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DeMeco Ryans named CJ Stroud Texans’ Week 1 starter
DeMeco Ryans breaks down the thought process of naming CJ Stroud the starter.
“It’s definitely a blessing, something that I think I’ve worked for and definitely earned,” Stroud said. “At the same time, nothing else has changed. I will still work the way I work but more now. I am blessed to be a starter, still very young in this league, which is not the easiest thing to do. But I know my coaches have confidence and faith in me, so I’m going to go out there and do my best.”
The Texans were the last NFL team to name their starter, but Ryans’ reasoning for crowning Stroud the starter came from what he’s seen since Stroud was drafted, as well as his desire to improve.
“It’s been through the whole process of OTAs, preseason games in training camp, just seeing the complete product and knowing CJ’s desire to keep getting better,” Ryans said after the win.
The No. 2 pick started every preseason game and went 11-of-18 for 89 yards with one touchdown and one interception in eight series.
Stroud joins two other rookie quarterbacks selected in the top five of this year’s draft that also started Week 1 in Carolina Panthers’ Bryce Young and Indianapolis Colts’ Anthony Richardson.
Getting the starting role for Stroud was the expected outcome because, in most instances, quarterbacks drafted in the top five usually start Week 1 of their rookie season. Since the 2011 NFL collective bargaining agreement, 11 of the 17 quarterbacks selected in the top five have started Week 1.
Stroud entered training camp in quarterback competition against Davis Mills as the two split reps on offense to start training camp.
But after a week of practice, Stroud isolated himself, and Ryans gave the rookie quarterback all the first-team reps.
The Texans ranked 31st in QBR (33.3) over the past two seasons and went 7-26-1. The struggles on the field led them to select Stroud, hoping he could become the franchise quarterback they had been searching for since trading former quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Stroud will debut against a Ravens team with 2019 MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson and a defense that finished third in scoring defense (18.5 per game) in 2022.
Since 2011, rookie quarterbacks drafted in the top five and starting Week 1 are 4-6-1 with a 59% completion percentage, 22 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.