CJ Stroud’s NFL career is off to a flying start. After back-to-back losses to open the season with the Houston Texans, Stroud and the team have rallied to get back to .500.

A big part of that turnaround has been keeping Stroud clean with the quarterback avoiding getting sacked in the last two games. That has led to some efficient passing numbers.

After the latest win, Stroud is now over 1,200 yards passing through his first 4 NFL games with 6 touchdowns. He has 2 touchdowns in the last 3 games and is completing just over 62% of his passes.

Making the start more remarkable, Stroud has not thrown an interception to start his rookie season in 151 pass attempts. That combination of 1,200 passing yards and zero interceptions puts him in some elite company.

Only 5 other NFL QBs have ever started a season with similar numbers, and it is a list of all-star players and some of the all-time great QBs in the game. That list is:

  • Aaron Rodgers (2020)
  • Patrick Mahomes (2018-19)
  • Drew Brees (2018)
  • Tom Brady (2015-17)
  • Peyton Manning (2013)

For reference, 4 of those previous seasons produced an MVP award for the QB in question. Those MVP awards went to Manning (2013), Brady(2017 ), Mahomes (2018) and Rodgers (2020).

No one is ready to toss Stroud’s name into the MVP conversation quite yet, but the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award is a different story. Stroud currently leads those odds on DraftKings with the QB listed at +175. Fans wanting to get in on that action can use our DraftKings Ohio promo code to get started!

Throughout the pre-draft process, Stroud was widely regarded as one of the most accurate QBs in this draft class. So far, he’s living up to that label, and the team is starting to win as a result.