C.J. Stroud

C.J. Stroud is Houston's QB1, and his fantasy value comes almost entirely from his arm. Through 6 games in 2026 he has 1,714 passing yards and 9 touchdowns against just 1 interception, completing 143 of 219 attempts (65.3%). He doesn't add much as a runner: 16 carries for 76 yards and 1 touchdown, about 13 rushing yards per game. That pattern holds across his career, with no season above 233 rushing yards.

This season is a clear rebound in per-game terms. He's averaging 18.9 PPR points per game, up from 15.5 in 2025 and 13.7 in 2024, and slightly above the 18.7 he posted as a rookie in 2023. Volume is the biggest driver. He's attempting 36.5 passes per game, well above the roughly 30 to 31 per game of the last two years and the 33.3 of 2023. Efficiency has improved too, at 7.8 yards per attempt compared with 7.2 in 2025 and 7.0 in 2024, though still short of his 8.2 rookie mark. He's averaging 286 passing yards per game and 1.5 passing touchdowns per game, numbers that match or top his 2023 output (274 and 1.5) and are well clear of the 217 to 219 yards per game of the two middle seasons. That shows in the rankings: he's 20th in PPR points this season after finishing 53rd and 54th the past two years.

For fantasy and DFS, the case rests on passing volume. If Houston keeps him near 36 attempts per game at around 7.8 yards per attempt, the yardage floor is solid and the touchdown rate gives him a ceiling. The risk is that his production depends almost entirely on the passing game. With so little rushing, a drop back toward his 2024 and 2025 attempt levels would pull him back toward the 14 to 15 point range of those years. His 1 interception in 219 attempts is also far below his past rates (8 in 2025, 12 in 2024), so some giveback there is plausible. The Clutch Edge projection of 18.2 points per game, ranked 70th among QB/RB/WR/TE, sits a bit below his current pace and assumes some of that regression. That makes him a reasonable starting option whose value moves with how much Houston keeps throwing.

Written by a language model from the stat lines below. Numbers from Sleeper; the 2026 line is the season in progress.