Thus far, C.J. Stroud's transition to the NFL is going even smoother than expected.
The former Ohio State quarterback and No. 2 overall pick in April's NFL draft began taking first-team reps in his second week of OTAs with the Houston Texans, and according to a report from Brooks Kubena of the Houston Chronicle, Texans' quarterback coach Jerrod Johnson believes Stroud is "already way, way ahead of pace."
Target practice @CJ7STROUD x @robertwoods pic.twitter.com/8EJbrnX7lK
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) May 31, 2023
And Johnson's not the only Texans coach who's been impressed with Stroud's early work in offseason workouts. Both head coach DeMeco Ryans and defensive coordinator Matt Burke had plenty of praise to heap on the rookie signal-caller as well.
“C.J. is progressing well,” Ryans said this week, per Kubena's report. “Each day, he continues to get better, continues to get more comfortable with the verbiage of the offense and his command of the huddle. I thought this week he has been really good, coming off of a long weekend. It was very eye-opening how on it he was. ... He did an awesome job in our situational periods, So, he is definitely progressing in the right direction, and the sky is the limit for him.”
Returning starter Davis Mills remains on the roster, but his record as QB1 with the Texans stands at just 5-19-1. With Mills at quarterback in 2022, Houston went just 3-10-1, and the Stanford product tied for the most interceptions in the NFL with 15.
That should only open the door wider for Stroud, who the Texans put the faith of the franchise in by selecting him second overall, making him the highest-drafted Ohio State quarterback in program history.
“His deliberateness and intent to try to get better — he’s literally grabbing everybody he can on the field,” Burke said. “So, he’s been very sort of intentional about learning and just learning defense, too, like what did you call there, what was that coverage, or what did you do here. I respect that from him.”
