CJ Stroud came in and took the NFL by storm in his rookie season in 2023, compiling 24 touchdowns and throwing only five interceptions. At one point during his rookie season, he was even mentioned in the MVP discussion, as he played a significant role in leading the Houston Texans to the playoffs. Then came the 2024 season, where CJ had only 20 touchdowns and more than double the interceptions at 12. Plenty have tried to figure out what happened between Year 1 and Year 2 for Stroud, where he had the same offensive coordinator and plenty of the same weapons. Recently, ESPN analyst Domonique Foxworth appeared on the “Touring The AFC South” podcast and discussed what he believed was one of the reasons for the significant changes from Year 1 to Year 2.
“I think one of the issues with this offense was variety and predictability. I think if they can address that, that will take some of the pressure off of him.”
The predicability speaks directly to former offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik, who was let go after his second season with Houston.
The predictability speaks directly to former offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik, who was let go after his second season with the Texans. The consensus is that Slowik lacked the ability to make adjustments when defenses adjusted, and there was also criticism of his offensive imagination. The result was that defenses knew the answers to the Texans' offense and Slowik had no counters to what defenses were doing to them.
So with Slowik gone, the Texans brought in Nick Caley, who was the tight ends coach and pass coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams. And with him comes more control for Stroud in the offense. Reportedly, Stroud has more control at the line of scrimmage to change things that he does not like. That provides answers for the offense that they did not have under Slowik and hopefully takes away some of the predictability that came with their offense.
With hopefully less predictability, along with hopefully better offensive line play and health in the wide receiver corps, Foxworth believes things will be better for Stroud. How much better? Foxworth says it himself:
“He will be better this year than either of his first two years.”
Domonique Foxworth's thoughts on CJ Stroud in 2025. Agree or disagree? #HTownMade #NFL pic.twitter.com/VSxJ1tStol
— Mike Patton 🏈🎤🖋 (@MikePatton82) August 29, 2025
Time will tell if Foxworth is correct, but one thing is certain: the Texans aren’t trying to waste time. The offensive line changes may be questionable, but they demonstrate that the Texans are not content to settle for the status quo and are willing to shake things up in order to achieve their goal: winning a Super Bowl.