Stroud excited by Texans' '5-headed monster' on offense

The Houston Texans kicked off their training camp practices Thursday, and star quarterback C.J. Stroud already likes what he's seen from his team's loaded-up offense.

The 2023 No. 2 overall pick put on a show last season to help the Texans go from worst to first in the AFC South. The reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year had a promising group of skill-position players around him with Nico Collins, Tank Dell, and Dalton Schultz, among others. But the Texans added high-profile weapons in 2024, trading for wide receiver Stefon Diggs and running back Joe Mixon.

"Stefon is somebody that can open up the playbook, but we have all these guys around," Stroud said, according to ESPN's DJ Bien-Aime. "It's a five-headed monster. It's definitely super dope to have just a bunch of options."

Collins caught 80 passes for 1,297 yards and eight touchdowns last year. Dell was also on pace to top the 1,000-yard mark but sustained a season-ending Week 13 injury. He finished his rookie campaign with 709 yards and seven TDs. Schultz posted a 59-635-5 stat line.

Meanwhile, Diggs claimed his fourth straight Pro Bowl berth by leading the Buffalo Bills with 1,183 yards and eight touchdowns on 107 receptions in 2023. Mixon rushed for over 1,000 yards for the fourth time in his career with the Cincinnati Bengals.

"Either you do it or you don't," Stroud said when asked about the Texans' high expectations in 2024, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston. "We're the ones on the field that gotta go figure it out. ... It's not going to be easy, it's going to be harder. We have a target on our back this year."

Houston kicks off its regular season on the road versus the Indianapolis Colts on Sept. 8.