The rise of C.J. Stroud and Jordan Love were two of the best stories from the 2023 NFL season. Both quickly went from unproven quarterbacks to being labeled as the next generation of star signal-callers.
They could soon join Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Matthew Stafford and Joe Burrow as some of the best quarterbacks in the league. But, first, Stroud and Love will need to prove their breakout seasons weren’t a fluke.
The young stars can do that by guiding their respective teams back to the postseason, while also leading a few notable statistical categories. Wins and impressive numbers tend to go hand in hand for the game’s best quarterbacks. Last season, Tua Tagovailoa had a league-high 4,624 passing yards, and Dak Prescott recorded a league-high 36 passing touchdowns. Both appeared in the postseason.
We’re expecting Stroud and Love to put up impressive numbers again for the Houston Texans and Green Bay Packers, respectively, because we have them down as league leaders in two of our 11 NFL stats predictions for 2024. Let’s get to the predictions.
Passing yards: C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans
Stefon Diggs is going to demand that Stroud and the Texans throw the ball more in 2024. O.K., that was a terrible joke. I’m not one of those people who expects Diggs to provide more headaches than plays with his new team. I’m expecting Stroud to get more passing attempts than his memorable rookie season and will ensure his dynamic trio of Diggs, Nico Collins and Tank Dell stay involved throughout games.
Coach DeMeco Ryans and offensive play-caller Bobby Slowik likely have no issues with giving Stroud a heavier workload after the reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year recorded 4,108 yards, 23 passing touchdowns and only five interceptions last season. Not many quarterbacks are as efficient as Stroud when it comes to picking teams apart