These players could either bounce back or take another step back.
Improvement isn't always linear. While some players may come out of the gate in their NFL careers looking like world-beaters, that doesn't mean we should assume that their stars will continue to rise without interruption.
That's made clear every NFL season, and it was again in 2024. We saw a great number of players post excellent debut campaigns who nonetheless either plateaued or took a step backward in their sophomore seasons -- a group that included one of the best rookies in recent memory.
But sophomore slumps aren't always the end of the world. There's always plenty of room for players to bounce back, or to perform at an even higher level than they did in their first season. With that in mind, we want to take a look at some players who impressed as rookies but didn't reach the level envisioned for them during their respective second seasons, as well as what might be some reasons for optimism heading into Year 3.
Stroud put together one of the best rookie seasons any quarterback has ever had. He averaged 8.2 yards per attempt, had the NFL's lowest interception rate, led the league in passing yards per game and finished sixth in Tru Media's expected points added (EPA) per dropback on his way to winning Offensive Rookie of the Year, making the Pro Bowl and finishing eighth in MVP voting, As the supporting cast atrophied around him, Stroud took a significant step backward in Year 2. He dropped down to 7.0 yards per attempt, saw his interception rate more than double, had his yards-per-game average dip by over 50 yards and checked in 28th in EPA per dropback, posting a negative average. A change in offensive coordinator from Bobby Slowik to Nick Caley, plus investments in the offensive line and receiving corps, provide some home for a bounceback in 2025.
Houston Texans' C.J. Stroud Gets No Love in Latest QB Rankings
It was an up and down 2024 season for the Houston Texans' offense, and certainly for C.J. Stroud in his second year pro.
Pairing a bit of a sophomore slump of production with a bit of offensive line troubles in front of him, and even an assortment of injuries on his side of the ball, Stroud faced his fair share of turbulence across last season's sample size. And while it still did result in a second-straight playoff appearance and even another postseason victory, now the Texans' quarterback has been hit with a bit of disrespect heading into his third year in Houston.
The latest shade comes from Pro Football Focus and analyst John Kosko within their new quarterback rankings from one to 32 ahead of the 2025 campaign–– where Stroud found himself toward the middle of the pack at an interesting placement of 14th.
"Stroud represents the cautionary tale for Jayden Daniels — a stellar rookie season followed by a sophomore slump," Kosco wrote. "That said, he finished 2024 strong and delivered in the playoffs, leading the Texans to a wild-card win over the Chargers. One glaring issue remains: his pressure-to-sack rate. After taking just 39 sacks as a rookie, that number ballooned to 63 in 2024, a problem that must be addressed moving forward."
At the 14th spot, that places Stroud behind names like Baker Mayfield (13) and Jordan Love (12), but even in a totally different tier of quarterbacks when compared to Brock Purdy (11) and Geno Smith (10). And when compared to the type of hype the Texans' quarterback received following a surging rookie year, it's a major shift in feelings from where he once was viewed across the NFL's elite.
Yet, while the outlook for Stroud does look a bit bleak compared to the start of last season, there are tons of reasons to believe the Texans' passing offense and overall scoring unit will see notable progression for the coming year. Houston has a vastly different offensive line to protect their third-year signal caller, while also providing him a new batch of both veteran and young talents at receiver to fill out his arsenal of weapons.
It may inevitably be a wait-and-see approach to see if Stroud can exceed the expectations he's been dealt, but if he can hone in on his accuracy and turnover issues from the year prior, while his surrounding talent can get back to par, the stage could be set for a massive bounce-back season in Houston, and in turn, move his way up the ladder once again as one of the NFL's best younh quarterbacks.
