C.J. Stroud 2023 NFL season props, odds: Texans rookie quarterback officially earns starting job, will make Ohio State history Week 1 vs. Ravens

As expected, first-year Houston Texans coach DeMeco Ryans has named rookie No. 2 overall pick C.J. Stroud as the team's starting quarterback on Sept. 10 in Baltimore. The Texans are the biggest underdogs on the Week 1 board at +10. Stroud will make history that day on CBS as the first rookie signal-caller from Ohio State to start in a season-opener since QB starts were first tracked in 1950.

That Buckeyes statistic definitely surprised me, until I thought about it. Ohio State has sent a ton of good running backs, receivers, pass-rushers and cornerbacks to the NFL in recent years, but hasn't really produced a can't-miss quarterback. Stroud was just the fourth-ever Buckeyes QB to be chosen in Round 1, following Justin Fields at No. 11 in 2021 (he might be on his way to superstardom), Dwayne Haskins at No. 15 overall in 2019 (was a bust) and Art Schlichter at No. 4 overall in 1982 (also a bust).

Fields started the third game of his Bears career in 2021. Haskins did not make his first start as a rookie until Week 9 on Nov. 3, 2019. Schlichter appeared in only 13 NFL games and made just six starts.

Stroud started all three Texans preseason games and went 11-of-18 for 89 yards with one touchdown and one interception in eight series. Houston finished 2-1 with a 17-13 win over New Orleans on Monday.

Ryans made the call after the final game. The Texans were the last team to announce their starter. It means all three QBs taken in the top five picks of this year's draft will start Week 1 with No. 1 pick Bryce Young earning the job for Carolina and No. 4 Anthony Richardson doing the same in Indianapolis. Since the 2011 NFL collective bargaining agreement, 11 of the 17 quarterbacks selected in the top five started Week 1.

Here are the props available on C.J. Stroud at DraftKings:

• To win Offensive Rookie of the Year: +850
• To lead NFL in passing yards: +8000
• To lead NFL in passing TDs: +8000
• To lead NFL in interceptions: +2000
• To lead rookie QBs in passing yards: +110
• Over/Under 3050.5 passing yards: Both -110
• Over/Under 17.5 TD passes: Under -115 favorite
• To throw for at least 400 yards in any game: +100
• To throw for at least 250 yards in eight games: +160
• To throw for at least 4500 yards: +800

The franchise record for passing yards is 4,823 by Deshaun Watson in 2020, the last season he played for Houston. No member of the Texans has won NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. Ryans actually won it on defense in 2006.

New backup Davis Mills shared the NFL lead in picks last year with 15 alongside the Cowboys' Dak Prescott. Mills started 26 games over the past two seasons after the Texans took him in the third round of the 2021 draft. Mills was the 2022 opening day starter. Tyrod Taylor was in 2021 and Watson in 2020.

For Week 1 in Baltimore, the SportsLine Projection Model forecasts Stroud to finish 22-for-33 for 227 yards with 1.13 TDs and 0.91 picks. 

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