Texans QB C.J. Stroud mustered just 191 scoreless yards on 11-of-30 passing in Thursday night's loss to the Jets. It was his third game among the last four with fewer than 200 passing yards. The 37% completion rate was a career low. Stroud was vibing with WR Tank Dell, connecting on six of nine attempts for 126 yards. But all other Texans caught just five of 21 targets for 65 yards. That's 3.1 yards per pass attempt.
Stroud had very little chance in this one (which is why we had him QB24 in the Week 9 Rankings). He was without WRs Nico Collins and Stefon Diggs in a short-week, road game against a tough Jets defense.
Diggs won't be back this season, and Houston's offensive line has been a problem. Stroud was sacked eight times by the Jets and is up to 30 sacks through nine games. That's just eight fewer than he had in 15 games last season.
The good news for Stroud is that he's expected to get Collins back in Week 10. With his top WR over the first four games of the season, Stroud averaged 264 passing yards and 1.5 TDs per game. He finished as a top-10 fantasy QB in two of those four weeks.
Of course, Stroud also had WR Stefon Diggs in those four games. But Collins + Dell at least gives him one of the better WR duos in the league.
He'll also get the fifth-easiest QB schedule from Week 10 through 17, including excellent spots against the Cowboys (Week 11), Jaguars (Week 13), and Ravens (Week 17)
Stroud should at least be a valuable spot-start option as long as Collins and Dell are healthy. Consider making a buy-low offer to the Stroud owner in your league ahead of Week 10.
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