C.J. Stroud explains how he became a Texans team leader in rookie season

Of all the league’s rookie quarterbacks, Houston Texans rookie C.J. Stroud has gotten off to the hottest start. On the field and behind the scenes with his teammates, Stroud is winning hearts and minds. The No. 2 overall pick was among the team’s first group of captains announced to start the year with three additional names joining the group last month.

On the Pat McAfee Show this week, Stroud opened up about how he earned his teammates’ trust in order to assume a meaningful leadership role.

“It was a learning process for me, I definitely appreciated DeMeco (Ryans), he kept it real with me right when I got in, he told me, ‘I want you to be a leader but you have to earn it,'” Stroud said. “I’ve always wanted to earn stuff, never been given anything. I just wanted to build trust with my teammates and bond with guys, not only on the field and in the building, but off the field as well.

“So, I’ve had opportunities to bring my guys out to L.A. I’ve had guys over to my house, gone golfing, bowling, just little things that build that trust off the field so that when we get on the field we want to go to battle for each other.”

Though the Texans have won just two of four games so far, Stroud’s performances have only boosted his standing with his teammates.

“Definitely, when you’re preaching something or explaining something, it means more when the guy is doing it on the field, the proof is in the pudding…” Stroud said. “I think that has to do with being a good leader, you have to put it on the field.”

The proof has certainly been in the pudding on the field for Stroud. In four games, the former Ohio State standout has completed 94-of-his-151 pass attempts. He has 1,212 yards and six touchdowns with zero interceptions.

If Stroud maintains his current pace, he’d finish the regular season with 5,151 passing yards. That would be more than enough to pass Andrew Luck‘s rookie record.

Micah Parsons pegs Stroud for Rookie of the Year

Micah Parsons has his eye on Stroud. On Monday, the Dallas Cowboys’ linebacker praised Stroud’s impressive start to his NFL career.

“We need to get on board with CJ Stroud,” Parsons said. “[He has] the most pass attempts without an interception to start your career and I want you to realize who CJ Stroud has now beat, OK? He just did something Deshaun Watson hasn’t been able to do. He just dominated this Steelers defense, a defense that we said had TJ Watt, has Kevin Hayward, has Alex Highsmith, and he dominated them.”

Amid an outstanding start, perhaps Shroud’s brightest moment came on Sunday in the Texans’ 30-6 win over the Steelers. In the triumph, Stroud tallied 306 passing yards and two touchdowns while completing 53.3% of his passes.

“CJ Stroud is the real deal,” Parsons continued. “We cannot let CJ go unknown. He was nice. He was my QB1 coming out of the draft. I was like, ‘Man, CJ is that guy.’ I think he’s gonna be dominant and things like that because his confidence; the things that he’s bringing to this game.

“CJ is gonna be the Offensive Rookie of the Year if it’s not Bijan [Robinson]. It’s gonna come down to the wire, but if he stays on this pace, I think CJ is going to walk away with it.”

On3’s Grant Grubbs contributed to this report.