DeMeco Ryans names mental preparation as CJ Stroud's greatest strength: 'Off the charts'

The Panthers-Texans game will give NFL fans a glimpse at the top two picks of this year’s draft — Bryce Young and CJ Stroud. One of them already is a runaway leader for offensive rookie of the year.

And Texans coach DeMeco Ryans, who is a rookie head coach, says Stroud is doing so well to start his pro career because of how he prepares. It’s not his arm strength or his ability to extend plays. The Houston head coach says the success is because of CJ Stroud’s mental game.

“It starts with his mental preparation,” Ryans told USA Today. “He’s really dedicated to the process of studying, making sure he’s prepared when he goes into games. He’s also had success because the guys around him have all jelled well together.”

The numbers definitely show CJ Stroud is doing something right. How else would you explain a rookie being able to read defenses so well? He’s thrown one interception this season out of 213 pass attempts. And the Texans, overall, have turned the ball over only three times. It’s why they’ve already matched their win total from all of last season.

The NFL historians have crunched the stats and have determined CJ Stroud is the only quarterback ever to not throw a pick in his opening five games of his pro career. (That’s with the caveat of 30 pass attempts per game). The streak ended against the Saints. Meanwhile, Stroud’s 1,660 passing yards ranked fourth in the NFL coming into this week’s games. He’s particularly effective on third down. His 117.2 QB rating on third down tops the NFL among full-time starters. He leads Baker Mayfield, Russell Wilson and Lamar Jackson. For more context, Patrick Mahomes third-down QB rating is 103.9.

Houston won only three games last year. And the Texans record was almost dismal enough to qualify for the top pick of April’s draft. Instead, the Bears secured the pick and traded it to the Panthers.

Carolina selected Alabama star Bryce Young at No. 1. The Panthers, who also have a new head coach, have struggled and are the lone winless team in the NFL. Meanwhile, there were all sorts of draft rumors this spring that suggested CJ Stroud didn’t have the mental game for the league. The analysts hinted that Stroud benefitted from a loaded roster at Ohio State and that he would be like other running Buckeye quarterbacks would couldn’t make the jump to the pros. Plus, the former Buckeye star apparently didn’t score well in some pre-draft mental testing.

A reporter asked Stroud about the old draft chatter this week.

“Everybody is going to have something to say, regardless of what’s going on and how people look at the truth,” CJ Stroud said.

And so far, the truth is that CJ Stroud can thrive in this league because of his arm and mental game.