It's been quite the calendar year for C.J. Stroud. At this time last year, the No. 2 overall pick did face some questions as to when he'd ultimately see the field and ascend as the Houston Texans starter, along with questions about how that ascension would ultimately turn out. Fast-forward to the present day as Stroud is coming into training camp as the bona fide franchise cornerstone after one of the most impressive rookie campaigns in league history.
"Definitely a little more confident just knowing how training camp works, the reps I'll take," Stroud told reporters Thursday after Day 1 of training camp and how different this year is compared to his rookie season. "Going with the ones. Last year, I really didn't know that until the very beginning of the regular season, so right now it's just trying to not only build the camaraderie, but also be a leader with the first team so the second and third and everybody who's watching that this is the standard. It's up to me to set that standard and I have to do that every day."
In just his first season in the league, Stroud led the Texans to an AFC South title and a playoff win as Houston advanced to the divisional round. The Ohio State product also shattered the rookie record book of the Texans, setting new marks in passing yards, touchdowns, completions and attempts. On a larger stage, he became the youngest QB in NFL history to win a playoff game among other accolades. All of that culminated in Stroud winning Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Even with that fantastic start to his career, Stroud still explained he has more to improve on.
"There's a ton of things," he said of what he's focusing to improve on in Year 2. "Owning the offense more, the operation. Putting more on my plate with run checks and protection checks, things like that."
Given Stroud's immediate success and the Texans bolstering the offense this offseason by adding the likes of wideout Stefon Diggs and running back Joe Mixon, Houston is a sexy pick to go on a deep playoff run and go back-to-back as division champs. While some may get caught up in the personal accolades, Stroud insisted that winning is the main goal: "You win, you move on, so that's the goal from start to finish."
"The message is just keep the main thing, the main thing," he said. "Of course, we have not only a lot of expectations, we have a lot of big goals on this team. That's how it should be. You know, the person that always doubts himself will probably never make it, so you have to have confidence and a goal and a plan and execute that plan. That's what we're doing and really you need to be where your feet are. We're in training camp right now. We've got to just execute that and making sure we're taking every day to get better. "
The Texans are currently the betting favorite to win the AFC South and even have the fifth-highest odds to win the AFC and reach Super Bowl LIX.
