C.J. Stroud (QB, HOU) - Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 5

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues

ROSTERED IN: 46% of Leagues

ANALYSIS: The history of Ohio State QBs in the NFL has been very disappointing. Apart from Joe Burrow (who only threw 39 passes in Ohio State before transferring to LSU), no other quarterback from this university has ever made a Pro Bowl. However, C.J. Stroud has had a very promising start to his career and could be the best QB in the history of Ohio State.

Stroud got off to a mediocre start in Week 1 against the Ravens but recovered after a good performance against the Colts, throwing two touchdown passes in a loss. Many NFL fans thought the Texans would struggle to win a game all season long, but Stroud led the Texans to two shocking wins against Jacksonville and Pittsburgh, two teams that had winning records in 2022.

C.J. Stroud is only the 6th player in NFL history to average 300 pass YDs and have 0 INTs through the first 4 games in a season 🤯

Elite company 🔥 pic.twitter.com/dYbVSk3rNW

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 2, 2023

Stroud wasn't just along for the ride. He threw two touchdowns in both games while avoiding any interceptions. He threw for 586 yards (293 yards per game) and had a sparkling 115.0 passer rating. His completion percentage went down against the Steelers but has been around the 64% mark in his first three weeks.

Stroud's advanced stats tell us that he is a rare combination. He isn't afraid of throwing the ball downfield (8.0 intended air yards per attempt) even though his players rack up a decent amount of yards after the catch (YAC). The Texans' players have racked up 6.1 YAC, which ranks third in the NFL.

The next few weeks will be pretty easy for the Texans. They will play the entire NFC South consecutively before facing some very weak teams like the Cardinals and Broncos. The Cardinals have allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to QBs (25.0), while the Broncos have allowed the most fantasy points to QBs (29.3) so far this season. Stroud has a chance to overtake the Texans' best win total in a season since the start of the new decade (four wins) in the coming weeks and could be considered a QB1. He finished as the QB7 from Week 3 to Week 4, and picking him up now would be a wise move.

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