We are going on Week 11 of the NFL Season and no player has clearly established themselves as above the pack in regard to the MVP race. You have the former MVPs, in Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson, who are both having excellent seasons and are leading their team to success, but numbers aren’t up to the standard we’re used to. You have the former Alabama stars in Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa who have had impressive seasons but have insanely stacked teams to match their years. You have defensive standouts Myles Garrett and TJ Watt, who are dominating the competition and are probably the main reason their teams have winning records. But none of these players have clearly established themselves to be the leader of the pack, and one voter would easily gravitate toward this season.
Enter Texans rookie QB CJ Stroud, who has been nothing but a godsend for the team and has turned the Houston franchise around since the moment he got there. Stroud is leading the NFL in TD/INT ratio since he got there and has led his Texans to a much better than expected 5-4 record so far with wins over three teams with winning records so far and has them as the seventh seed in the current AFC playoff picture. The Texans were the 2nd worst team in the NFL last year and were expected to be around the same level this year. Stroud has clearly elevated Houston to being a contender, something no experts had predicted before the year, while playing at an exceptionally high level that many of the top QBs in the NFL haven’t been playing at this year so far. He is on pace to break the record for passing yards set by Andrew Luck in 2012 and could also break the record for passing touchdowns set by Justin Herbert in 2020, while only having two interceptions so far, the least amongst QBs who have started every game.
Stroud does not lead the NFL in any of the premier passing stats, and he’s not on one of the NFLs best teams, but his play has clearly elevated his team at such a level that he should be considered the Most Valuable Player, which is the definition of the award. His biggest competition would probably be Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts, and Tua Tagovailoa, who have the top four highest odds in Vegas to win the award right now. However, Stroud is outplaying each of the four superstar QBs, and could surpass them with great performances and winning enough games to lead Houston to the playoffs. He already has two superstar worthy performances, out-dueling Bengals star QB Joe Burrow on his own field last weekend, and throwing a five TD, almost 5oo yard performance, to beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers a week before that, both in which he led a game winning drive in the final minute.
Only two of the remaining eight games on the Texans remaining schedule have winning records, with one of them being against the Cleveland Browns who just lost QB Deshuan Watson for the season, and the other vs the rival Jacksonville Jaguars who the Texans beat Week three. With the favorable schedule, if the Texans win at least five of those games and get into the postseason, and Stroud continues at least performing at the pace he is right now, which is to become the first rookie to throw for 5,000 yards with 28 Touchdowns and four Interceptions, there is no doubt he will be the MVP, as no player in the league is uplifting their team more at any position than Stroud.
Stroud would be the first rookie to win MVP in 66 years, and only the second all time to do it. The late great legendary Cleveland Browns Running Back Jim Brown was the first to do it in 1957. Stroud winning the MVP would not only be an amazing feat, but a remarkable story as Stroud has faced a lot of trials and tribulations in his life.
Strouds father was incarcerated for 40 years when he was just 13 years old, leading him to try and help provide and put his family in a situation to be better in life. He did not start a high school game until his junior year, and played so well he eventually earned a scholarship to Ohio State University, becoming the starter his sophomore year. Stroud became one of the best QBs in Ohio State history, and in two years became second all time in Passing Yards and TDs, only behind JT Barrett who was a four year starter. CJ looks like anything but a rookie right now, and Stroud winning MVP would not only be an excellent accomplishment, but an even more amazing story and if he keeps the play up I don’t see any reason he won’t be the one to receive the award.
