HOUSTON — C.J. Stroud won the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year award in a landslide.
The Houston Texans’ quarterback received 48 of 50 first-place votes with Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua getting the other two.
Nacua set a rookie record with 105 receptions and 1,486 yards receiving yards.
Lions tight end Sam LaPorta finished third.
Stroud helped Houston go from worst to first place in the AFC South and led the Texans to a playoff win in the wild-card round.
Stroud, the No. 2 overall pick, threw for 4,108 yards, 23 touchdowns, five interceptions and had a passer rating of 100.8, third-best by a rookie.
Stroud led the league in passing yards per game (273.9) and had the best touchdown-interception ratio at 4.6, becoming just the third player in NFL history to finish first in both categories, joining Joe Montana (1989) and Tom Brady (2007).
Aside from setting a few NFL records, Stroud, 22, also led the Texans to their highest win total since the 2019 season. Along the way, there were several moments to remember from his outstanding NFL debut.
Draft
Stroud was drafted second overall, behind Alabama quarterback Bryce Young who was picked by the Carolina Panthers after they traded the Chicago Bears for the first overall pick.
Stats
Stroud's rookie-season stat line is pretty phenomenal. He ranked in the top 10 in virtually every major passing category.
Stroud started 15 games in his rookie year. He sat out two games due to injury after leaving the fourth quarter of the loss to the Jets with a concussion. He entered that Week 14 game leading the league in passing yards and was being mentioned in MVP talks.
In those 15 starts, Stroud threw for 4,108 yards and 23 touchdowns against only 5 interceptions. He did it with a 63.9% completion rate. He also ran in 3 touchdowns himself.
His 273.9 passing yards per game led the league, the first rookie to do so in 84 years.
He also led the league in interception percentage, throwing just 5 picks in 499 passing attempts.
Stroud went 9-6 during the regular season before leading Houston to a win over Cleveland in the wild card round. The Texans' season came to an end with a loss to the Ravens in the divisional round of the playoffs.
Awards
Stroud brought home some hardware in his first year in the NFL.
Here's a look at the awards he won:
- 2023 NFL PFWA Rookie of the Year
- 2023 NFL PFWA Offensive Rookie of the Year
- 2023 NFL All-Rookie Team
- 2023 AFC Offensive Player of the Week in Week 9
- 2023 AFC Offensive Player of the Week in Week 18
- 2023 AFC Player of the Month in November
- 2023 Pro Bowl
Memorable moments
In the Week 4 matchup against the Steelers, Stroud became only the sixth QB in NFL history to throw for at least 1,200 yards with no picks in the first four games of the season. The others all have Super Bowl rings: Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes, Drew Brees, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.
He also became the first quarterback to not throw an interception in his first five career starts.
After his first season, Stroud holds the NFL mark for most passes to start a career without throwing an interception. His first interception came in Week 6 against the Saints on his 193rd attempt of the year. Stroud passed Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, who previously held the record with 176 pass attempts to start his career without a pick. Stroud set the record when he threw his 177th pass during Week 5 against the Falcons.
In Houston's Week 9 matchup with the Buccaneers, Stroud threw for a rookie-record 470 yards in a wild victory over Tampa Bay. Stroud connected with rookie receiver Tank Dell with 6 seconds left to put Houston up for good. It was Stroud's fifth touchdown pass of the game.
In that game against Tampa Bay, Stroud also became the youngest NFL player to throw for at least 450 yards. Stroud was 22 years and 33 days old when the game was played, breaking a record that has stood since 1961, when Jackie Lee did it at 22 years and 94 days old.
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His 147.8 passer rating in the win over Tampa Bay was also the best for a rookie during the regular season. Stroud later topped that rating in the playoff win over the Browns.
He also became the sixth player in NFL history to pass for more than 450 yards and five touchdowns without an interception. Oh, and his jersey ended up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Stroud’s performance also set a franchise record for most yards passing in a regulation game. Matt Schaub has the two highest passing days in Texans’ history with 527 and 497 yards, but both of those came in overtime wins.
In his first career playoff start, Stroud threw for 274 yards and three touchdowns while connecting on 16 of his 21 passing attempts for a rating of 157.2 -- the highest of any game in his young career.