DeMeco Ryans reveals Texans’ practice plans to get CJ Stroud NFL-ready

The Houston Texans want C.J. Stroud to lead them back into a stretch of winning. But head coach DeMeco Ryans and the team know that it's going to take a lot of time before the second-overall pick feels truly comfortable at the NFL level.

Stroud is already held in high regard, as primarily evidenced by his team captainship. It's a testament to how much the Texans want to see out of him. They aren’t looking to coddle him or protect him from the big responsibilities that franchise quarterbacks live up to.

Ryans' focus on getting Stroud ready for the professional level has been on simulating live-game situations, according to D.J. Bien-Aime of ESPN. Throughout the offseason, the rookie QB got more looks in 11-on-11 matchups so that he can get a feel for everything as often as possible.

“We've had our competitive periods all throughout training camp where we want to make it as tough as possible for C.J. trying to help him to get ready,” Ryans said, via ESPN. “For myself as a defensive coordinator, knowing that you’re going against a young quarterback, ‘How can you confuse them? How can you cause as much havoc for him as possible mentally?’ We’re going to give him multiple looks.”

Reading NFL defenses is way tougher than doing so against college defenses, especially on a bad NFL team compared to a great collegiate one, which Stroud had at his disposal at Ohio State. The level of talent on the Texans' roster is a far cry from those of the Buckeyes teams Stroud played for. But it's part of the life of a highly drafted quarterback.

Stroud has been willing to take advice not just from his coaches but his teammates. Cornerback Derek Stingley said, per ESPN, that after he told Stroud he needed to make a throw sharper on a rep in practice, he came right back with “a dart on the sideline” that showed immediate implementation of Stingley's tip.

In his NFL debut against the Baltimore Ravens, Stroud threw for 242 yards while completing 28 of his 44 pass attempts. In his Week 2 matchup against the Indianapolis Colts, Texans fans will get to see their new hopeful franchise QB try to lead his team to a win at home.