As the 2024 NFL season knocks on the door, the best rookie QB battle seems to have already started. As all quarterbacks are trying to get the MVP award while aiming for the Super Bowl, there can only be one winner. On 28th August, NFL analyst Louis Riddick chose Packers‘ rookie QB Jordan Love over the rookie leader of Texans, CJ Stroud. And Damien Woody had a fitting response for Riddick when he expressed his views on 29th August.

On the GetUpESPN episode, Woody said CJ Stroud “had the best rookie QB season in the history of NFL.” And why so? Well, Woody opined that Stroud outplayed Joe Burrow in the last season, “I saw that man go into Cincinnati last year against great Joe Burrow and slay him.” And it looks like Damien wasn’t wrong, as CJ Stroud has averaged the second most passing yards per game as a rookie signal-caller with 283.8. On the other hand, Burrow got the 4th rank at 268.8 passing yards per game in 2023. But what else did the Texans QB do?

Stroud finished his 2023 rookie campaign with 4,557 total passing yards while he led his team to a 10-7 record and won an AFC South Division title. Before the arrival of Stroud, Houston had an awful record of 3-13-1 in the 2022 season, while they failed to make it to the postseasons since 2019. This ‘1-year transformation‘ seemed to have shocked Woody, too, as he said, “The Houston Texans were the damn joke of a franchise, and all he did was turn around that whole franchise in one season.” And that’s not all, as the Texans’ signal caller was impressive against one of the ‘strongest defenses’ in the league.

The Houston Texans dominated the Cleveland Browns in their Wildcard game earlier this year. Stroud threw 3TD passes, which gave the 24-14 lead to the Texans at the break. He further synergized with Brevin Jordan, who received a 76-yard catch to rush for a TD. Well, it looks like Woody was not wrong about his choice of CJ Stroud as the best rookie QB in the league.

With all the support from an ex-NFL player, how are things looking like for Stroud this coming season?

CJ Stroud’s road to the 2024 NFL season

In his 2024 preseason debut, Stroud needed only 6 snaps to help his team get 6 points. The rookie QB connected with RB Dameon Pierce, which gave them a 2 yard gain. Moreover, Stroud flushed to his right and threw an incomplete pass to the TE Dalton Schultz. However, during the 3rd-and-8, he zipped around the 20-yard line and broke some tackles before reaching the end zone. And finally, the Texans’ QB ended his night with a TD pass.

Moreover, Stroud seemed to be quite motivated this year after he won the Best Rookie of the Year award in the last season. While talking about his loss against Lamar Jackson’s Ravens in the playoffs last season, he mentioned that he took that loss as a ‘learning‘. Moreover, he will be using that learning to win ‘bigger games‘ in the coming season.

So, does that mean CJ Stroud is aiming for the Super Bowl in February 2025?