The Houston Texans weren’t expected to be much of anything this season, but they have actually been competitive thanks to the efforts of rookie rookie quarterback CJ Stroud. New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers has taken notice of the young signal-caller.
Stroud, who played his collegiate football at Ohio State, was selected by the Texans with the second overall pick of the NFL Draft back in the spring.
Through the first five games of this season, he has thrown for 1,461 yards and seven touchdowns with no interceptions. He is also completing 61.3 percent of his passes while posting a passer rating of 98.4.
Stroud’s positive early returns have certainly caught the attention of New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who waxed about the youngster on The Pat McAfee Show earlier this week.
“It’s incredible,” Aaron Rodgers said of Stroud’s performance thus far. “It really is. You know, ball security is job security and he has done an incredible job of that. I would be interested to look at how many, I think, because they track this. And, again, I think some of it is subjective in nature. But they track the number of, like, turnover-worthy plays. And I’d be interested to see how many throws were in that category because I feel like, overall, he has been doing a fantastic job of taking care of the football, not, like, having plays where, ‘Oh, that should’ve been picked’ or ‘That was a bad read’. I don’t feel like, in the few times I’ve seen him on the RedZone channel when the games have been on, he hasn’t been making bad decisions.”
Stroud is yet to turn the ball over this season for the Texans, a truly remarkable feat for such a young quarterback.
“One hundred and eighty six throws without a pick to start a career? That’s phenomenal,” Rodgers continued. “I think the most important stat is it’s not like he’s throwing for 150 yards a game. He was averaging I think 300 a game before this last game. So big props to C.J. Great start to his career and, again, ball security is job security.”
Most recently, CJ Stroud went 20-for-35 with 249 yards and a touchdown in a close 21-19 loss to the Atlanta Falcons this past Sunday. He had led Houston to two straight wins prior to Week 5.
The Texans are 2-3 and will host the New Orleans Saints this weekend.
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