CJ Stroud resoundingly wins Offensive Rookie of the Year over Puka Nacua

Rams rookie WR received only two first place votes after historic debut season

Puka Nacua had a historic rookie season for the Los Angeles Rams—especially for a late fifth round pick. Still, Houston Texans quarterback CJ Stroud was special in his own right and helped turn around a Texans team that had little success over the last few seasons. Stroud was named the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year at the NFL Honors show on Thursday night.

Even more impressive was the margin of victory for Stroud, as he received 48 first place votes in comparison to Nacua’s two.

The Texans and Rams also had hopefuls for the league’s Defensive Rookie of the Year honors where Houston’s Will Anderson and LA’s Kobie Turner were finalists. Anderson was named the DROY but the margin was much closer for this award. Anderson had 16 first place votes while Turner tied for second at 14 with Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter. Anderson and Carter were the second and ninth picks in this spring’s NFL Draft, respectively, while Turner was the Rams’ second pick in the third round.

Both the Rams and Texans should be primed for future success with these promising young players that already made strong impacts in their first seasons. They’ll hope to build on this success with the offseason and draft just around the corner.