‘I wasn’t surprised much,’ says Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud of his outstanding rookie campaign.
FLORENCE, ORLANDO — Despite his modest manner and limited vocabulary, C.J. Stroud exudes confidence.
It wasn’t shocking to the quarterback for the Houston Texans, who had one of the best rookie seasons in NFL history.
“No, it wasn’t,” Stroud responded to a question about if his rapid success surprised him from NFL.com on Saturday during Pro Bowl Games practice. “I am confident in who I am. I wasn’t too shocked.
The 2023 NFL Draft’s second-round selection, while hardly surprising anyone, undoubtedly shocked the league. The Texans saw a remarkable turnaround under Stroud’s leadership, winning the AFC South title and defeating the Cleveland Browns in the first round of the playoffs. The team has endured three seasons in a row with single-digit victories prior to all of this.
With 273.9 yards per game passing, Stroud led the NFL and became the first rookie quarterback to win a division (minimum 10 starts) since Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys in 2016. With just five interceptions in the regular season, he finished with 4,108 passing yards, 23 touchdowns, and the best interception percentage in the league (1.0). The 22-year-old was the youngest player in league history to lead in TD:INT ratio (22:5), and his throwing yardage was the third-highest by a rookie in NFL history.
After becoming the fifth rookie quarterback to throw for 4,000 yards, Stroud and offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik clicked right away. Despite strong interest in the head coaching cycle, Slowik is going back to Houston, which is encouraging for Stroud to maintain his current exceptional trajectory.
With Slowik back, Stroud remarked, “Yeah, I’m excited, it’s another year with a good coach.” We have a great deal of chemistry. It’s quite beneficial.”
Expectations for Stroud and the Texans in 2024 will be higher after such an impressive debut. The signal-caller, who will soon enter his second year, is excited about what lies ahead in Houston.
“Very excited,” Stroud exclaimed when asked about building on the group’s accomplishments. “We will likely add certain components that we need, and we have a lot of fantastic pieces coming back. Many moving pieces, but it ought to be enjoyable.
