Houston Texans QB C.J. Stroud's Staggering Trade Value Revealed

Would the Houston Texans ever seriously consider trading quarterback C.J .Stroud? Probably not, but as the old adage goes: no one is actually completely untouchable.

ESPN's Bill Barnwell recently ran a fun exercise in which he determined the trade value of every team's top players, and his projection for Stroud was certainly staggering: three first-round draft picks and more, even after the former No. 2 overall pick had a rather disappointing sophomore campaign.

"While the Texans didn't live up to lofty expectations on offense in 2024, it seems like most of the blame for those issues has been placed on injuries in the receiving corps and dismal offensive line play, which is fair," Barnwell wrote. "He spent more time in third-and-long than anybody else and was better in those spots than his teammates deserved; he made a few so good-you-have-to-laugh completions to win games."

Stroud threw for 3,727 yards, 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while completing 63.2 percent of his passes last season, a far cry from his historic rookie year in which he totaled 4,108 yards, 23 touchdowns and just five picks en route to posting a 100.8 passer rating.

As Barnwell noted, Stroud dealt with quite a bit of adversity last year, having been sacked 52 times while watching his wide receivers drop like flies.

That being said, the 23-year-old becomes eligible for a contract extension next offseason, so he absolutely needs to step it up in 2025.

The Texans have largely revamped their offense heading into Stroud's third season, but whether or no all of Houston's moves actually pay dividends remains to be seen.