C.J. Stroud’s wasting little time dialing up the highlights entering his second season.
Stroud, the Houston Texans franchise quarterback and reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year, returned to NRG Stadium for Organized Team Activities (OTAs) and impressed. While Houston added a handful of high-profile free agents, it was the No. 2 overall pick that served as the No. 1 highlight on Tuesday during the media session.
During team drills, Stroud connected with veteran receiver Robert Woods for a first down, but it wasn’t the catch that caught the camera’s eye. It was the throw — a no-look pass with the flick of the wrist — which had jaws dropping on Twitter Tuesday afternoon.
🫣🫣🫣 pic.twitter.com/R7Qb105nll
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) May 21, 2024
Quarterbacks often pay attention to where the ball is headed. Well, most do. There are some exceptions around the league recently, and the select bunch have backed up the pass with results on the field.
Patrick Mahomes continues to make those throws on the regular en route to winning three Super Bowls before turning 30. Aaron Rodgers, a future Hall of Famer and four-time MVP, has tossed a few cross-eyed passes in his day.
Both Matthew Stafford and Joe Burrow made the throw in the past, with the former finding Cooper Kupp in the Super Bowl back in 2022 against Burrow’s Bengals.
Stroud, who became the fifth rookie in league history to throw for 4,000 yards and the first quarterback since Tom Brady to lead the league in touchdown-to-interception ratio (23:5) and passing yards per game (274), is on his way to their level.
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— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) May 21, 2024
Some would argue he’s already there given his dominant first season in the pros.
“He’s definitely gotten more comfortable,” Texans tight end Dalton Schultz said. “He’s kind of taken that next step of being a verbal guy and a verbal leader that quarterbacks in the league have to be.”
