While the Jacksonville Jaguars watched Trevor Lawrence turn into a top-10 quarterback to finish 2025, the Houston Texans managed to win in spite of quarterback C.J. Stroud. Granted, he wasn't outright awful, but his play most definitely left much to be desired, even though he had no shortage of weapons in his arsenal.
Heck, you could even make the case that the Texans were able to make it to the divisional round of the playoffs on the strength of their defense, arguably the best in the whole NFL.
Meanwhile, Stroud is entering his fourth season with the Texans and has yet to prove that he's the long-term answer at center. An NFL analyst believes he'll be under pressure to deliver.
C.J. Stroud landed on a list of potential bust candidates
Tyler Sullivan of CBS Sports drew up a list of eight NFL players running out of time to prove themselves. He included C.J. Stroud, citing his underwhelming stats in the playoffs.
"Stroud had the most combined fumbles and interceptions (10) through the first two games of a postseason in the last 35 seasons," Sullivan wrote. "That included four interceptions in a divisional-round loss to the Patriots, which truly shook confidence in him as a franchise quarterback."
Later, Sullivan argues that Stroud's stats the past two seasons may offer a better assessment of him as a quarterback than his quarterback season.
"Stroud's numbers continue to look more like the quarterback he's been over the last two seasons (85.5 passer rating) than the one he was as a rookie (100.8 passer rating), especially with Houston set to play the seventh-toughest strength of schedule (based on projected win totals) in the NFL next season," Sullivan wrote.
For context, Stroud threw for 25 touchdowns with just five interceptions as a rookie. However, he hasn't taken many strides the past two years. Sullivan ultimately thinks that the former Ohio State Buckeye will come through because the Texans brought in Nick Caley as the offensive coordinator and made changes to the offensive line.
In Stroud's defense, you could attribute some of his struggles to his offensive line. However, Houston has spared no expense to improve his protection. Similarly, he has a well-rounded receiver corps, so you cannot truly say that he's lacking weapons.
You could also make the case that progress isn't linear, and Stroud could bounce back in his second season under coordinator Nick Caley. On the other hand, there's a point where you can no longer pin the blame on anyone else and must deliver. That's the spot Stroud currently finds himself in.
Jaguars fans should feel great about Trevor Lawrence while C.J. Stroud enters a make-or-break year
C.J. Stroud's situation could give Jaguars fans something of a deja-vu vibe. Just last year, Trevor Lawrence was under pressure to demonstrate that he was the franchise quarterback the Jags envisioned when they drafted him first overall in 2021. At one point of the 2025 season, it seemed like No. 16 was going to come up short of expectations but managed to flip the switch, completing 62.6 percent of his throws with 18 touchdowns and just four interceptions the last seven games.
Now, Lawrence is in his second season under head coach Liam Coen and no longer has to deal with questions about his viability as an NFL quarterback. Having continuity and a well-rounded supporting cast should allow him to build off of his impressive 2025. The Texans hope C.J. Stroud can make a similar leap next season. He may very well do it, but there's an equal chance he won't.
But until further notice, C.J. Stroud is under pressure to deliver, which should make Jaguars fans feel great about Trevor Lawrence heading into 2026.
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