In the eyes of many, the Houston Texans are the team of the future. The squad boasts a lofty and impressive group of young players, led by a pair of Rookie of the Year Award winners, C.J. Stroud and Will Anderson. They proved that they were near the top of the class last season. For the Texans to get them in back-to-back draft picks was a stroke of genius and now the offense and defense are set for years.
So set, that everyone is looking at this team and agreeing. The Texans are the toast of the NFL, and a large part of that is the execution of the 2023 rookies and the development of the young talent taken prior to them. They're a good team who seem to be getting their metaphorical "flowers" from a variety of outlets, chief among them Pro Football Focus.
PFF, as it's commonly referred to, named three Texans' players to their Top 25 players under 25 list, and no surprise, Stroud and Anderson make the cut.
Stroud comes in No. 7, behind Aiden Hutchinson at No. 6 and Kyle Hamilton at No. 5, Ja'Marr Chase at No. 4, Trevor Lawerence at No. 3, Sauce Gardner at No. 2, and Penei Sewell at the top spot. Honestly, Stroud is a bit low here. He's a better quarterback over Lawerence and while Hutchinson and Hamilton are great, Stroud is in the Top 5 of his position, something that may be debatable for either man. I'm fine with Chase, Gardner, and Sewell being ahead of Stroud, however. That makes sense to me, as they are all at the top or near the top of their respective positions.
Anderson came in seven spots lower than Stroud, sitting comfortably at No.14. It's a spot that I like for him, as he was dominant against the run last year, but his pass-rushing efficiency could have been higher as he only finished with seven sacks on the season.
Lastly and just missing out on the 24th spot, is Derek Stingley Jr., who breaks the pattern of seven by landing in at No. 23. Stingley had a breakout year after struggling previously. His play got a lot of people talking about his potential as an elite corner, and if he can put together some back-to-back dominant seasons, he may be in line for a major payday.