Texans’ CJ Stroud is happy to focus on football instead of the draft

HOUSTON — Around this time last year, CJ Stroud had just completed the draft process as the second overall pick of the Houston Texans.

It’s a process that can be grueling and one that the former Ohio State quarterback is glad he doesn’t have to endure in year two.

“I was meeting with every team,” Stroud said, “going attack after attack, meeting with a new coordinator, meeting with a new head coach the next week, and then I finally got here and it all came together.”

Stroud was also not given the starting role. He had to deserve it. He went through camps and the preseason before getting the nod just before the season kicked off.

He would go on to lead the Texans to the AFC South title and the divisional round of the playoffs. This success earned him Offensive Rookie of the Year honors and a trip to the Pro Bowl after a record-breaking season in which he passed for 4,108 yards and led the league in touchdown-to-interception ratio (23:5). .

Stroud hopes to improve, and he hopes a full offseason without the distraction of the draft can help do that.

“I’m coming to the same offense, and I can slow down and really get better at what we’re trying to do next year,” Stroud said. “So I’m very excited for that.”

Texans coach DeMeco Ryans is also heading into year two and he’s eager to see what kind of leap his franchise quarterback can make.

“With CJ, we are very proud of his success in his first year,” Ryans said. “He came in and probably shocked a lot of people with the way he played, and he played at a very high level. Now can he pick up where he left off as he finished the year? He had a good year, but like as a player, you’re always your harshest critic.

“Can he continue to master the same thing that I’ve been talking about? Those techniques and those fundamentals, can he master those things to continue to lead our team the way he has?”

Not having to go through the arduous draft process and the uncertainty of his future allowed him to use the offseason to train and bond with his teammates instead of proving why teams should select him.

“I’m the leader of the entire offense, and really the team, so even the things that DeMeco said just to build those foundations and fundamentals and do the right things,” Stroud said.

One of his workouts was used to bond with four-time Pro Bowler Stefon Diggs shortly after Houston traded him last month. The throwing session – which Stroud called “awesome” – involved Tank Dell, John Metchie III, Diggs and others in Los Angeles.

Acquiring Diggs was just one of the big moves made by the Texans this offseason, where they spent $178.5 million in guaranteed money, according to Roster Management System.

Some of their investments have gone into retaining players — like tight end Dalton Schultz — but the running game could get a boost after trading for former Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon and giving the Pro Bowler 2021 $27 million over three years. contract extension.

Although the Texans’ passing game finished seventh with 245.5 yards per game, the running game was one of 11 averaging fewer than 100 yards per game at 96.9.

The biggest signing came on the other side of the ball, where they signed defensive end Danielle Hunter, after she had a career-high 16.5 sacks, to a two-year, $49 million deal. They also added former Tennessee Titans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair, after posting a career-high 163 tackles, to a three-year, $34 million contract.

The organization hopes integrating talented veterans around a young core will pay off. The Texans have a young core with a talented rookie class entering their sophomore year and players still on rookie contracts who have also found ways to contribute.

“Really, for any rookie going into year two, everything starts to slow down and the wheels don’t turn so much in your head,” Stroud said. “You start playing ball.”

The Texans will begin OTAs on May 20. Organized training will last until June 6 before the club begins a mandatory minicamp, scheduled for June 11-13.

“Guys have a real offseason to dedicate and focus on themselves and getting better,” Ryans said. “They don’t have to worry about preparing for the combine or the draft, they can really work on the things we asked them to do.”