Houston Texans QB C.J. Stroud nominated for ESPY's Best Breakthrough Athlete Award

Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud already won the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year award after guiding his team back to a division title for the first time since 2019.

After becoming the fifth quarterback in NFL history to throw for over 4,000 yards in their rookie season, one could argue he’s become a breakout star in the NFL. Now, he might be the next professional sensation regardless of the sport.

Stroud was nominated for the ESPYS’ “Best Breakthrough Athlete” award earlier this week. He’ll join San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama, USC’s women’s basketball player JuJu Watkins, and gymnast Haleigh Bryant in a race to finish for the award.

Each nominee has a case following their dominant seasons. The Breakthrough Athlete of the Year award is awarded to the sportsperson who made the most substantial breakthrough in their respective sport either as a rookie or just a rapid improvement in their performance.

Stroud, who helped Houston triple its win total from 2022 while becoming the youngest quarterback in league history to win a playoff game, might be the favorite. Houston won a combined 11 games from 2020-2022 and fired three coaches each offseason.

Stroud also became the third player in league history to lead the NFL in both touchdown-to-interception ratio (23:5) and passing yards per game (274) in the same season, joining Hall of Famer Joe Montana and seven-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady.

The award is currently held by former LSU star and current Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese. Awarded to the top newcomer in their sport since 1993, other notable winners include Tiger Woods (1997), Kurt Warner (2000), Brady (2002), LeBron James (2004), Adrian Peterson (2007), Jeremy Lin (2013), Dak Prescott (2017), and Saquon Barkley (2019).

The 2024 ESPY Awards will take place on July 11 at 7 p.m. on ABC.