Fact or fiction about the AFC South QBs after Trevor Lawrence's new deal

Fact or fiction: C.J. Stroud is the best QB in the AFC South?

Verdict: Fact

Time will tell whether Will Levis or Anthony Richardson end up in this conversation, but right now Trevor Lawrence and C.J. Stroud are the only proven QBs in the AFC South.

When it comes to Stroud there is only one season to work with, but Stroud's rookie year was so far ahead of what Lawrence did as a rookie that it is unfair to compare those two seasons.

In fairness to Trevor Lawrence, I compared Stroud's only season to Lawrence's best season (2022). Stroud missed two games because the Texans were being cautious with him, so I did my comparison based on per-game stats.

When you compare the two, Stroud had better numbers in terms of:
-Touchdowns
-Interceptions
-QB rate
-Sack% (meaning he had a worse OL)
-Yards per attempt
-Yards per completion

Trevor Lawrence won:
-Completion%

Even when you look at the best-case scenario for Lawrence, it is a win for Stroud. With a year of tape for defenses to adjust to, it will be interesting to see if Stroud can stay hot because right now the only way this turns into a discussion is if Stroud has a slump (or if Levis or Richardson have an ascendant season).