ESPN rates C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans very highly

C.J. Stroud is the toast of Texas right now. Coming off of a monster year in 2023, where he took home the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award, he's someone who is set to have an even bigger 2024. He's seen his team around him get better. Names like Stefon Diggs, Joe Mixon, and Cam Akers look to increase his efficiency, while others like Tank Dell (returning from injury) and Dalton Schultz (re-signed), look to improve the roster just by being around more.

Those are just some of the vast reasons that Stroud is being pegged as a budding superstar in the league. There are plenty more but the newest aspect we're going to hang our hats on is a ranking from ESPN. They recently published their "Future Power Rankings Projections" list for the entire league. Among the things ranked were the roster (minus the quarterback), the quarterback, the coaching, and the front office.

The Texans didn't land lower than 10th in the league, and that was for the front-office assessment. Here is how the Texans scored across all four categories;

Overall Roster: 88.7
Quarterback : 92.3
Coaches : 90.7
Front Office : 83.0

Their roster and quarterback scores were fifth best in the league, while coaches got seventh best. Lastly, the front office came in tenth. It is yet another indication that the NFL media seems to think highly of Stroud, despite only being in his second season.

This isn't that surprising, however. If you look at Stroud being ranked fifth and his roster being equally high, you start to see why he's being so vaunted; Stroud is set up for success. He has a team rich in talent around him and that's been a key to his dominance early on.

As long as everyone remains healthy, this team will likely find great success for years to come.