The Texans are 0-2, but they have some reason to believe the wins will eventually come under rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud.
Through his first two starts, the second overall pick in the draft has completed 58 passes. That’s the second most in NFL history for a quarterback in his first two starts, besting Justin Herbert (57) and Mike White (57). Only Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow has more, with 60.
Stroud also has 626 passing yards, the fifth most for any player in his first two games. The only players with more in their first two games were Cam Newton (854), Kyler Murray (657), Justin Herbert (641), and Todd Marinovich (638). (Well, three out of four worked out.)
The Texans still have plenty of work to do to get to where they were before things went sideways with Deshaun Watson. So far, it looks like Stroud could help move things in the right direction.
The test for Stroud comes after four or five games, when defenses will have enough film to figure out what he does well and to try to take those things away. He’ll then have a chance to bust through that ceiling that enhanced game planning could create.
