CJ Stroud often talks about his desire to learn and grow. The Houston Texans quarterback has always been willing to learn from any person or situation to help his development.
With that in mind, the No. 2 overall pick had lunch with seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady and Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin. If you want to be the best, you have to learn from the best, right?
Brady imparted wisdom to the 22-year-old Stroud about his interactions with teammates and how he approaches the game.
“On TV, you watch (star quarterbacks) and think, ‘Man, they’re too busy. They can’t hang out with their teammates. They’re probably just focused on what they have to do,'” Stroud told ESPN’s DJ Bien-Amie. “(Brady) said, ‘I just don’t want to let my teammates down.’ He said the exact same thing. I was like, ‘Man, that’s who I am. “
“I love playing football with my kids. They’re my brothers. So when he talked about it, it really hit home for me.”
Stroud is currently considered the leader in Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. In six games, he completed 127 of 213 passes for 1,660 yards, nine touchdowns and one interception. He didn’t throw his first interception until Week 6, which ended his NFL record for most passes without an interception (192) to start his career.
Houston (3-3) has won three of its past four games and now sits just one game behind the Jacksonville Jaguars (4-2) for first place in the AFC South. Texans head coach DeMeco Reigns said the way Stroud interacts with his teammates not only helps him earn their respect, but also makes them all want to improve their game.
“They want to protect better, you want to play better on defense, you want to play better on special teams,” Reigns told ESPN. “You want to do whatever it takes to do your job better. “(Quarterback) play is hard. But you see a young guy that can play, and that makes guys play harder for him. “