{"id":114939,"date":"2024-04-25T16:18:42","date_gmt":"2024-04-25T16:18:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/?p=114939"},"modified":"2024-04-25T16:19:04","modified_gmt":"2024-04-25T16:19:04","slug":"c-j-stroud-aims-strong-three-word-message-at-texans-brass-as-nfl-draft-approaches-nguyensa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/c-j-stroud-aims-strong-three-word-message-at-texans-brass-as-nfl-draft-approaches-nguyensa\/","title":{"rendered":"C.J. Stroud Aims Strong Three-Word Message at Texans Brass as NFL Draft Approaches"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/GettyImages-1676560376-e1714016385920.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" alt=\"\" width=\"780\" height=\"439\" data-img-load-time=\"135\" data-dom-ready-time=\"139\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Getty\u00a0C.J. Stroud has a simple message for the Texans brass.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>As most NFL teams attempt to do during the first wave of free agency, the\u00a0Houston Texans\u00a0have set themselves up nicely to draft the best player available when their first pick finally comes around at No. 42.<\/p>\n<p>In a flurry of moves that could prove to be franchise-altering, Houston added defensive end\u00a0Danielle Hunter, wide receiver\u00a0Stefon Diggs, running back\u00a0Joe Mixon, linebacker\u00a0Azeez Al-Shaair\u00a0and defensive lineman\u00a0Denico Autry.<\/p>\n<p>To stockpile capital in later rounds, an area of the draft head coach\u00a0DeMeco Ryans called \u201cthe sweet spot,\u201d\u00a0the Texans surrendered their first-round pick (No. 23). In a\u00a0March 15 trade, Houston\u2019s sent No. 23 to the\u00a0Minnesota Vikings\u00a0in exchange for second- (No. 42) and sixth-round picks (No. 188) and a 2025 second-rounder.<\/p>\n<p>Quarterback\u00a0C.J. Stroud\u00a0has some advice for the Texans brass on best approaching those selections when April 26th rolls around: \u201cDon\u2019t be dumb.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhoever\u2019s up there, man, be smart. Don\u2019t be dumb. Don\u2019t think too hard,\u201d\u00a0Stroud said\u00a0in an April 15 press conference.<\/p>\n<p>The Texans didn\u2019t have to think too hard about Stroud in the last draft. The Carolina Panthers made it pretty easy for them.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Texans Given Modest Boost in Power Rankings for Initial Free Agency Moves<\/h2>\n<p>After their first round of free agency moves, the Houston Texans received a slight bump, moving from No. 9 to No. 8 in the 2024 power rankings.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe roster around breakout QB C.J. Stroud appeared marginally improved (if far more expensive) following free agency, the major arrivals being veteran DE Danielle Hunter and RB Joe Mixon,\u201d USA Today\u2019s\u00a0Nate Davis wrote\u00a0on April 4. \u201cThen WR Stefon Diggs was acquired Wednesday, likely further bolstering Houston\u2019s chances to reach the AFC championship game for the first time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While bringing in Diggs doesn\u2019t preclude Houston from snagging an additional pass-catching weapon for Stroud, it certainly lessens the urgency. The 2024 draft boasts a deep wide receiver class, but it\u2019s almost certain there\u2019s one the Texans won\u2019t be selecting.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>C.J. Stroud Praises Projected Top NFL Draft Wide Receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.<\/h2>\n<p>Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud is a year-plus removed from making sweet music with wide receiver\u00a0Marvin Harrison Jr.\u00a0at Ohio State.<\/p>\n<p>When the two were on the field together, they couldn\u2019t be stopped. According to\u00a0Sports Reference, the duo connected for 1,402 yards and 17 touchdowns over 16 games.<\/p>\n<p>For Stroud, it\u2019s easy to see why his former Buckeye teammate should be the first receiver drafted this week.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPut on the tape. He\u2019s done it from really his freshman year, his true freshman year, to now,\u201d\u00a0Stroud said. \u201cWhen you talk about \u2013 I think I read something like he\u2019s NFL ready, but other guys have more potential. That makes no sense. Like, what? If you\u2019re \u2018NFL ready,\u2019 how is that not potential? You want longevity, you want somebody who has been doing it. For him, that\u2019s what he sleeps, eats and breathes. He\u2019s a worthy talent, but his work ethic and how he gravitates that room. I challenged him that last year when Jaxon [Smith-Njigba] went down, he had to take over as leader, and he did that. He\u2019s not really vocal, but he became vocal, and you can see his personality start to come out as he started to play more. For me, I think I would love to play with him again. I probably won\u2019t get that opportunity for a while, but I\u2019m super proud of him.<\/p>\n<p>The quarterback phenom is right. It\u2019ll be years, if ever, before fans hear Stroud-to-Harrison in the same sentence again. Not having a first-round selection makes taking the projected top receiver nearly impossible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Getty\u00a0C.J. Stroud has a simple message for the Texans brass. As most NFL teams attempt to do during the first wave of free agency, the\u00a0Houston Texans\u00a0have set&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":114940,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-114939","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114939","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114939"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114939\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":114941,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114939\/revisions\/114941"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/114940"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114939"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114939"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114939"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}