CJ Stroud's ball placement standing out with Houston Texans

CJ Stroud was often lauded as one of the most prolific passers in his recruiting class, in college football, and in the 2023 NFL Draft. Now, as he continues to work towards his rookie season with the Houston Texans, it appears that that skill set of the No. 2 pick is already translating in H-Town.

In a recent article at ESPN, reporters for NFL Nation updated the latest on this year’s crop of first-round draft picks. When it came to Stroud, DJ Bien-Aime noted how Stroud’s ball placement and accuracy have been highlights so far.

“Stroud’s ball placement has stood out throughout the spring, as his passes have rarely been off target,” wrote Bien-Aime.

From there, Bien-Aime discussed the impressions of Stroud’s presence so far in Houston. To Case Keenum, he described Stroud as someone who seems like a veteran in the NFL. After that, Bien-Aime shared how that might not be the best news for Davis Mills considering Stroud’s selection as the Texans’ QB1 appears to be ‘only a matter of time.’

“Veteran quarterback Case Keenum has been impressed with Stroud’s presence,” said Bien-Aime. “(He) said, ‘I would have thought he had been here a year. Been in the league, been a four-, five-year vet.'”

“Stroud has yet to run exclusively with the first-team offense as he has split reps with Davis Mills,” Bien-Aime said. “But it’s only a matter of time.”

Stroud showed off his arm talent early and often in his two seasons while starting at Ohio State. He posted two campaigns that were worthy of Heisman consideration with combined totals of over 8,100 passing yards and 85 touchdowns on a 69.1% completion percentage. Having NFL-level receivers in Columbus definitely helped his case but, in general, there’s little to question when it comes to Stroud as a pure passer.

That appears to already be the case based Bien-Aime’s description out of Houston. The subject will now shift to ensuring that he’ll be able to replicate the same once he officially takes the field for the Texans this fall.

Stroud names his Top-5 current NFL quarterbacks

Rankings are completely subjective. They vary from person to person depending on how an individual sees the landscape. However, for the most part, Houston Texans QB CJ Stroud had no problem when it came to naming his top five quarterbacks in the NFL.

Stroud shared his take in a clip from those at the ‘Caps Off’ Podcast. He said ‘it’s hard’ because there’s ‘a lot of dogs out there.’ Still, by the end of the clip, the Texans rookie got to a very convincing five in no particular order.

• Jalen Hurts – Philadelphia Eagles
• Patrick Mahomes – Kansas City Chiefs
• Joe Burrow – Cincinnati Bengals
• Josh Allen – Buffalo Bills
• Justin Fields – Chicago Bears

Stroud also named Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson as another worthy name that was up for debate.

Quarterback rankings are all in the eye of the beholder. Even so, Stroud put together a very solid list ahead of what he hopes will be a rookie season that will justify that he can reach that level someday too.