ATLANTA --In a subtle yet powerful moment of body language and eye control, Texans rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud froze the Pittsburgh Steelers’ secondary like a savvy veteran.
Lined up in the shotgun formation on third down a week ago, Stroud caught the snap from rookie center Jarrett Patterson and went to work on outgaming the Steelers’ defense. Stroud was able to hold Steelers safety Damontae Kazee in his tracks by using his eyes to look at the deep middle of the field. The respect Kazee afforded this gambit allowed Stroud to rifle a pinpoint spiral as he pivoted to his right and delivered the football over the shoulder pads of wide receiver Nico Collins to hit him in stride behind cornerback Patrick Peterson for a textbook 52-yard touchdown pass that represented the final exclamation point on a dominant 30-6 victory.
It was a virtuouso performance from Stroud, one of many that have earned him the status of being a clear frontrunner candidate for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors and have set him apart as the top quarterback in the rookie draft class.
The skills Stroud is displaying reveal a precocious 22-year-old capable of big-time quarterback play and consistent, reliable and winning games. As much as what Stroud did shows arm talent, intellect and a strong background at Ohio State and at the high school level, it also shows he’s unusually advanced in how he sees the game of football.
“It’s taken me a long time to know that you can use your eyes as a weapon, but, for me, eyes and feet are everything,” Stroud said. “My eyes are connected to my feet. My feet are connected to my eyes. As a quarterback, I think that’s how you’re supposed to play. So all the way from high school, and then really in college my assistant quarterback coach always told me if your feet and eyes are good, you’ll make the play and you’ll play really [well] in the game. It’s kind of instinctive, too, sometimes. I don’t know, I just do it. I don’t really think about it, but it’s definitely been a work in progress.”
A two-time Heisman Trophy finalist for the Buckeyes, Stroud has passed for 1,212 yards, six touchdowns and zero interceptions. He has set an NFL record by throwing 151 passes to start his career without an interception. His passing yardage total only ranks behind former NFL MVP quarterback Cam Newton’s start to his NFL career.
And Stroud is the sixth quarterback to pass for at least 1,200 yards with no interceptions in the first four games, joining Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes, Drew Brees, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. It’s elite company Stroud has joined. Yes all of those quarterbacks aforementioned own Super Bowl rings and other gaudy hardware as top-end quarterbacks.
“I see C.J. really cementing himself as a top-five quarterback in this league really, really soon,” said Quincy Avery, Stroud’s private quarterbacks coach who also coaches Deshaun Watson, Justin Fields and several other NFL quarterbacks, in a telephone interview with KPRC. “You’re not going to outwork him.”
Avery first met Stroud when he was heading into his senior year of high school in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. At the time, Stroud was participating in the Elite 11 quarterback competition in Dallas.
Stroud wound up outshining his friend, future Alabama and Carolina Panthers top overall pick Bryce Young, in quarterback drills, earning a scholarship to Ohio State where he set a school record with 573 passing yards in a single game and became the first Buckeye to throw six touchdowns in a game three times. Tall and sturdy at 6-foot-3, 218 pounds, Stroud has a grit and a hunger for the game that are uncommon even in a highly competitive league.
“Honestly, I had never seen anybody’s stock rise as much as C.J.’s did in a five-day period,’ Avery said. “It was throwing dimes. It was everything to his level of maturity to confidence and commitment to doing everything right. He took it very seriously and was able to dominate. It was funny becasue when he did, he was playing with Bryce Young as the other quarterback on his team. Bryce was super highly touted, the No. 1 kid in the country, and C.J. outplayed him every snap. It was so cool to see someone do that and change the perception about them really, really quickly.”
Stroud completed 78 of his first 121 passes for 906 yards and four touchdowns in first three games. Now he has the Texans on a two-game winning streak heading into Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons.
Stroud has overcome adversity in life, including his father being imprisoned for various crimes.
He was raised by his mother, Kimberly, in a single-parent household. She has been a fixture at Texans games and at practices during training camp.
“The adversity he went through matured him very quickly,” Avery said. “It’s a common trait of the best guys in the world.”
Stroud has completed 62.3 percent of his throws for a 100.6 passer rating. He has been stellar despite a makeshift offensive line that allowed him to be sacked a league-high 11 times in the first two games of the season. Stroud has sped up his process and hasnt’ been sacked in the past two games against the Steelers and Jacksonville Jaguars.
By maintaining discipline and composure in the pocket and dialing into his fundamentals he’s been taught since high school, Stroud is excelling. And Stroud has a thirst for knowledge. He wants to be great and he chases that goal every day with outstanding work habits and communication skills, having deep conversations with his coaches and teammates.
“He sees things so well,” Avery said. “To me, what’s so cool about it is how on time he is. It’s very difficult to do what he’s doing off one hitch and be on rhythm every single time. How he’s done that is what has allowed him to separate. He’s not only super coachable, but he takes direction very well and listens to feedback.
