Houston Texans quarterback CJ Stroud is taking part in the NFL Pro Bowl Games this weekend in Orlando, Florida, but the Pro Bowl nod that Stroud received is arguably a minor accomplishment in comparison to everything else he was able do during his rookie season.

CJ Stroud finished his rookie season with the best touchdown to interception ratio among all qualified quarterbacks. Despite missing two games late in the season due to a concussion, Stroud's 4,108 passing yards were 8th-most in the NFL. His 100.8 passer rating was 6th-best in the league, and the 3rd-highest in NFL history among rookie quarterbacks. Most impressively, Stroud was the architect of a Texans postseason appearance that seemed beyond far-fetched before the season began. Not only will Stroud likely win the NFL's Rookie of the Year Award, Stroud too found himself in the MVP conversation throughout the season.

Despite surprising just about everyone around the NFL with stellar, far-beyond-his-years play as the Texans signal-caller, Stroud himself doesn't consider anything he accomplished to be a surprise.

“No, it wasn't,” Stroud responded when asked if his instant success in the NFL surprised him, per Grant Gordon of NFL.com. “I have confidence in myself. I wasn't surprised much.”

Stroud's rookie season was as good as any debut season for a quarterback in recent NFL history. In the last fifteen years, only ten rookie quarterbacks who were their team's Week 1 starter would go on to secure a berth in the NFL Playoffs. Stroud, along with Joe Flacco, Mark Sanchez, and Russell Wilson, are the only four who won in their postseason debut. However, unlike Flacco, Sanchez, and Wilson, Stroud didn't have an elite, top-tier defense to lean on throughout the season.

If anything, the Texans are at least a year ahead of schedule, and CJ Stroud is excited about what the franchise is building.

“We've got a lot of good pieces coming back, probably add some pieces that we need. Lot of moving parts, but it should be fun.”