C.J. Stroud is officially the NFL’s best rookie for the 2023 season.
The Pro Football Writers of America named the former Ohio State quarterback as both the NFL Rookie of the Year and Offensive Rookie of the Year on Tuesday in recognition of his record-setting first season with the Houston Texans.
Stroud becomes the third Buckeye to win the PFWA’s NFL Rookie of the Year award, joining Ezekiel Elliott (2016) and Nick Bosa (2019). He’s the fourth Buckeye to win the PFWA’s Offensive Rookie of the Year and second in a row, joining Garrett Wilson (2022), Elliott and Eddie George (1996).
The No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft, Stroud had one of the best seasons ever for an NFL rookie quarterback, leading the Texans to an AFC South title and the divisional round of the playoffs just one year after they won only three games.
Among Stroud’s individual accomplishments for the 2023 season:
- Breaking the record for most passing attempts to start an NFL career without an interception (191)
- Breaking the record for the most single-game passing yards (470) by a rookie quarterback
- Tying the record for the most single-game passing touchdowns (5) by a rookie quarterback
- Throwing for the third-most passing yards in a single season (4,108) by a rookie quarterback
- Leading the NFL in passing yards per game (273.5) and touchdown-to-interception ratio (23:5)
- Throwing for 274 yards and tying a rookie record with three passing touchdowns in his playoff debut
Stroud is joined on the PFWA’s 2023 All-Rookie team by former Ohio State offensive tackle Dawand Jones, who was selected as one of two offensive tackles on the team along with Chicago Bears first-round pick Darnell Wright. Despite falling to the fourth round of last year’s draft, Jones had a strong first season with the Browns, starting nine games at right tackle and allowing only three sacks before his year was cut short by a season-ending knee injury.
Bosa also earned recognition from the PFWA on Monday when he was named to the organization’s All-NFC team. Bosa earns All-NFC honors for the third year in a row after recording 53 tackles with 10.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and four pass deflections during the regular season. He helped lead the San Francisco 49ers to the No. 1 seed in the NFC and a berth in this weekend’s NFC Championship Game (6:30 p.m. Sunday, FOX), in which the 49ers will host the Detroit Lions.
