Tag: C.J. Stroud fantasy

Where does C.J. Stroud rank among starting QBs in Total QBR?

Houston quarterback C.J. Stroud remains one of the top passers in QBR rankings entering Week 6.

Despite overall offensive limitations this season, Houston Texans second-year quarterback C.J. Stroud isn’t slowing down. A week after throwing for over 300 yards in a victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars, Stroud sliced and diced the Buffalo Bills’ secondary with a 331-yard outing en route to a 23-20 win.

With that positive performance, Stroud rose from No. 11 to No. 9 in ESPN’s Total QBR rankings this week. ESPN gave Stroud a 78.4 Total QBR rating against the Bills, his best of the season.

Stroud’s traditional passer rating against Buffalo was 97.6, which actually represented one of his lower ratings of the year. It’s still a promising look, but far from the standard for the second-year target.

Unlike a traditional passer rating, the Total QBR “incorporates all of a quarterback’s contributions to winning, including how he impacts the game on passes, rushes, turnovers and penalties,” according to ESPN.

The metric also considers scenarios that a traditional passer rating overlooks and  looks at “a team’s level of success or failure on every play to provide the proper context and then allocates credit to the quarterback and his teammate to produce a clearer measure of quarterback efficiency.”

Through five games, Stroud’s thrown three interceptions and been sacked 14 times. Two turnovers came in the 34-7 loss against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 3.

Here’s a look at where Stroud stacks up against the NFL’s other starting quarterbacks entering Week 6.

NFL QBs ranked by Total QBR entering Week 6

  1. Josh Allen: 77.6
  2. Joe Burrow: 73.6
  3. Jayden Daniels: 73.2
  4. Andy Dalton: 67.1
  5. Lamar Jackson: 67.1
  6. Kyler Murray: 66.4
  7. Brock Purdy: 66.0
  8. C.J. Stroud: 64.4
  9. Baker Mayfield: 64.0
  10. Derek Carr: 63.6
  11. Geno Smith: 63.5
  12. Daniel Jones: 61.3
  13. Jalen Hurts: 59.3
  14. Sam Darnold: 58.7
  15. Dak Prescott: 56.8
  16. Patrick Mahomes: 55.8
  17. Kirk Cousins: 55.2
  18. Matthew Stafford: 53.8
  19. Trevor Lawrence: 53.2
  20. Anthony Richardson: 49.3
  21. Aaron Rodgers: 49.1
  22. Justin Fields: 48.0
  23. Jordan Love: 46.1
  24. Jared Goff: 44.8
  25. Bo Nix: 43.1
  26. Justin Herbert: 41.8
  27. Gardner Minshew: 41.1
  28. Jacoby Brissett: 38.9
  29. Caleb Williams: 36.3
  30. Will Levis: 27.3
  31. Tyler Huntley: 23.5
  32. Deshaun Watson: 21.0

Nix and the Broncos will host the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 6.

NFL analyst gives major praise to Texans QB C.J. Stroud entering Week 5

Houston Texans QB C.J. Stroud remains the talk of the NFL world entering Week 5’s matchup against the Buffalo Bills.

C.J. Stroud isn’t the next Patrick Mahomes, but the NFL analysts can’t stop gushing over his potential.

NBC Sports’ Chris Simms praised the second-year Houston Texans signal-caller following his 24-20 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars last Sunday at NRG Stadium. Houston needed 59 minutes and 42 seconds to secure a victory thanks to a 1-yard touchdown pass from Stroud to running back Dare Ogunbowale.

“He’s one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL,” Simms said during NBC’s Football Night in America broadcast. “And I’ll say this, too: I think he may be the best pocket-passing quarterback in all of football. He never misses a target.

“It doesn’t matter if you stop the Texans’ run game or not, because this guy at quarterback, with Nico Collins catching it on the other end, they’re almost unstoppable. C.J. Stroud I can not say enough good things about.”

Simms is right. The duo of Stroud and Collins has been a two-man wrecking crew keeping Houston alive at 3-1 through four weeks. In all three victories, Collins has finished with at least six catches for over 100 yards.

In the Week 3 loss against the Minnesota Vikings, Stroud tossed a pair of interceptions. Collins finished with just 86 receiving yards and only one pass over 20-plus yards downfield.

Stroud taking over games is far from new for Texans fans. Last season, he orchestrated multiple down-to-wire drives to secure the victory, including Week 9’s win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

After securing the first postseason berth in four years en route to winning Offensive Rookie of the Year, Stroud has lofty goals and high expectations to met in 2024. The Texans look to be a contender in the AFC alongside Buffalo, Baltimore and Kansas City.

With the arrival of Stefon Diggs, Houston could be a sneaky and underrated dark horse to hoist up its first Lombardi Trophy in franchise history. The league will have a better understanding of where the Texans lie when they take on the Bills this Sunday at noon CT.

Is Texans QB C.J. Stroud a top option in fantasy football for 2024?

Yahoo Sports isn’t buying the hype of Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud for fantasy football entering 2024.

The Houston Texans have a potential MVP quarterback in second-year starter C.J. Stroud.

Will fans have a fantasy football MVP if they draft the reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year as the starting signal-caller?

According to Yahoo Sports, that’s unlikely.

Stroud’s franchise record-setting rookie season looked great in person, but it wasn’t enough to land him among the top 10 passers in fantasy last season. Even with the additions of All-Pro receiver Stefon Diggs and Pro Bowl running back Joe Mixon, Yahoo’s Kate Magdziuk has the former No. 2 overall pick as part of her “All-Fade Team” in 2024.

“It’s difficult to fade Stroud given the strength of his receiving corps; the opportunity to throw to the trio of Nico Collins, Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell is nothing to scoff at, and it should lead to continued efficiency in the passing game and likely, an increase in touchdown production,” Magdziuk writes. “But will it be enough to make up for the lack of edge he gives in terms of rushing?

“Keep in mind that there have been just two quarterbacks to finish top five at the position with fewer than 200 rushing yards over the past five seasons: Tom Brady (2021) and Aaron Rodgers (2021, 2020). Stroud, meanwhile, has never rushed for over 200 yards in a single season (even dating back to high school).”

While Magdziuk isn’t wrong about the Texans’ receiver room, she isn’t entirely wrong about the ground game. Houston ranked 23rd overall in rushing last season behind an underwhelming Devin Singletary and anemic Dameon Pierce.

Mixon, a four-time 1,000-yard runner, makes up for explosive plays with consistent reps. Production was the Pro Bowler’s calling card in Cincinnati, as he averaged 259 carries per season over his last four healthy campaigns. That averages to around 16 carries per contest.

Stroud might be this year’s Mahomes or Jackson as a sophomore standout who wins the league’s highest honor, but fantasy might be his Achilles heel. Rodgers has never been known as a star in the game played by friends, but he’s gone on to win four league MVPs and is a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame.

Maybe that’s Stroud’s future?

Magdziuk suggests that reaching for Jackson or waiting for a more mobile quarterback in the later rounds might be the better ploy for winning the trophy.

“I’d prefer spending up a round earlier on Lamar Jackson (ADP of 35.5) or holding off for an Anthony Richardson or Kyler Murray, who are being drafted after Stroud in Yahoo leagues,” Magdziuk writes.