CJ Stroud Would Take An Eli Manning Career Over An Aaron Rodgers One: ‘You Want The Rings, Dawg’

The career of CJ Stroud is still young. But as the reigning NFL Rookie of the Year, it's off to one heck of a start. When it comes to long-term success, though, it seems there's only one thing on the 22-year-old's mind: Super Bowl rings.

During a recent interview on the Million Dollaz Worth of Game podcast, Stroud was asked if he'd rather have Eli Manning's career or Rodgers' career, and he didn't hesitate with his answer. 

"You want the rings, dawg," Stroud said. "Eli got two."

Eli did, in fact, win two Super Bowl rings over his 16-year career, and he was named MVP in both games. But he also finished with an even .500 record (117-117) and was a pretty average QB in the regular season. Rodgers, on the other hand, has just one Super Bowl win, but he boasts more individual accolades, including four NFL MVP awards, 10 Pro Bowls and four first-team All-Pro nods.

Rodgers is also still playing so he could, theoretically, win another Super Bowl before he hangs up the cleats.

CJ Stroud Takes Subtle Shots At Aaron Rodgers

But judging by the rest of the interview, it just doesn't seem like Stroud is a huge fan of Rodgers in the first place. At one point, he insinuated that the reason the future Hall of Famer only has one Super Bowl win is because he might not be a good teammate.

"You know what I think it is? I've talked to Tom Brady about this because he's a good mentor to me," Stroud said. "What he told me is his teammates, and how he treats his teammates. And that's where I think it falls off for Rodgers. We don't know how Aaron Rodgers treats his teammates, but you can guarantee that Tom Brady treats his teammates right because how he got those rings."

CJ Stroud has Super Bowl rings on the brain.

(Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)

Stroud also said that if someone like Matthew Stafford had been surrounded by the same talent as Rodgers throughout his career, he would have done much better. 

"If you give Matthew Stafford a chance like Aaron Rodgers had, I guarantee you he might have had more rings," Stroud said. "I'd say he would have like three or four."

But when Stroud was also asked to rank the top five quarterbacks in the NFL, he didn't have Stafford or Rodgers on the list. He did list himself, though.

I guess time will tell whether that's confidence or foolish pride coming from the young QB. But I am looking forward to the Texans' Week 9 game against Rodgers and the New York Jets now.