CJ Stroud goes to great lengths to prepare teammates for opposing defenses

Houston Texans (5-4) rookie quarterback CJ Stroud has been nothing short of impressive through the first nine games of his NFL career.

Not only has Stroud led the Texans on back-to-back game-winning drives in recent weeks, but the 22-year-old has put up historic numbers for a rookie signal-caller. Just how has the former Ohio State standout put himself in the MVP conversation already, you ask?

It all comes down to preparation, Texans rookie wideout Tank Dell said Sunday.

“He just puts that that extra time and his preparation is amazing,” Dell told Pro Football Talk. “He’d just sent us videos all throughout the night. It’s like eleven at night, almost midnight, and he’s still sending us clips of how their defense is playing and telling us how we should adjust and things like that. I’d say it’s preparation, but then his swagger, he have that confidence about himself that he can be one of the best in the league. So, I’d say all that mixed in with each other.”

CJ Stroud enters MVP conversation after win over Bengals

Dell’s comments came after Stroud led the Texans to a 30-27 Week 10 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals (5-4). Stroud completed 23-of-39 passes for 356 yards with one touchdown and one interception. His dazzling showing came one week removed from a historic performance in the 39-37 Week 9 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-5), in which he became just the sixth player in NFL history to throw for at least 450 yards, five touchdowns and zero interceptions, joining a list which includes Pro Football Hall of Famers Peyton Manning and Y.A. Tittle.

Stroud is now up to 2,626 passing yards this season, which is the third-most through a quarterback’s first nine starts in league history. He trails only Justin Herbert in 2020 (2,699) and Andrew Luck in 2012 (2,631).

“He makes everybody prepare well and you have to when you have a quarterback preparing well, and he has the biggest responsibility,” Dell said. “You’re going to want to go out there and prepare well each and every week, for sure.”