HOUSTON — Bryce Young and CJ Stroud were linked long before they were drafted first and second overall in the 2023 NFL Draft.

They played youth football against each other in California, when Stroud played cornerback, too.

They played AAU basketball against each other.

They have a bond that transcends a joint practice on a sweltering August morning.

"That's my brother," Young said afterward.

"That's my brother," Stroud said from a different interview tent, moments later.

Of course, Young's brother has had an easier time in the NFL than he has, though Stroud's second year wasn't as smooth as his first.

Basically, Stroud was drafted into a more favorable environment, to a team that's won the AFC South each of his two seasons, and 10 wins a year. Young, of course, had three changes i

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