Today, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy was revealed as the 85th-best player in the NFL according to their annual Top-100 list (as voted on by the players).
This is a troubling sign for Houston Texans signal caller C.J. Stroud's reputation, as many around the NFL deem Purdy to be the better quarterback than Stroud. In fact, NFL Digital Content Producer Bobby Kownack said of Purdy in his Top-100 reveal description, "Purdy would likely rank far higher had he not missed eight games last season due to a toe injury."
If Purdy, who played in nine games in the 2025 season and still ranked as one of the league's best, landed at the 85th spot, then that means one of two things are most likely going to happen regarding Stroud and the list.
Either Stroud is going to miss the list completely as a repudiation due to his recent struggles, or there's going to be a considerable level of controversy if the players decided to rank Stroud above Purdy heading into the 2026 campaign.
Brock Purdy reveal spells impending questions for C.J. Stroud
For starters, let's breakdown why I believe that Stroud will seemingly miss this year's rollout in light of Purdy's designation.
Purdy is seen as the better quarterback between himself and Stroud
Kownack continued his glowing admiration of Purdy by expressing,
"He has established himself as one of the league’s most entertaining signal-callers, equipped with an uncanny knack for buying time to make big last-second plays. At his best -- which he often is -- Purdy gives the 49ers a Super Bowl ceiling."
Juxtapose that to Stroud at the moment, and there's a night-and-day difference in how the two are regarded in league circles. Currently, Purdy is seen as key ingredient to the 49ers' Lombardi aspirations, while many in the NFL media space think Houston's best path to a Super Bowl would include winning in spite of Stroud. This is especially if one considers how Purdy has already led the 49ers to a Super Bowl appearance in only his second NFL season back in 2023, while Stroud has yet to help the Texans break through to the AFC Conference Championship round in his three years (as I type this, I realize even more so now how unreasonable our expectations are as fans).
To address the statistical argument for a second, if we were to create a projection of production between the two field generals, we'd get a resounding confirmation of why Purdy edges out Stroud ahead of 2026: (Stats projected based on the fact both players missed time with injuries)
C.J. Stroud 2025-2026 stats (17-game projection)
- Completions: 332/514 (64.6% completion)
- Yards: 3,693
- Touchdowns: 23
- Interceptions: 10
- Passer rating: 92.9* (non-adjusted)
- QBR: 61.7* (non-adjusted)
Brock Purdy 2025-2026 stats (17-game projection)
- Completions: 372/536 (69.4% completion)
- Yards: 4,093
- Touchdowns: 38
- Interceptions: 19
- Passer Rating: 100.5* (non-adjusted)
- QBR: 72.8 (non-adjusted)
So, whether considering the reputational argument or the statistical evidence, Purdy clears Stroud by a considerable margin at the time of writing. By the theoretical numbers alone, Purdy projected to have at least 400 more yards and 15 more touchdowns' worth of offensive value than Stroud. Thus, Stroud's placement on the list is highly suspect at best right now. However, the curve ball in this equation would be the subjective undertone of the list, and that could lead to Stroud getting a controversial nod over Purdy.
Controversial Stroud selection would be the only other scenario
Looking at Stroud's history on the Top 100 list, he's had rankings of 20th prior to the 2024 season, and 39th prior to last season. Though we saw a drop of 19 spots year-over-year from 2024-2025, along with factoring in Burdy's 85th-overall mark, the math would say that Stroud still has 45 spots of real estate left to play with in the event of further regression. With that in mind, that could lead to Stroud having just enough league-wide equity to cushion another slide to the tune of a potential appearance anywhere from the high-70's to the low 80's.
I would consider this the most likely of the two scenarios mentioned, but crazier comparisons have been made throughout the history of the NFL (especially in a player-driven system). If this indeed does come to pass, you can bet your Battle Red colored socks that many fans and media members alike will let their outrage be known across social media and television.
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