Texans QB C.J. Stroud going the extra mile to build chemistry with receivers

When he was drafted No. 2 overall by the Houston Texans, it was expected that C.J. Stroud would be the team’s Week 1 starting quarterback.

While Davis Mills still has some say in the matter, Stroud is taking the extra initiative of getting additional offseason work with his cast of pass catchers to make sure he’s ready for the start of training camp, where the final decision will likely be made on who will get the starting nod on Sept. 10 against the Baltimore Ravens.

“It was good, definitely just building chemistry trying to get timing down and trying to be as best we can so we can get to training camp and dominate,” Stroud recently told KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson. “That was the goal for that one to keep building and have a good offseason.”

The 21-year-old Stroud held private workouts after minicamp ended with Mills, receiver Robert Woods, tight end Dalton Schultz and rookie receiver Tank Dell less than 10 miles away at the University of Houston — the place Dell starred as a top-tier receiver for the Cougars, catching 228 passes for 3,155 yards and 32 touchdowns over three seasons.

Stroud and Dell have already developed quite a bond after becoming fast friends at the NFL Combine, followed by the Texans drafting the 23-year-old wideout at Stroud’s request.