It’s foolish to say that C.J. Stroud is “overvalued” in any context

It’s foolish to say that C.J. Stroud is “overvalued” in any context

It seems silly that this has to be said, but C.J. Stroud isn’t being overvalued. Nor should that ever be a word that is used to describe him, unless he regresses for some reason. Right now, Stroud is the best quarterback on his rookie contract in the NFL, bar none. He’s the catalyst for the Texans and someone seen as being so in tune with the offense, will likely have play-calling responsibilities in 2024.

He’s going to be the catalyst for the Texans offense, an offense expected to be at the top of the NFL. Stroud will likely be an MVP candidate unless the Texans fall apart and will have a pretty good shot at winning the award. So it baffles me and every other person out there to see Bleacher Report dub Stroud as “overvalued”.

The article in question was specifically about fantasy football valuations, which we’ll touch on here in a moment, but even to put Stroud in that conversation is wild. His lack of scrambling is a reason why people should be mindful of drafting him in their fantasy leagues. Besides the fact that fantasy football isn’t a real metric for the talents of a player, it further distances itself from reality by insinuating that a guy with 4,000 passing yards and nearly 30 touchdowns are “overvalued”.

It’s not a true reflection of his talents by any means.

I dislike fantasy football for this reason, but let’s look at what they would need Stroud to produce in 2024. The author suggests that Stroud would need to be close to 5,000 passing yards and at or over 30 passing touchdowns. No quarterback achieved 5,000 passing yards in 2023, so let’s just throw that out the window as a possibility. Secondly, Stroud, who was seventh in the league in passing yards already, will likely see his stats jump up considerably for two reasons.

Tank Dell and Stefon Diggs.

Dell was out for a good chunk of the season last year, which hurt Stroud’s numbers a bit. He’s cleared and ready to contribute once again, making Stroud an even more dangerous passer. Not only will Stroud have Dell back, but they landed Stefon Diggs, who’s still one of the best receivers in the NFL. He’s going to draw a lot of double-team coverages, which will only make Stroud’s numbers spike more as Dell, Nico Collins, and Dalton Schultz will rip up opposing defenders trying to run one-on-one coverage on them.

It’s absurd that people think not rushing the ball is going to hinder Stroud’s value in any real capacity. Yes, its fantasy football, but much like in real football, it’s a team effort. Stroud has so much talent around him that, realistically, he could have three 1,000 yard receivers in 2024. With that reality slapping you in the face, why would you bet against him?