“He’s also not a pushover. The thing that makes a big difference is he can have real conversations with coaching staffs and let them know what he sees as well. He’s ready to speak up and talk about what he sees as a quarterback. A lot of guys can’t verbalize what they see to make their team better, and C.J. does that better than many quarterbacks who have been playing in the NFL for a long time.”
Stroud has shined after being drafted one spot after Young, who has dealt with an ankle injury and is off to a comparatively slow start. Stroud has raised serious eyebrows about the relevance of an S2 Cognitive test that Young, Tennesee Titans quarterback Will Levis, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson and San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy have aced. The test is supposed to be a barometer for perception speed, processing, visual learning and tracking capacity.
The test obviously doesn’t hold muster when it comes to any tangible evaluation of Stroud’s performance as a quarterback or the leadership abilities his teammates and coaches continually rave about.
Stroud beats his opponents with his arm, his feet, his body and his mind.
“As a rookie, I would say that he’s really good because he knows when and why, which I think is rare for a rookie,” Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik said. “A lot of times, like in college, he definitely did it. Without a doubt, it showed up on his college tape. You could tell he had a good understanding in college of why he was trying to look somebody off, and then that’s only grown since he’s gotten to the NFL and growing within our scheme.
“I think initially when we first got to camp, you go through this period where you get so used to doing it that it’s a little too much and then you bring it back to balance it out and then it starts growing again: ‘Oh, now I understand on this concept. This is why I may want to put this defender here.’ And it just keeps building and building. Obviously, you get in a game playing situation, and you attack specific coverages and specific defenders. He’s been awesome in that regard.”
Stroud is clearly the top rookie quarterback. It isn’t even close.
After passing for 8,123 yards, 85 touchdowns and 12 interceptions for Ohio State after beating out several blue-chip recruits for the starting job, Stroud is continuing that theme of success in the NFL.
The Panthers have yet to win a game with Young, a former Heisman Trophy winner from Alabama, passing for 503 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Richardson has dealt with a concussion suffered against the Texans, but has cemented his status as a dynamic dual-threat quarterback.
Stroud arrived in the NFL as the most fundamentally sound and plug-and-play passer of the rookies.
“C.J., his quarterback play, he played a lot of football in college, and you’ve seen some of the same things,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “Whether it’s looking off safeties, moving curl flat defenders, he’s done that in college, and it continues to show. He’s a good quarterback. He goes through his progressions, he makes the right reads, and he’s able to do that because of the guys that he has up front and what they’re doing to protect him.
“So, C.J. is making some really nice throws, nice reads, and when you have a guy who is detailed, and he takes the time to study and go through the progression. He knows what defense he’s facing and he knows where the problems are, and he knows where he can put the football and he puts it in a good position where it doesn’t put the team in harm. He protects the ball, he protects the team, and he’s done a really good job of that.”
Stroud is keenly aware of personnel groupings, defensive coverage schemes and is intellectually curious about learning as much as possible about the game.
Of course, Stroud knows the Falcons’ top defensive player, outside of defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, is rangy safety Jessie Bates III.
“Yeah, Jessie does a good job patrolling the middle of the field,” Stroud said. “You talk about a guy who plays that robber-type style. He can jump those intermediate, in-breaking routes, and he can make you pay. So, we have to be very aware of Jessie. He’s done it for a long time there in Cincinnati, and now he’s been a proven playmaker there for the Atlanta defense, and it shows.”
As does Stroud’s ability with the Texans.
Texans quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson, a former Texas A&M and NFL quarterback, has known Stroud since coaching him at the Elite 11 event in high school.
That background with him has paid dividends for the Texans and Stroud because of the relationship they have.
“Absolutely, but I’vAe had faith in C.J. for a long time,” Johnson said. “I know what type of person he is as far as work ethic and just kind of how he’s built. I would never count him out. He came in, worked hard. He’s made relationships. He’s accepted the coaching. All of the things that you would want, he’s done. We understand this year is a marathon. We’re just trying to sustain it.”
And going back to those formative years in high school where Stroud busted onto the scene as a priority recruiting target after playing in relative obscurity, he has remained the same individual as someone who’s eager to raise his stock and keep getting better.
“I remember a kid who was hungry to learn,” Johnson said. “I never forgot he stayed after, he asked questions. He was a sponge to everything we had one the field and off the field. He recognizsed this is a pretty unique opportunity and made the most of it. That’s what he has done throughout his career: take information and apply it.
“Attention to detail, he never gets tired of the process. We have to be in good position from our lower half to handle anything and throw the ball with velocity. How do I get my body in position to do that? Can you be in a position of power. I think he takes that stuff super seriously. His mechanics, his attitude has led to a lot of his success.”
Aaron Wilson is a contributor to Sports Talk 790.
Photo: Carmen Mandato / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images