CJ Stroud truly exceeded expectations last fall as the then rookie quarterback led the once moribund Texans to a divisional title and the second round of the playoffs.
So now what? The way Houston offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik tells it, the prep for the second year — and the predicted jump in Stroud’s game — is going to set the tone for the rest of his career.
Slowik, who also is headed into his second season with the Texans, talked about Stroud’s career “trajectory” this week as Houston went through phase three of OTAs.
“It is a really, really impactful year to me that really sets the trajectory for the rest of his career,” Slowik told reporters. “And I think a lot of that is that you get to hammer the fundamentals. Like last year, there was a lot going on. You have to hit fundamentals, you have to hit verbiage, you have to hit play calls, you have to hit productions, you have to hit all this stuff. You hit fundamentals to a degree but you can only do so much.”
There was even more talk about fundamentals in regards to Stroud, the NFL’s offensive rookie of the year.
“Now we really get to dive into the fundamentals of ‘this is what we do and how we play’ and what makes him great,” Slowik said. “And really fit that and grow that within our offense. That really to me has been — just through Phase II [and] in OTA’s so far he is on board and all in. He is picking up right where he left off.”
Texans rookie QB threw for more than 4,000 yards with 23 TDs
The Texans selected Stroud with the No. 2 pick of last year’s NFL Draft. The former Ohio State star did have massive expectations, but no one expected a rookie quarterback along with a rookie head coach (DeMeco Ryans) to do so well. The Texans, on the final weekend of the regular season, won the AFC South title. They then beat the Browns at home at NRG Stadium before losing to the Ravens at Baltimore in the divisional round of the playoffs.
It was a glorious run for Stroud. He threw for 4,108 yards and 23 touchdowns against only five interceptions. And he received a huge reward when Slowik stayed put in Houston for another season. The Texans added some offensive firepower with receiver Stefon Diggs (Bills) and running back Joe Mixon (Bengals). Plus, they rewarded receiver Nico Collins with a hefty new contract that places him amongst the top 10 highest paid at his position in the NFL.
Slowik said Stroud, despite being rookie, still had plenty of input into last year’s offense. The same is happening this off season.
“It is more what he is comfortable suggesting,” Slowik said. “And when we had dialogue, outside of last year, we get to the answer a lot faster. There could be weeks where there is more dialogue because he has more thoughts. There could be weeks where we are already on the same page because of what we went through last year and there is not a lot of dialogue needed. But that really won’t change from last year.”
