C.J. Stroud: Grading the Texans’ No. 2 NFL Draft Pick

Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud has been selected No. 2 overall by the Houston Texans and here is our grade for the pick. 

The 2023 NFL draft had some intrigue at the top of the draft. We didn’t find out the No. 1 overall pick until Carolina called the name of Bryce Young.

That was the player that the Houstan Texans probably wanted, based on their social media. However, the Texans landed their own quarterback, selecting former Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud.

We’ll see how it works out and how much the Texans wind up paying for that extra 2-point conversion that cost them the No. 1 pick.

Grading C.J. Stroud to the Texans

During the course of his career with Ohio State, Stroud was highly productive. He’s 6-foot-3, 215 pounds and he’s got a big arm. It was obvious that Stroud had a lot of talent to work with, but he’s got dynamic accuracy and pretty good arm strength too.

If C.J. Stroud had played well against Michigan the past two years, he probably would have won the Heisman Trophy. If NFL scouts doubted the ability of Stroud to dominate against elite defenses, he proved against Georgia he can do just that.

If it wasn’t for a missed field goal at the buzzer in the Sugar Bowl, the Buckeyes would have ended the two-year reign of the Bulldogs and his college legacy would be intact.

Houston doesn’t care about his college legacy though. Stroud completed 71.9 percent of his passes last season and in two bowl games, against two very good defenses in Utah and Georgia last season, he threw for over 900 yards.

The Texans needed a franchise quarterback and C.J. Stroud can definitely be that. He also might end up being the best quarterback in this 2023 NFL draft long-term, so this is a really good pick for Houston.

Grade: A