NFL Coaches Anonymously Weigh In on Texans’ C.J. Stroud

After a bumpy season from this Houston Texans offense last year, quarterback C.J. Stroud has faced a good bit of questions and concerns about not only how things could pan out in terms of his production last season, but also his standing as one of the league's better young signal callers entirely.

Stroud saw some statistical dips and a depleted supporting cast, and as a result, the fire that did surround his hype has died down a bit throughout his second season in the fold, and has lingered around him rolling into year three in Houston.

However, when asking around to league personnel, the consensus doesn't seem to be quite as low as many on the outside believe.

The Athletic recently pieced together their "NFL QB Tiers" for the 2025 season, polling around multiple NFL coaches, execs, and coordinators discussing the league's most talented quarterbacks from top to bottom, where the verdict on Stroud ended up standing relatively high compared to the rest of the field.

Stroud found his way to the second tier of NFL quarterbacks of those who can "carry his team sometimes but not as consistently," falling into a tie for ninth place next to Philadelphia Eagles' Super Bowl-winning quarterback, Jalen Hurts.

And to pair with it, Stroud had numerous fans around the NFL seeing a potential bounce-back year on the horizon following a year surrounded by a lacking supporting cast.

"He got rattled because of his offensive line, and you saw that in his play," an anonymous defensive coordinator said. "When I watched them, I felt like he felt the rush. Because of that, I still think the talent is in there."

"Everybody wants to downgrade C.J.," another coordinator said. "His No. 1 receiver was out, the line did not play great, the run game wasn't there like it should have been."

"I read an article, they said it's time for him to take the next step," said an offensive coach. "What is the next step? It's time for his team to take the next step. He's pretty damn productive."