Where Does Texans’ C.J. Stroud Rank Among Best QBs?

If the 2023 regular season is the only criteria that matters, where does Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud rank among the best players at his position?

With all due respect to Los Angeles Rams receiver Puka Nacua, Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud likely cemented his status as the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award winner as he led his team to a Week 18 victory over the Indianapolis Colts that ultimately turned out to be AFC South-clinching. 

When you remove the rookie label from Stroud, where does his 2023 season rank among the most productive quarterbacks in the NFL? 

Nick Shook of NFL Media recently ranked all 32 primary starting quarterbacks based solely on how they performed during the 2023 regular season, and Stroud came in at No. 8, a pretty remarkable spot for a rookie. 

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"Houston doesn't earn a playoff berth without Stroud, bottom line," NFL Media wrote. "He’s been remarkably poised and confident, relying on his talent and accuracy to put together one of the best rookie seasons by a quarterback since Cam Newton and Andrew Luck. He’s the clear front-runner for Offensive Rookie of the Year, and he deserves some outside consideration for MVP. And he’s only just getting started." 

Across 15 games in his rookie season, Stroud tossed 23 touchdowns to five interceptions, racking up 4,108 passing yards. Whether you think quarterback wins are a valuable stat or not, it's pretty astounding that the Texans went 9-6 in games that Stroud started in his rookie campaign after winning just 11 total games in the three prior seasons. 

Notably, Stroud finished above Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs, Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles and Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers, all of whom were ranked among the top five quarterbacks in most preseason countdowns. 

That doesn't necessarily mean if you were building a team for the next five years you would take Stroud over any of those three -- although, some may over Hurts and Herbert --  but it does mean he had a better statistical output in 2023, his first NFL season. 

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The most exciting thing about Stroud is he doesn't appear to be a high-floor, low-ceiling quarterback who peaked in his rookie season, like Mac Jones may have done with the New England Patriots in 2021. 

Stroud did an incredible job managing the game and limiting turnovers, while also finishing with the third-highest yards per pass attempt this season at 8.2.