It took C.J. Stroud one season in the NFL to be named a Pro Bowler.
The Houston Texans announced their quarterback was selected to participate in the 2024 Pro Bowl Games in Orlando, Florida. The multiday event starts Thursday with skills challenges pitting players from the AFC and NFC against each other and continues Sunday with events that include a 7-on-7 flag football game.
Stroud will join pass-rusher Will Anderson Jr. and left tackle Laremy Tunsil as the Texans' representatives at the event.
Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes and Tua Tagovailoa were named the AFC's quarterbacks when the Pro Bowl rosters were initially revealed, but Mahomes led his Kansas City Chiefs to the Super Bowl. He will not participate in the Pro Bowl, which opened up a spot for a replacement like Stroud to be selected.
That the Ohio State product was chosen was not a surprise.
He was one of the NFL's biggest revelations this season and wasted no time establishing himself as one of the league's best players in his first year while completing 63.9 percent of his passes for 4,108 yards, 23 touchdowns and just five interceptions.
Bleacher Report @BleacherReportC.J. STROUD LAUNCHES A 75-YARD TD 🚀<br><br>First play for the Texans offense 😳<br><br>(via <a href="">@NFL</a>) <br> <a href="">
As if the stats weren't impressive enough, Stroud took a Texans team that was 3-13-1 during the 2022 campaign to the AFC South crown with a 10-7 mark.
He also threw for 274 yards, three touchdowns and zero picks in a playoff win over the Cleveland Browns, which was the franchise's first postseason victory since the 2019 campaign.
Houston surely envisioned Stroud being its franchise cornerstone for years to come when it selected him with the No. 2 overall pick of the 2023 NFL draft, but the immediate success accelerated the timeline for a franchise that now has a number of building blocks in the quarterback, wide receiver Nico Collins, Anderson and wide receiver Tank Dell, among others.
Expectations will be sky-high at the start of the 2024 season, and anything less than another division crown would be seen as a disappointment.
But Stroud first gets to enjoy a reward for his excellent 2023 efforts when he participates in the Pro Bowl Games.
