With every pinpoint spiral, touchdown pass and sound decision, rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud is reinforcing the wisdom the Texans displayed in selecting the two-time Heisman Trophy finalist with the second overall pick of the draft.
Stroud has emerged as the runaway favorite to earn NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. He has already established an NFL all-time record by throwing 191 passes without an interception to start his career, surpassing Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott.
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From a production and intangible standpoint, Stroud has been the clear-cut frontrunner as the top quarterback in the rookie draft class. Named a team captain in balloting from his teammates along with rookie defensive end Will Anderson Jr., Stroud, 22, has led the Texans’ dramatic turnaround with three wins in the past four games for a 3-3 record under new coach DeMeco Ryans at the bye week, one year after the team finished 3-13-1 last season.
Why is Stroud so successful? The man who drafted him, Texans general manager Nick Caserio, emphasized a lot of Stroud’s immeasurable qualities during a Tuesday press conference at NRG Stadium.
“I’d say his work ethic, his confidence, his demeanor, his belief,” Caserio said. “I think DeMeco has talked about this quite a bit in terms of your belief in yourself, belief in your teammates, belief in what you’re capable of doing. I think the big thing with him is just his confidence, his belief in himself, his competitiveness, his pride, and the respect that he’s earned with his performance from his teammates. Being a captain is not a popularity contest, but when you’re a captain as a rookie, which both he and Will are, it’s really more about what you do and how you handle your job necessarily than what you say.
“But he cares a lot. He has a lot of pride, and he wants to go out there and perform well and do the best thing and the right thing for the team. And he’s shown the propensity to do that. I think from really May until August, you saw growth and development, and then we’ve seen growth and development from Baltimore to New Orleans Can you learn each week; do you understand the opponent; do you understand what’s being asked of you. I’d say he’s done a pretty exemplary job of that to this point.”
Six games into his NFL career, Stroud has passed for 1,660 yards to rank fourth in the NFL in passing yards. He has nine touchdowns and one interception.
As a senior in high school, Stroud passed for 3,878 yards and 47 touchdowns.
And Mark Verti, Stroud’s high school coach while growing up in Rancho Cucamonga, California, wasn’t surprised in the slightest to watch how Stroud rebounded from his first NFL interception and how he made adjustments on the fly in a 20-13 victory over the New Orleans Saints as he threw two touchdown passes.
Wearing a red No. 7 Stroud jersey while attending the game with his daughter and watching in the Texans’ family section with Stroud’s mother, Kimberly Stroud, and other family and friends, Verti recounted how Stroud uses his mind and his arm to beat the competition.
“It’s crazy, just his development over the years when he was in high school,” Verti said. “His brain game hasn’t changed. His accuracy hasn’t changed. He just gets better and better. It’s nothing new, but it’s amplified with each level. It is really exciting for us. It’s goosebumps right now.”
At Ohio State, Stroud beat out blue-chip recruits to go 21-4 in two seasons as the Buckeyes’ starter. He passed for 8,123 yards, 85 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
The way that Stroud bounced back from his first NFL interception after setting a league record 191 passes without one to start his career spoke volumes.
“You see the roots,” Verti said. “The shake and go, he did that in high school.”
Stroud didn’t dwell on the miscue. After wide receiver Nico Collins forced linebacker Zack Baun to fumble and offensive guard Tytus Howard recovered the loose football, Stroud marched the Texans on a long drive capped by his touchdown pass to tight end Dalton Schultz.
Caserio’s extensive background with the New England Patriots with future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady prompted a question about any parallels between the seven-time Super Bowl winner and a precocious rookie.
Stroud has talked in press conferences about the influence of Brady on him, including having a lunch this summer with the retired NFL legend.
“One’s in the Hall of Fame, one’s not,” Caserio said. “I think that the conversations that they have, whatever they’ve discussed is between the two of them. I think, and C.J. has said this, he’s articulated it. Just kind of keeping the main thing the main thing, kind of his vernacular, his mindset. I think that’s the right approach. Just focus on the things that are important. It’s very difficult and you have to be careful about comparing players and then making assumptions or -- I think most players that want to win are highly competitive. Their work ethic supersedes pretty much anybody on the team, especially at that position.
