C.J. Stroud

After an outstanding rookie year, Stroud has now finished QB19 and QB21 in back-to-back seasons, and the raw numbers don't tell the whole story. His EPA per dropback (78th percentile) was genuinely solid, suggesting he's playing better football than the fantasy production indicates. The accuracy (49th percentile in CPOE) has room to grow, but the bigger drag on his weekly output is the lack of meaningful rushing contribution—15.3 yards per start with one rushing touchdown isn’t much in today’s fantasy landscape. Nico Collins is a legitimate number-one, but Tank Dell's extended absence and the lack of a second reliable weapon kept Stroud from finding much rhythm as the season progressed, though Jayden Higgins had some moments down the stretch. Unfortunately, Higgins is off the table with a torn ACL, so it’s up to Jaylin Noel, Tank Dell, Xavier Hutchinson, and Dalton Schultz to pick up the slack.