Very few, if any, quarterbacks have ever had a better rookie season than the one C.J. Stroud put together in 2023. The Houston Texans star completed 63.9% of his passes at an average of 8.2 yards per attempt, with 23 touchdowns against just 5 interceptions in 15 games. He led the NFL in passing yards per game and posted the lowest interception rate among qualified quarterbacks, earning Offensive Rookie of the Year and Pro Bowl honors, and finishing eighth in league MVP voting.
Heading into Year 2, one of Stroud's teammates who broke out alongside him as a rookie -- wide receiver Tank Dell -- is thinking big when it comes to the type of player Stroud can be in the future.
"You can see it in him. I for sure feel like C.J. got the opportunity to be the best quarterback in the league," Dell said during an appearance on the I Am Athlete podcast. "Not me just saying that because of who he is to me but just like what I'm seeing him do each and every week. What the world sees, they're seeing exactly what we're seeing. How he is just coming out there as a 21-year-old man going against grown men, and he's out here just balling every week. It's like how consistent he is.
"I feel like C.J. gotta keep doing what he's doing to bridge the gap between him and [Patrick] Mahomes. Not going to lie, Mahomes is special ... it's for sure going to be a lot of work, but I feel like if he just keeps doing what he's doing, he's on the right path."
To his credit, Dell acknowledges that there is a gap that needs to be made up between Stroud and Mahomes, who through six seasons as a starter is playing the position at the highest level it's ever been played in the history of American professional football.
Mahomes, of course, played in only one game as a rookie, but announced himself to the world in Year 2 with a 5,097-yard, 50-touchdown MVP campaign in Year 2. That was one of the best seasons any quarterback has ever had, so expecting Stroud to match it is unwise; but he should be in even better position to succeed in 2024 than he was in 2023 after the team added Stefon Diggs and Joe Mixon this offseason, and solidified its offensive line.
Even if he never does catch Mahomes and become the single-best QB in the game (and let's be honest, it's probably unlikely that anyone is going to catch Mahomes any time in the foreseeable future), Stroud is clearly capable of being one of the very best in the NFL, and of lifting the level of play of those around him. And that's going to make the Texans a contender for quite a while.
