It’s easy to assume that the Houston Texans had high expectations for C.J. Stroud when they selected him in the 2023 NFL Draft.
The Texans also selected Tank Dell, a game-breaking specialist at the University of Houston, in Round 3 to assist Stroud in that endeavor. The two had already established a strong rapport via their first two games together.
However, on Sunday in their AFC South divisional game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, they scored possibly their most explosive play to date when Stroud threw a 46-yard touchdown pass to Dell, putting the Texans on the verge of scoring at the one-yard line.
Rookie to rookie connection! CJ Stroud connects on a huge play to Tank Dell that eventually leads to a #WeAreTexans TD: pic.twitter.com/sCCJ3s51qx
— Jaime Eisner (@JaimeEisner) September 24, 2023
Can Dell and Stroud be reliable for the Texans ?
The Texans capitalized on the exciting play right away, with second-year running back Dameon Pierce scoring on a short touchdown run to put Houston ahead of their AFC South rival 7-0. The rookie tandem of Dell and Stroud just experienced strong performances against the Colts in Week 2.
In fact, Stroud’s passing performance set a new early career record, going 30 of 47 for 384 yards and two touchdowns. Naturally, Dell received the majority of the output, catching seven catches for 72 yards and a touchdown on his ten targets.
