C.J. Stroud wins AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award
COLUMBUS — Another accolade is coming for C.J. Stroud. He was named the AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year on Thursday night.
Stroud led the Houston Texans to the divisional round of the NFL Playoffs this year; they were one of the worst teams in the league just last year.
Stroud, the highest-drafted quarterback in Buckeyes history, capped off a record-breaking rookie season. He piled up the third-most passing yards by a rookie all-time and became the fourth qualifying rookie quarterback with an NFL passer rating of at least 100.
Stroud did so while completing 63.9% of his passes and posting a 23:5 touchdown-to-interception ratio. Plus, he’s now the youngest quarterback to win an NFL playoff game after he piloted the Houston Texans to a 45-14 victory over the Cleveland Browns in the Wild Card round. Stroud entered the game at 22 years and 102 days old.
Stroud is the second straight winner of the award from Ohio State. Former Buckeyes wide receiver Garrett Wilson, now with the New York Jets, won the award last season. Chris Olave was also a finalist for that award a year ago.
Other recent winners of the AP NFL Rookie of the Year Award from Ohio State were all on the defensive side, other than Wilson and now Stroud. Former Buckeyes defensive end Joey Bosa won the award for the Chargers in 2016 to kick off an incredible and unmatched run. Former star Buckeyes cornerback Marshon Lattimore won it the very next year for the Saints. And just two years later, the Buckeyes went back-to-back yet again, with the 49ers’ Nick Bosa winning in 2019 and the Commanders’ Chase Young won it in 2020.
For Stroud, his biggest competition for the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award was Rams wideout Puka Nacua. Even as good as Nacua was for the Rams, Stroud was the clear-cut best rookie in the league. He received the fan vote for the Pepsi Zero Sugar NFL Rookie of the Year, showing what fans thought of his incredible rookie year.
C.J. Stroud now has another accolade under his belt. He has won the AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award, another notch for the former Buckeyes star quarterback.
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