Why Texans OC Is Very Pleased With C.J. Stroud's Offseason Development

The Houston Texans are entering the second year under offensive coordinator Nick Caley.

That means, for quarterback C.J. Stroud, this offseason becomes extremely helpful when it comes to adapting with his offensive play-caller brought on last offseason, and thus allows this offense to flow better than the ups and downs that were faced throughout 2025.

In 2025, the Texans offense, while a step ahead from their previous year's production, still finished as the 13th-best scoring offense and 18th in terms of total yards. Their passing offense was in the middle of the pack, and their rushing efficiency sunk towards the bottom 10 of the league.

Seeing those numbers trend up for the 2026 campaign will be critical for this group's success. And while it might be early in the offseason process, having just gotten through the Texans' OTAs period, the signs are already beginning to show that Stroud and Caley are off to a strong start.

C.J. Stroud Having Solid Start Preparing for Year 2 With Nick Caley

Caley broke down a bit of how his relationship has been building with Stroud during the Texans' offseason program at OTAs, where he seemed to have glowing reviews about how their past few weeks to months have gone.

Perhaps most notably, though, is the emphasis on the collaboration that Caley has built in with his fourth-year signal caller.

"I've always had a good relationship with C.J." Caley said. "We have transparent and honest conversations, but I think it's like anything: year two, you're always trying to dive deeper, to continue to expand the finer points of the relationship."

"But, it's great. I mean, we get to talk ball, we're highly collaborative. He has a great perspective. He sees the game really, really well. And so I've had a blast being around him every single day, just like last year. We've gotten to take a step further; more time on task, more time in the film room, more opportunities to evolve and do some different things here from an offensive standpoint."

Having a full year's sample size now behind each, Caley and Stroud have a better understanding of what works and what doesn't based on what they had seen throughout last season.

Jul 24, 2025; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) during training camp at Houston Methodist Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

It's something that Stroud himself has mentioned earlier in the offseason, having put a notable emphasis on his own self-scout, and has only bled into his interactions with Caley.

That should pay off big time for this offense that now is able to have a much better sense of familiarity at this time of year compared to just getting their feet wet in the system in 2025.

Texans' Offense Can Be More Comfortable in Year 2 Under Caley

Alongside another year of added chemistry with Caley, the Texans' personnel differences will play a huge part of whether Stroud can take that aspired leap from where he stood in year three.

The run game will be vastly improved on the shoulders of David Montgomery. The offensive line has multiple new additions that should pay massive dividends. And for Caley, who has an extensive history with tight ends as a coach with the LA Rams, the steps forward made in that position group will only help moving forward.

Aug 16, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans offensive coordinator Nick Caley stands on the field before the game against the Carolina Panthers at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Combine those external upgrades with the talent that's already in the building, getting another year under Caley's wing and his scheme, and it's allowed this offense to take a major step forward from the point they were at this time last offseason.

"It's year two, right? we should be further along," Caley said. "Last year, we're teaching the language for the first time at this time of the year... Throughout the course of last year, there's things that we did this time of year that we ended up getting away from for a variety of reasons... So you get a chance to look back now. And now, we're a step ahead."

"Things are processing faster. Most of these guys that we started with in phase two were here [at OTAs], so the intent of what we were doing, we were already ahead of that. And then it's refining all those things. How can we make them better? How can we learn from things last year good and bad? We did that and grew collectively. And it's been a good progression."

So far, Caley's saying all of the right things when it comes to gauging where this offense currently sits, especially so when it's compared to his first year at the helm.

But those results will officially be unraveled once this team hits the ground running in September. That means this offense still has much work to do before they're considered fully ready to go for that Week 1 opener against the Buffalo Bills.

"There's still plenty out in front of us, got ways to go. But I've been very, very pleased with where we're at year two, as opposed to a year ago," Caley said.

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