Can C.J. Stroud Become the Best Version of Himself in 2026?
Back in 2023, there was no question whatsoever that the Texans had their future franchise quarterback in second overall pick C.J. Stroud, the Offensive Rookie of the Year who broke the Ohio State Quarterback Curse and made the Pro Bowl and the NFL's First-Team All-Pro group. Stroud did that with a rookie season in which he completed 354 of 553 passes for 4,557 yards, 26 touchdowns, five interceptions, and a passer rating of 101.7.
Since then, things have not gone as well. In 2024, Stroud's efficiency dropped behind an offensive line that allowed 63 sacks and 273 total pressures, and though he took only 29 sacks and 209 pressures last season, Houston's season ended with a 28-16 divisional round loss to the New England Patriots in which Stroud completed just 20 of 47 passes for 212 yards, one touchdown, four interceptions, and a passer rating of 28.0.
It was the worst game of Stroud's career at the worst possible time, and it left a lot of people wondering just what was up with Stroud's present and future. He had gone from absolute franchise savior to a guy who had questions about whether the team should pick up his fifth-year option.
"I talked with C.J. today, and my message is the same," head coach DeMeco Ryans said one day after that loss. "Right now, it's just about him flushing this one. It's going to be a lot of negative talk, a lot of attention on him. He can't listen to it all. He's just got to get back to work in the offseason of going back to the basics, the fundamentals of playing the quarterback position, playing it really well, understanding how we need to play the game to win the game. He understands that already."
Stroud will need to overcome the fact that defenses have a bit of a book on him, and that's true of every young quarterback at some point in time.
If you show C.J. Stroud pressure looks pre-snap, and then drop your defenders to cap everything underneath, that's a really good way to get his head spinning. An important concept for the Patriots. pic.twitter.com/K9oVGBNXWU
— Doug Farrar (@NFL_DougFarrar) January 13, 2026
It could also be true, as experts like Greg Cosell have expressed, that the current Texans offense run by OC Nick Caley puts more demands on the quarterback than the one that was run by Bobby Slowik in 2023 and 2024. Slowik is a Kyle Shanahan acolyte (he was with the San Francisco 49ers in multiple roles from 2017 to 2022), and Shanahan generally puts the responsibilities of calling protections on the offensive line. Caley on the other hand is from the Josh McDaniels school (he was with the New England Patriots from 2015 to 2022), and McDaniels puts that all on his quarterbacks.
Which would represent a major uptick in processing for Stroud.
Regardless of the challenges, it behooves Stroud to be at his best in 2026 for all kinds of reasons.
"I watched a lot of our self-scout to try to fix some things," Stroud recently said of Year 2 in Caley's offense. "Try to introduce some things that I'm used to that I've done in my past that I like to do, so we can do that a little more. I think we're both growing, we're creating a better relationship and growing as an offense and just trying to make it the offense for the 2026-2027 Texans. Doing things that everybody is good at and doing things that we've done in the past.
"So, we're growing in that area."
"C.J. [has been] doing a great job all offseason," Ryans said in May. "It's probably the first time he's had a full offseason. He's been dedicated to the work. He's done a really great job of, first and foremost, just being here. Being accountable, owning the reps, doing a great job of communicating with the staff, with the players. He's doing a great job of just taking more ownership of the offense. I am just excited to see what this season entails for him, because he's having a really great start to it being here in the offseason."
If the Texans are to get where their amazing defense can take them, they'll need some help from their quarterback. And if the Texans get the 2023 version of C.J. Stroud back, who knows how far they can go?
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This story was originally published July 6, 2026 at 4:45 AM.