‘Young Dude’s League!’: Texans Rookie C.J. Stroud Dazzles At NFL Skills Challenge
Houston Texans star quarterback C.J. Stroud made headlines in 2023 with his zipline passes against Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield.
C.J. Stroud might have been one the last names added to the Pro Bowl roster in Orlando, but he was one of the first big winners Thursday evening during the skills competition.
Stroud, the Houston Texans star quarterback and franchise face, got the ball rolling with his performance in the Precision Passing skills challenge against Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield.
While hitting targets— some moving and some stationary — Stroud showed off his well-known accuracy by building up on the points. Depending on the base of the throw, various spots offered more value in terms of point total.
Stroud beating out his fellow AFC quarterbacks Tua Tagovailoa from Miami and Gardner Minshew from Indianapolis to advance to the finals against Mayfield, who had eliminated the Eagles’ Jalen Hurts and the Seahawks’ Geno Smith.
Stroud, the favorite to win Offensive Rookie of the Year, tossed a golden football against a moving target down the sidelines. He later picked up a gain of 20 on an off-platform pass 20 yards downfield across his body.
In the first round, Stroud finished with a day-leading 26 points. Mayfield, who guided Tampa Bay back to the postseason in his first year, finished with 24 points in Round 1. Minshew finished with 21 and Smith with 20. Tagovailoa nor Hurts scored 16 and 17 points, respectively.
In the final round. Stroud had a chance to pick up victory but chose to go for the deep pass 50 yards downfield for 10 points. The ball just missed at the front leading to an eventual 9-8 win for Mayfield.
After securing the victory, Mayfield and Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown hit Stroud’s famous Squabble celebration. Technically St. Brown was the only person to hit the Squabble, but Mayfield did do his own celebratory dance.
Stroud, meanwhile, got in on the action before the finals, reminding Mayfield he’s only a rookie and just getting started.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for Bake, I’ve been watching him since college, but it’s a young dude’s league, so I’ve got to go take over,” the 22-year-old Stroud said.
Stroud, who helped Houston secure a 7-win turnaround in 2023, completed 63.9 percent of his passes for 4,108 yards and 23 touchdowns, with only five interceptions. He also became the fifth passer to throw for 4000-plus yards in their first season.
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Texans QB C.J. Stroud on stellar rookie season: ‘I wasn’t surprised much’
ORLANDO, Fla. — C.J. Stroud is rather quiet in demeanor and short on words, but that doesn’t mean he lacks confidence.
The Houston Texans quarterback turned in one of the finest rookie campaigns in NFL chronicle, and it wasn’t unexpected to him.
“No, it wasn’t,” Stroud told NFL.com Saturday at Pro Bowl Games practice when asked if his quick success was a surprise to him. “I have confidence in myself. I wasn’t surprised much.”
While the No. 2 overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft didn’t surprise himself, he certainly took the league by storm. Stroud galvanized the Texans, leading a stunning turnaround as the squad won the AFC South title and took out the Cleveland Browns in the opening round of the playoffs. All this came after the franchise had suffered through three straight seasons with single-digit wins.
Stroud’s 273.9 passing yards per game led the NFL as he became the first rookie QB to win a division (minimum 10 starts) since the Dallas Cowboys’ Dak Prescott in 2016. He finished the regular season with 4,108 passing yards, 23 touchdowns and just five interceptions, equating to a league-best 1.0 interception percentage. His passing yardage was the third-most by a rookie in NFL history and the 22-year-old was the youngest player to ever lead the league in TD:INT ration (22:5).
Having become just the fifth rookie to throw for 4,000 yards, Stroud found instant chemistry with offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik. Slowik is returning to Houston despite plenty of interest in the head coaching cycle, which bodes well for Stroud to continue on his already stellar trajectory.
“Yeah, I’m excited, it’s another year with a good coach,” Stroud said of Slowik’s return. “We got a lot of good chemistry. It’s a real good thing.”
With such a dynamic debut under his belt, Stroud and the Texans will have increased expectations awaiting in 2024. The soon-to-be second-year signal-caller is enthusiastic about the future ahead in Houston.
“Really excited,” Stroud said about building on the team’s success. “We’ve got a lot of good pieces coming back, probably add some pieces that we need. Lot of moving parts, but it should be fun.”
