The 2024 NFL season did not go quite as expected fro Houston Texans second-year quarterback C.J. Stroud. After a massive rookie season, he was receiving hype coming into his second year about being a potential MVP candidate.
Unfortunately, he didn’t produce anything close to an MVP caliber season.
When all was said and done, Stroud played in all 17 games, completing 63.2 percent of his pass attempts for 3,727 yards, 20 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. He also picked up 233 yards on the ground, but did not score a touchdown.
At just 23 years old, there is no reason to worry about Stroud. He saw Stefon Diggs go down with a torn ACL fairly early into the season and Tank Dell also suffered a gruesome season-ending injury later in the year. Stroud is going to be just fine.
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That being said, the Texans would be wise to go out and find him another weapon during the upcoming NFL offseason.
Gavino Borquez of Newsweek is projecting Houston to do just that. He has the Texans selecting Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka with the No. 19 overall pick in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
“Stefon Diggs is north of 30 and is coming off a season-ending injury, and it remains to be seen when Tank Dell will be fully healthy. Egbuka would give C.J. Stroud a weapon with crisp route-running skills and great hands that would be an upgrade alongside Nico Collins,” Borquez wrote.
Egbuka would be a big-time addition for the Houston offense. He has shown major playmaking skills during his college career and looks to be NFL-ready at this stage of his career.
During the 2024 season with the Buckeyes, Egbuka has caught 70 passes for 896 yards and 10 touchdowns. His play style has started drawing some comparisons to current NFL star wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown.
Obviously, the connection to St. Brown is a big one. If the Texans could bring in that kind of weapon for Stroud, it would go a long way towards helping the young quarterback get back on track in 2025.
All of that being said, Houston needs to try and make some impact additions this offseason. They won’t have a lot of money to spend in free agency, which will make the draft even more important.
Don’t be surprised if the Texans look to bring in a wide receiver in either the first or second round to give Stroud another weapon to utilize.
