The Houston Texans’ 37-17 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday shouted to the world. The message: quarterback C.J. Stroud was worth every ounce of draft capital Nick Caserio and Demeco Ryans invested in him with this year’s second overall pick.
Despite all the “Ohio State Buckeye quarterbacks can’t hang in the NFL” narrative to the contrary, Stroud is not only hanging, he’s hitting marks, setting records and showing out.
As of this writing, and barring some miraculous performance by either the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Baker Mayfield or the Philadelphia Eagles’ Jalen Hurts in tonight’s Monday Night Football matchup, Stroud is one of only four NFL passers in 2023 with over 900 air yards.