Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning joined The Pat McAfee Show recently and shared his thoughts on the outlook for CJ Stroud and the Texans this season.

Peyton talked about how impressed he was with Stroud's rookie season, and how much he enjoyed coaching him at the Pro Bowl.

He also discussed playing against Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans, and spoke to how tough the Texans will be to overtake in the AFC South with Stroud and Ryans leading the offense and defense respectively.

But what really caught our attention was Manning's comments about the criticism Stroud received leading up to the NFL Draft. Stroud's S2 scores — which measure cognitive ability — were rumored to be below average. Causing the perception that his draft stock was tumbling in the eyes of some teams.

The other big knock on Stroud was his maturity. Which many believe stemmed from CJ being a no-show at the Manning Football Camp.

Which it turns out was completely false, according to Manning.

“I kinda felt bad. He kind of got criticized for not going to the camp… I probably could have come out and clarified that he never committed to come.”

Manning said he apologized to Stroud about the flak he received from NFL teams during his NFL Combine interviews.

Peyton wasn't aware at the time that there was a narrative about Stroud “ghosting” the Manning Camp.

As a Texans fan, I hate that Stroud had to deal with unwarranted judgement about his character. But at the same time, perhaps this misinformation played a part in him slipping to No. 2 overall and being selected by Houston.

It's hard to imagine what this franchise would look like if the Texans had selected Bryce Young or a different quarterback.

Be sure to watch the video above as Manning clears the air about Stroud, and provides an in-depth look at the 2024 Texans and the AFC South.