Brock Purdy’s place in the NFL’s annual Top 100 has put an uncomfortable spotlight on C.J. Stroud.
Purdy came in at No. 85 on the player-voted list, and that number alone is enough to stir up questions about where Stroud stands in league eyes. NFL Digital Content Producer Bobby Kownack made the case for Purdy with a strong endorsement, saying, " Purdy would likely rank far higher had he not missed eight games last season due to a toe injury."
That framing matters because Purdy played in nine games in the 2025 season and still earned a spot among the league’s top players. If that’s where he landed, then Stroud’s outcome now feels like it points in one of two directions: either he drops off the list entirely, or he gets placed ahead of Purdy and sets off a debate.
Kownack’s praise didn’t stop there. He added, "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."
That kind of language only sharpens the contrast with Stroud. Purdy is being treated as a quarterback who helps define San Francisco’s ceiling, while Stroud’s current reputation appears far less secure in the broader NFL conversation. The source material also points to Purdy’s Super Bowl appearance in his second NFL season back in 2023, while Stroud has still not pushed the Texans to the AFC Championship round in his three years.
The numbers, at least in the projection laid out here, also lean Purdy’s way. The comparison in the source uses 17-game projections and concludes that Purdy would bring at least 400 more yards and 15 more touchdowns’ worth of offensive value than Stroud.
Still, Stroud’s history on the list leaves room for a surprise. He was 20th before the 2024 season and 39th before last season, a drop of 19 spots year over year.
Even with Purdy sitting at No. 85, Stroud would still have some cushion if the voters decide to slide him down again, with a finish somewhere in the high-70s to low-80s described as possible.
That’s the swing point now. The most likely outcome, according to the source, is that Stroud lands somewhere behind where he has been before, but not necessarily off the board. If that happens, the reaction figure to be loud.
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