths. When asked about the controversy himself on Wednesday in Kansas City, Stroud said "I'm not a test taker, I play football."
"One of the things that I think makes C.J. great is his processing ability," Day said. "So I wanted to grab on and just kind of find out a little bit more about the test, so that was a great conversation, I learned a lot about that today."
Stroud is still widely considered one of the top two quarterback prospects in the 2023 class and remains a likely top-five pick once the draft begins at 8 p.m. in Kansas City.
