C.J. Stroud

Stroud hoped to bounce back last season, but instead it was a near repeat of his disappointing 2024. He was two yards shy of matching his passing yards per game (a paltry 217.2) and was one off the pace on TD passes with a career-low 19. For the second year in a row, Stroud struggled throwing deep. He completed just 31.0 percent (24th) of attempts of at least 20 yards and had almost as many interceptions (4) as TDs (5) on those passes. His two-year trend on deep passing is stunning. Stroud had 30 completions on 51 deep attempts as a rookie. The last two years combined, he’s had 31 completions on 100 attempts. In other words, the same number of deep completions on twice the number of attempts. It gets worse: As a rookie, he had an 8:0 TD:INT on such attempts; the last two years combined, it’s an 8:10 TD:INT. It’s hard to blame Houston's receivers, who dropped just three of Stroud's deep passes and ranked 11th in downfield open rate (9.7%). Better health would help, though. Nico Collins has not played a full season in his five-year career, and Tank Dell missed all of last season with a knee injury. Perhaps Jayden Higgins or Jaylin Noel will blossom in Year 2. The offensive line improved a bit last year, and the Texans rebuilt it further this offseason with free agents RG Wyatt Teller and RT Braden Smith and first-round pick Keylan Rutledge. The Texans picked up Stroud’s fifth-year option for 2027 ($25.9 million), but they may start making other plans next offseason if his 2026 looks anything like the past two years. Read Past Outlooks