“I’d say in some respects they share some of those same qualities. Like if you want to win and you want to be the best, are you willing to work, and I think your drive and competitiveness, you’re not going to find a more competitive person or player than Tom Brady. I’d be hard pressed to find anybody at that level. What matters is are you diligent, purposeful about your work, and if you want to be great, are you doing things to reinforce that notion? From that perspective, I think C.J. -- football is extremely important to him, and he cares a lot about it, and that’s a good place to start.”
In high school, Stroud made it a point to spread the football around. He does the same thing in the NFL while maintaining his composure.
“He has always talked about staying even-keeled,” Verti said. “When bad things happen, who cares? Just move on to the next drive. He has always done a good job reaching everybody. He made sure each guy in practice got the ball. He’s always reached out, always tried to reach everyone and not just the guys who got the ball every time. He always reaches out to everybody. He is just a person who helps everybody, just a good guy.”
Stroud isn’t alone on the Texans’ roster as being off to a fast start among the rookies.
Drafted third overall out of Alabama where he was a consensus All-American, Bronko Nagurski award winner and Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Year, Anderson has provided a relentless presence at the line of scrimmage. In six starts, he has recorded 25 tackles, one sack, two tackles for losses and eight quarterback hits. Against the Saints, he had an 85.7 Pro Football Focus grade with eight pressures, six hurries, one tackle for a loss and a 28.9 percent pass rush win rate. For the season, Anderson has a 20 percent pass rush win rate. He led the team with a 3.18 yards of distance from the quarterback at the time the football was thrown.
“Yeah, Will is a good football player,” Caserio said. “He was a good football player at Alabama. When we drafted both players, we drafted them because they’re good football players. I mean, that’s why they’re here. If we didn’t think they were good football players that could help our team, then we would draft other players.”
While second-round center Juice Scruggs has been on injured reserve for the first six games with a strained hamstring with some optimism he’ll be activated following the bye, Texans rookie wide receiver Tank Dell has made an instant impact.
The speedy third-round draft pick from the University of Houston has caught 19 passes for 324 yards and two touchdowns on 28 targets. He’s on pace for 79 catches, 919 yards and six touchdowns. Dell missed the New Orleans game with a concussion, but is expected to clear the NFL protocol and return against the Carolina Panthers.
“Yeah, Tank was a good player at Houston,” Caserio said. “He’s a good player, he showed at the Senior Bowl. I think what we’ve seen from Tank is no different than what we’ve seen here from the March process to the spring to where we are now.
“Tank has got a great attitude, cares a lot about football, cares a lot about winning. Very competitive. I’d say he’s very driven. He’s very motivated. Love having him on the team. Love his mindset, love his attitude, and he’s producing when he’s been on the field.”
The Texans lead the NFL with 1,071 rookie snaps offensively, ahead of the 0-6 Panthers’ 926 snaps.
Rookie center Jarrett Patterson has started every game with Scruggs sidelined and has been reliable and solid all-around.
Rookie linebacker Henry To’oTo’o leads the Texans with 45 tackles and is calling the defensive signals as the Mike linebacker. He has one tackle for a loss and two passes defensed while struggling in pass coverage generally.
Defensive end Dylan Horton is starting to play more in a rotation and has six tackles and one quarterback hit with one tackle for a loss.
And wide receiver Xavier Hutchinson has two runs for 15 yards and three catches for 24 yards.
It’s a solid start for a draft class engineered by Caserio along with the entire personnel department, including executives James Liipfert, Mozique McCurtis, John Ritcher and area scouts.
“There’s a lot of people that deserve a lot of credit,” Caserio said. “I’d start with the coaches and what they’ve done, and the players is ultimately we try to bring in the players that have the right mindset, they have the right qualities that we think can help our football team. Sometimes it takes some players maybe a little bit longer than others, but we felt that the players that we brought in here could help us in some capacity.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com.
