Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud entered 2024 with sky-high expectations after a brilliant rookie campaign, but he did not exactly live up to his billing this year.

Stroud threw for 3,727 yards, 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while completing 63.2 percent of his passes and posting a passer rating of 87 this season, a rather significant dropoff from last year when he totaled 4,108 yards, 23 touchdowns and just five picks.

Questions have surfaced about Stroud as a result, but Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport still seems to have hope for the Ohio State product moving forward.

In a piece where Davenport ranked all 32 starting quarterbacks in the NFL, he placed Stroud eighth.

“There’s no sugarcoating it—despite the Texans winning the AFC South in 2024, Stroud’s second professional season wasn’t as good as his first when he topped 4,100 passing yards and won Offensive Rookie of the Year honors,” Davenport wrote. “But injuries to Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell didn’t do the Texans passing game any favors, and Stroud remains as accurate as any quarterback in the league.”

Stroud was ahead of names like Baker Mayfield, Justin Herbert and Brock Purdy, which is certainly a bit surprising (particularly in the case of Mayfield, who just threw 41 touchdown passes).

Obviously, there is still plenty of reason to like Stroud. He is just 23 years old, and there is no getting around the fact that the Texans’ receiving corps were beaten up this season.

That being said, Houston didn’t have a ton of healthy weapons outside of Nico Collins during Stroud’s debut campaign, either, and Stroud still managed to impress.

The 2025 season will represent an absolutely critical year for Stroud’s progression.

This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/texans/ as Houston Texans’ C.J. Stroud Lands Controversial Ranking.