Pat McAfee says CJ Stroud looks the part for the Houston Texans

CJ Stroud was pretty far from fantastic when it came to his preseason opener with the Houston Texans. Even so, Pat McAfee wants everybody to relax based on what the No. 2 pick did show in his first-ever NFL action.

McAfee broke down Stroud’s performance on ‘The Pat McAfee Show’ on Friday. He did see several things from the rookie from an operations standpoint that looked good for Houston’s offense.

“He comes out? I thought he had a good drive going,” McAfee said. “Completes his first ball, seemed comfortable, got in and out of the huddle, seemed poised. Everything kind of went off without a hitch. There was no delay of games. There was nobody lined up offsides, there was nobody still in motion whenever he snapped the ball.”

To be fair, McAfee did point out that, even in limited snaps, Stroud was under duress all game against the New England Patriots. That led to some of the struggles but also gave the audience a chance to see his athleticism when moving around in and outside of the pocket.

McAfee did, at one point, point out the ugly pick that Stroud threw to Jalen Mills. However, he thinks it could be a positive in the end considering he got a throw like that out of his way early on.

“Whenever he threw his pick? He literally pump-faked to a guy and then he learned quickly, like, this ain’t Northwestern. You can’t pump fake a guy and then go back to him if he doesn’t move,” explained McAfee. “That was the easiest pick of all time. But that’s an easy ‘Welcome to the NFL’ moment for CJ Stroud to learn from.”

In the end, Stroud finished the night by completing 2/4 passes for just 13 yards and the interception in Houston’s 20-9 win. Even so, McAfee remains high on his future with the Texans based on what he put on display that goes beyond the stat sheets and box scores.

“First night? Evades some sacks, seemed comfortable, looked like a professional,” said McAfee. “I think, if I’m Texans fans, I’m not that discouraged, I don’t think I’m that scared. There were a couple of moments where he got to show that he can be a guy.”

‘We didn’t see a lot but there was nothing that I was really that worried about,” said McAfee. “I didn’t think he looked that bad.”