Hayden Braun, Staff Writer
After yet another disappointing season with two horrible playoff performances, there has been a lot of discourse on whether Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud has fallen off.
Stroud had such an exciting rookie season, as he won rookie of the year, a playoff game and he led the Texans’ to a divisional title. There was a lot of hype that offseason that he was the next superstar quarterback in the league. While the hype was warranted, it may have gotten to his head.
Stroud was on a podcast where he ranked himself as a top-five quarterback in the league immediately following his rookie season. It’s good to be confident, but people were turned off by this, especially after he was fresh off his first year. The following season he had a “sophomore slump,” in which his stats were down in nearly every category and he doubled the amount of turnovers from his rookie season, according to ESPN.
During Stroud’s second season, he was found in hot water again after he “little bro-d” Caleb Williams, the Bears’ then rookie quarterback. Stroud was mic’d up after a Sunday night football win against the Bears when he told Williams to “stop taking those big hits” and “learn from those mistakes.”
“Everything that you got, bro, is in you already — you’re going to be a hell of a player in this league,” Stroud told Williams.
Stroud later explained he didn’t mean to disrespect Williams and was just trying to give him advice, according to NBC Chicago. Fans and media personalities disagreed, myself included. It was an awkward exchange, and to be honest — a little cringe.
Now it’s almost ironic given how poorly it has aged. Stroud has struggled again in his third year with lackluster performances all season long. In his two playoff games this year he has combined for eight turnovers, according to Sports Illustrated.
In Williams’ second season, he was given the nickname “ice man” for being clutch and leading the Bears to a playoff win and a division title. Though the Bears may not have won in the divisional round against the Rams, Williams threw a touchdown off his back foot with four defenders in his face on fourth down to take the game to overtime.
Stroud does have superstar potential still, and his teammates and coaches would agree, according to Bleacher Report. Some of his struggles can be put on the Houston Texans’ offensive line, but that explanation only goes so far.
Houston’s line has ranked in the bottom third of the NFL for most of the past three seasons — finishing No. 29 in 2023, No. 22 in 2024 and No. 24 in 2025 by Pro Football Network. This has clearly contributed to pressure, rushed throws and some of his turnovers. That instability has had a negative impact on Stroud’s game, but it is not the primary reason for his regression.
The main issue is Stroud’s approach has remained largely unchanged since his rookie season. Defenses now have extensive film on him and have exploited recurring issues with pre-snap reads and coverage recognition. These problems have persisted despite the circumstances around him.
Elite quarterbacks adapt as the league adjusts to them, and through his second and third seasons Stroud has yet to meaningfully evolve his game.
Ultimately, I do think Stroud will be able to move the needle and evolve like other quarterbacks have, most recently with the resurgence of Sam Darnold and Mac Jones. If they can do it, Stroud can too.
However, it is going to depend on whether he can evolve as a passer and improve things like what he does at the line pre-snap, speeding up coverage recognition and showing more willingness to adapt within structure. This will all be critical if he wants to reclaim his trajectory as a franchise quarterback.