Texans star C.J. Stroud is proud of Commanders QB Jayden Daniels

Entering the 2024 NFL season, C.J. Stroud of the Houston Texans was the NFL’s best young quarterback. As a rookie last season, Stroud led Houston to 10 wins, an AFC South division title and a playoff win. Stroud had a rookie season for the ages.

This offseason, there was speculation about which NFL team could be the 2024 version of last season’s Texans. A popular pick was the Washington Commanders. The comparisons made sense. Stroud was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft, while the Commanders selected Jayden Daniels with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft.

Those comps are looking good through five weeks, as Daniels has the Commanders at 4-1 and headed into a huge Week 6 matchup with Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens.

As a guest on Tuesday’s edition of the “Pat McAfee Show,” Stroud was asked about his rookie success and Daniels.

“Once I got comfortable, confident, is when I started playing really well,” Stroud said. “And I can see that with Jayden, but he hit the ground running from Week 1. I’m super proud of him, talk to him almost every week and really just a fan of his and what he’s been able to do. He’s just getting warmed up. I just hope he continues to stay at it, stay hungry and I know he will because that’s his personality.”

Stroud and Daniels have known one another for years, dating back to their childhoods in Southern California. Daniels has no shortage of mentors, but it’s another positive for him to have such a close friend walk a similar path from childhood to college stardom, the NFL draft, and early NFL success.