NFL Draft Rumors: Wonderlic Replacement S2 Test Scores Leaked; Bryce Young highest, CJ Strode lowest for QBs

CJ Stroud is one of the top quarterbacks in the 2023 NFL Draft, projected to be selected as high as No. 1 overall. The Ohio State quarterback looks like his name will be heard in the top five of a quarterback class where four signal callers could actually go in the top five this year.

As a highly vetted quarterback prospect, Stroud may be the most questioned based on reports that have come out regarding his scores on the Manning Passing Academy and the S2 cognitive test. Per The Athletic, the S2 scores of the draft’s quarterback prospects were released.

Stroud had the lowest score of 18% (out of 100%) while Bryce Young had the highest score of 98.

How does the S2 Cognition Test work? The test, which replaced the Wonderlic, has nine separate segments, all of which are graded differently (similar to the SAT). Measurements used in each division include the quarterback’s ability to track multiple objects, make complex decisions and filter if/then scenarios with different defensive scenarios — along with the ability to improvise. The test takes 45 minutes and is administered via a gaming laptop, ultimately measuring players’ ability to quickly dissect information displayed on a screen in front of them.

This is a different strategy than the Wonderlic test, which is used to measure general cognitive ability in three areas: math, vocabulary, and reasoning. The Wonderlic Test consists of 50 multiple choice questions to be answered in 12 minutes (the highest score a player can get is 50).

Below are the reported S2 Cognition scores for the top quarterbacks:

However, Brandon Ely, co-founder of the S2 Cognition Test, says some scores are not accurate.

“The day it leaked, my phone was flying from the general manager and our attorney,” Ely said The Pat McAfee Show This week, via Sports Illustrated. “We can’t talk specifics. What I will say is the list of scores that I have seen, two of them are not exact. They are not accurate at all.

“Some of the reason may be for descriptive purposes. Another reason is that they have no reference, so someone might get a list of very early scores. One of the specific athletes on that list I know had a hard time making it. All-Star His way into the game, things were delayed. He was in high demand. He was hungry, tired, it was 11 o’clock, he didn’t want to do it. He was frustrated. We conducted the test because we asked for it.

“We knew at that point, hey, we’re going to see you again. We’re going to see you at your pro day, at your 30. We did that and his score is significantly higher than it was reported by the media. I Not saying it was CJ Strode. But for reference purposes, some of the scores that were leaked are inaccurate and need to be referenced.”

Do these scores mean much at the end of the day? Brock Purdy, the last player taken in the 2022 draft, scored in the mid-90s in Tests. Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes were also reported to score in the mid-90s in the S2 test.

Mahomes is the first quarterback to win two Super Bowls and two MVPs before age 30 while Purdy led the San Francisco 49ers to the NFC Championship Game as a rookie. Allen is one of the game’s best quarterbacks and the only player to throw for 4,000 yards and rush for 750 yards in a season multiple times (and accomplish the feat in consecutive years).

The S2 Cognition Test is going to stick around, but the league will need a larger sample size to determine how well it shows how to pick a great quarterback. Early returns are certainly promising.