Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik says that in his first NFL game, quarterback C.J. Stroud showed why Houston made him the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft.
Slowik said that Stroud, who completed 28 of 44 passes for 242 yards and also ran four times for 20 yards, ran the gamut of skills that NFL teams look for in a quarterback.
“For a young quarterback, he’s very functional from the pocket, which is rare, and he has elite accuracy, the ball goes where he wants it to go,” he said. “I think he’s shown in the NFL, in one game, that he has more athleticism than a lot of people gave him credit for.”
Still, Stroud struggled plenty in Sunday’s season-opening loss to the Ravens, taking five sacks and losing a fumble in a game in which the Texans’ offense was limited to just three field goals. Houston needs him to be better in Week Two, when he faces the Colts and another talented but still developing young quarterback in Anthony Richardson.
