Like most quarterbacks who are taken high in the draft, Stroud will be joining an organization that has been struggling.
Houston made the playoffs four times from 2015-19 but has won 11 games over the last three seasons while employing four different head coaches (including interim Romeo Crennel).
Demeco Ryans, who was a standout linebacker for the Texans before quickly becoming one of the hottest assistant coaches in the league over the past six years, was hired in January and brought Bobby Slowik with him from the San Francisco 49ers to be offensive coordinator.
Slowik is a first-time OC, but he is expected to run some variation of the offense popularized by 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan and being adopted at many places throughout the league.
Shanahan, like his father Mike, leans heavily on the outsize zone run and utilizing play action passing off it.
“I definitely think that Bobby runs a great system,” said Stroud, who also gave a shoutout to quarterbacks coach Sherrod Johnson and offensive assistant Shane Day. “Really everybody in that quarterback room is going to do a great job coaching me. I have nothing but trust and faith in everybody on the offensive side.”
Outsize zone and the play action pass were big parts of the Ohio State offense, too, so Stroud should find some familiar concepts when he gets to Houston.
“I think my accuracy and everything that I do is going to complement what we’re going to try to do in Houston,” Stroud said.
In a press conference in Kansas City after he was drafted and the team used the No. 3 pick to add Alabama linebacker Will Anderson Jr., Stroud said he expects to uplift the team and the city of Houston.
“I think for Will and me both, what we bring to the table is hope,” Stroud said. “Will and I have been through a lot in our lives. We know what it takes to get where we’re at. We just want to give people hope and inspire people and we want to help anyway we can. I plan to get a plan to help kids in the city of Houston any way I can. I want to get a couple of foundations to help kids and help single mothers.
“I want to be a helping hand. I feel like football is just our passion. It’s not really our purpose. Our purpose is to help others. I think God has blessed us to be able to do that.”
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