C.J. Stroud Talks NFL Career, Texans Goals, Nico Collins and More in B/R Interview

The Houston Texans are in the early stages of a rebuilding process and not expected to contend in 2023, but that doesn't mean they are going to be an easy out for anyone.

Just ask their franchise quarterback.

"You can tell the fight that we have," C.J. Stroud told Bleacher Report. "We're trying our best to fight every game even if the odds are stacked against us. This team, we have a dog in us, and we're not just going to lay down. I think we've shown that, but at the same time we want to win. I don't think these two games are what Texans football is. We have a lot more in the tank, and we're going to prove that in the weeks to come."

There were signs of that fight in the jump from the 25-9 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 1 to the 31-20 defeat to the Indianapolis Colts in Week 2 even if the Texans came up short in both contests.

Stroud went 28-of-44 for 242 yards, zero touchdowns and zero interceptions against Baltimore and then improved to 30-of-47 for 384 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions against Indianapolis.

He took those strides and avoided interceptions and key mistakes all while working behind a makeshift offensive line that allowed a combined 11 sacks. ESPN's Adam Schefter noted Laremy Tunsil, Tytus Howard, Kenyon Green, Juice Scruggs and Scott Quessenberry were all sidelined for the Colts game with injuries that will keep them out for various amounts of time.

But Stroud still performed at a high level while putting up impressive numbers against the Colts, which he is looking to build on heading into a Week 3 showdown with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

"I wouldn't say anything really changed, but I felt like I had more comfortability with the offense and operating out of the huddle," he said of the improvement from one game to the next. "We fixed some things that we wanted to do that we didn't do well as a team in Week 1. We took a jump as a team and not just myself. All around we got better, which helped me get better as well. So I'm looking to take another jump for Week 3."

Those incremental jumps are exactly what the Texans are looking for from their rookie quarterback after making him the face of the franchise with the No. 2 overall pick of the 2023 NFL draft.

The Texans could do far worse for a foundational building block considering Stroud was a back-to-back Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year and Heisman Trophy finalist during his final two seasons at Ohio State.

He completed 69.3 percent of his passes for 8,123 yards, 85 touchdowns and 12 interceptions over the course of those two years and consistently turned heads with his ball placement and ability to pick apart secondaries even at the highest level of college football.

And now he is building toward that at the NFL level.

"It's all about being comfortable," Stroud said. "I think once I got my feet wet in preseason and Week 1 to Week 2, I'm just getting more and more comfortable being out there with my new teammates and building chemistry so it's as comfortable as it was back in college and high school."

Part of his comfortability in college surely came from throwing to the Buckeyes' abundance of playmakers at the wide receiver position.

Stroud completed passes to the likes of Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Marvin Harrison Jr., among others, at Ohio State, and it was fair to wonder if there would be a dropoff in terms of available targets at the NFL level.

Yet he has already found a connection with, ironically, a Michigan product.

Nico Collins was Houston's leading receiver in its first two games with six catches for 80 yards against the Ravens and seven catches for 146 yards and a touchdown against the Colts. Catching passes from Stroud has been an excellent development for the 2021 third-round pick considering he has largely been a secondary contributor to this point of his career.

"Nico is a hell of a football player and a great person," Stroud said. "He's a superstar in the making for his career. He's already put some stuff on film, but now he's becoming more dynamic. We're just going to keep growing from that."

Collins isn't the only one Stroud is working with this season.

He was featured in C4 Energy's new Energy That Hits campaign, continuing his relationship with the company that first brought him aboard as a spokesperson when he was at Ohio State.

"It's been amazing," he said. "I've been working with them since college, they're one of the first brands to take a chance on me. Their product speaks for itself, it's definitely a product that I use on a day-to-day basis.

"Everything that we're doing is working. I'm seeing C4 all over the place now, and I'm really excited to be a part of the movement and be a part of the culture that we're setting. I'm excited to keep working with them because it's been a hell of a journey already since they trusted me from college. It's been a big thing for me because a lot of companies didn't take that chance during NIL, but these guys did."

Photo Credit: C4 Energy

The Texans, much like C4 Energy, took a chance on Stroud as well when they drafted him to be part of a new era.

He isn't the only new face in Houston this season, as the organization hired DeMeco Ryans as the new head coach and Bobby Slowik as the new offensive coordinator this offseason as well.

Ryans was already a notable Texans figure considering they drafted him as a linebacker in 2006. All he did was win the Defensive Rookie of the Year and make two Pro Bowls during his six seasons as a player with the team, and now he is tasked with leading a turnaround in his first head-coaching job.

He was previously with the San Francisco 49ers and elevated to defensive coordinator in 2021 and 2022. San Francisco's dominant defense was a major reason it reached back-to-back NFC Championship Games when he was leading the way.

Slowik came to the Texans from the 49ers as well, as he was the pass-game coordinator last season when the team still reached those heights despite starting three different quarterbacks in Trey Lance, Jimmy Garoppolo and Brock Purdy. Purdy in particular was a revelation as a rookie even though he was the final pick of the 2022 NFL draft.

Bob Levey/Getty Images

So how has working with the new coaches been for Stroud as he establishes himself in the NFL?

"It's been good," he said. "DeMeco is somebody who definitely knows winning and knows how to win in the NFL. And Bobby was there as well. They come from a winning place, I come from a winning place. I think that was the biggest thing, just trying to get a winning culture.

"We're still trying to build that culture here. It's going to take time, but we're taking steps every day toward our common goal, which is to win games. I've been really happy with how everything's been going with them, and I'm ready to keep building with them because they're great coaches and great people as well."

That building process means a bright future in Houston, even if there may be some growing pains in 2023.