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The Houston Texans repeated as AFC South champions in 2024, and won a playoff game for the second straight year. However, the season was largely viewed as a disappointment. The Texans were supposed to take a step forward in 2024. After the addition of Stefon Diggs, Houston was expected to join the tier of Super Bowl contenders. Instead, their offensive line took a massive leap backwards, Diggs got hurt midway through the year, and Tank Dell suffered his second straight late-year season-ending injury.
Because of all these issues, C.J. Stroud took a small step back in 2024. That's not to say he was a bad quarterback, but the issues around him prevented him from using 2023 as a launching point into superstardom. Gary Davenport of Bleacher Report sees the young quarterback as a prime bounce back candidate, both in the real game and in the fantasy world.
"Last year was supposed to be C.J. Stroud's coming-out party after the Houston Texans quarterback topped 4,100 passing yards in 2023 on the way to Offensive Rookie of the Year honors," Davenport writes. "The 2023 No. 2 overall pick was going to take the next step in 2024 and establish himself as a high-end signal-caller in both the NFL and fantasy. That didn't happen, though. Stroud's wide receivers were hit hard by injuries, the offensive line was an issue and the QB regressed statistically, throwing for over 50 fewer yards per game and tossing over twice as many interceptions. He was a major fantasy disappointment, finishing outside the top 15 at his position. The offensive line is still a question mark, but the Texans have overhauled their wide receivers, trading for veteran Christian Kirk and drafting Iowa State teammates Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel. Combined with star Nico Collins, running back Joe Mixon and tight end Dalton Schultz, Stroud has no shortage of weapons, even with Tank Dell's status for the season in doubt. Stroud is one of a group of late-round quarterbacks (his ADP is QB17) with a real chance to crack the top 10 this season."
Should Stroud look more like the quarterback we saw in 2023, as well as the rest of the offense, the Texans could take that next step and make it to the AFC Championship.
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