CJ Stroud left fans slack-jawed during his debut campaign. Now, the Houston Texans’ star quarterback is ready to kick it up a notch in his second year in the league.
“Just keep growing,” Stroud said of his Year 2 goals. “The name of the game is execution. The times where we executed at a high level, were the times we won those games. So that’s just the goal. Just execute and be able to be on the same page.
“Build chemistry right now, so when the ball rolls, we’re ready to fly around at a high level. I mean, that’s the goal and there’s goals on top of that. But, that’s the foundation right now.”
In his rookie season, Stroud exploded for 4,108 passing yards, 23 touchdowns and five interceptions while completing 63.9% of his passes. Further, Stroud tallied 167 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.
Stroud’s 4,557 total passing yards last year, including the postseason, were the second-most in NFL history by a rookie, trailing only Andrew Luck (4,662) in 2012. Additionally, Stroud began his career with 192 consecutive pass attempts without an interception, the most ever by a player to begin a career.
For his efforts, Stroud was named the 2023 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. Moreover, Stroud was selected for the Pro Bowl, becoming only the second offensive rookie in Texans history to earn a spot in the prestigious event.
Houston Texans OC stresses importance of Year 2 for CJ Stroud
Houston Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik believes Stroud’s second season will be even more important than his first.
“It is a really, really impactful year to me that really sets the trajectory for the rest of his career,” Slowik said. “You get to hammer the fundamentals. Like last year, there was a lot going on. You have to hit fundamentals, you have to hit verbiage, you have to hit play calls, you have to hit productions, you have to hit all this stuff.
“Now we really get to dive into the fundamentals of ‘this is what we do and how we play’ and what makes him great,” Slowik continued. “Just through Phase II [and] in OTA’s so far he is on board and all in. He is picking up right where he left off.”
Stroud will have no shortage of weapons around him in the 2024 campaign. The Bills added wide receiver Stefon Diggs (Bills) and running back Joe Mixon (Bengals) this offseason. Stroud will look to take advantage of his revamped offense in the upcoming season.
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