- Career-best production: C.J. Stroud has earned an 82.8 PFF passing grade through Week 9, putting him on pace for the highest mark of his NFL career.
- More big-time throws: The Houston Texans quarterback ranks second in the NFL with 22 big-time throws, already just five shy of his career high.
- Improved ball security: Stroud has thrown only two interceptions and owns a 1.2% turnover-worthy play rate, giving him an NFL-best 5.5 big-time throws per turnover-worthy play.
Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud likely entered this season knowing it was a make-or-break year for his future value in the NFL. He remains under contract through 2027 via the fifth-year option, but a new deal with the Texans is likely to come sooner rather than later.
And if he continues to play at the level he showed in 2026, it wouldn't be a surprise to see him become the NFL's highest-paid quarterback.
Stroud moved up to No. 2 in PFF's quarterback rankings this week, so let's dig into the improvements he's made in his fourth season and what has helped establish him as one of the very best quarterbacks in football in 2026.
The story of C.J. Stroud‘s career so far
Grades | Graded Throws | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2026 | 309 | 282 | 181 | 74.8% | 2,251 | 8.0 | 16 | 82.8 | 17.3% | 8.1% | 7.1% | 1.2% |
2025 | 559 | 502 | 314 | 69.4% | 3,503 | 7.0 | 21 | 62.0 | 14.3% | 9.9% | 3.3% | 3.8% |
2024 | 702 | 593 | 377 | 72.2% | 4,254 | 7.2 | 21 | 77.6 | 16.3% | 8.8% | 4.3% | 2.8% |
2023 | 618 | 553 | 354 | 74.2% | 4,557 | 8.2 | 26 | 80.4 | 18.1% | 8.9% | 4.4% | 2.8% |
CAREER | 2,188 | 1,930 | 1,226 | 72.4% | 14,565 | 7.5 | 84 | – | 16.4% | 9.0% | 4.5% | 2.8% |
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Stroud's rookie season set the stage for a quick ascent into the upper echelon of quarterbacks, with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft finishing the campaign 354-for-553 for 4,557 yards, 26 touchdowns and five interceptions, along with 26 big-time throws and 18 turnover-worthy plays (including the playoffs).
He earned an 83.2 overall PFF grade that rookie season, but in his second year, he took a step back. He didn't regress significantly, but his positively graded play rate fell from 18.1% to 16.3%, and his PFF passing grade dropped from 80.4 to 77.6.
The regression was far more pronounced in his third season in the league. His positively graded play rate, negatively graded play rate, big-time throw rate, turnover-worthy play rate and overall PFF grade were all career lows. That led many to view 2026 as a season in which Stroud needed to prove himself if he was going to put himself in position to earn a massive NFL contract.
Stroud's 2026 season so far
After two seasons of regression, Stroud has exploded in 2026, and he is comfortably having his best season in the league.
Through the first nine weeks, his 82.8 PFF passing grade is on pace to be the best of his career, while his 17.3% positively graded play rate is his highest since his rookie year.
Where he has really taken a step forward, in a way that he had never quite shown in his first three seasons in the league, is in his ability to make big throws downfield. Per PFF grading, Stroud has recorded 22 big-time throws through the first nine weeks of the season.
That ranks second in the NFL so far this season, which is impressive in its own right, but even more impressive is how it compares to the rest of his career. He is already just five big-time throws shy of his career high, set in 2024, and that total includes a pair of games in the 2024 playoffs. He has six more big-time throws than he has ever had through nine weeks of a season, and his big-time throw rate is 1.9 percentage points higher than in any other season of his career at this stage.
C.J. Stroud: Big-time throw rates (2023-26)
| Season | Big-Time Throw Rate | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 3.70% | 18th |
| 2024 | 5.00% | 17th |
| 2025 | 3.10% | 29th |
| 2026 | 7.10% | 1st |
2026 = min. 100 dropbacks
It's not just his ability to create big plays that has been impressive, though. He is also having his best season in terms of taking care of the football. That has been evident in his interception total — just two — but it can also be seen in his 1.2% turnover-worthy play rate, which is also on pace to be a career-best mark.
C.J. Stroud: Turnover-worthy play rates (2023-26)
| Season | Turnover-Worthy Play Rate | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2.40% | 18th |
| 2024 | 2.10% | 19th |
| 2025 | 3.30% | T-30th |
| 2026 | 1.20% | 2nd |
2026 = min. 100 dropbacks
And the combination of those two things is why Stroud has been one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.
One of PFF Pro's new metrics this year is the big-time throw-to-turnover-worthy play ratio. Stroud has the best ratio in the NFL, with 5.5 big-time throws for every turnover-worthy play.
NFL Quarterbacks: BTT-TWP Ratio
| Rank | Quarterback | BTT:TWP |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | C.J. Stroud | 5.50 |
| 2 | Bryce Young | 3.25 |
| 3 | Joe Burrow | 2.57 |
| 4 | Geno Smith | 2.50 |
| 5 | Jared Goff | 2.17 |
min. 100 dropbacks
By almost every metric you can look at, Stroud is having his best season in the NFL. More than that, though, he is playing at a level right now that gives him the opportunity to push the Texans back into the playoffs despite their slow start and to sign a deal making him the highest-paid quarterback in football very soon.
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