The Pro Football Writers of America have named QB C.J. Stroud the Offensive Rookie of the Year and DE Will Anderson Jr. the Defensive Rookie of the Year. Additionally, Stroud has been named the PFWA's NFL Rookie of the Year, marking a Texans sweep of the top rookie awards.

Selected No. 2 overall in the 2023 NFL Draft, Stroud took the NFL by storm, starting in all 15 of his appearances and completing 319-of-499 pass attempts for a rookie franchise-record 4,108 yards, 23 touchdowns, five interceptions and a passer rating of 100.8, marking the third-best passer rating by a rookie in NFL history. His 4,108 passing yards rank third in NFL annals among rookie signal callers, while leading all rookies this past season in all major passing categories. Stroud finished the 2023 campaign with 4,557 total passing yards, including the postseason, which is the second-most ever by a rookie. He also began his career with a record 192 consecutive pass attempts without an interception, the most ever by a player to begin a career. Stroud led the league in passing yards per game (273.9), while also pacing the NFL in touchdown-interception ratio (4.60), becoming just the third player in NFL history to finish first in both categories, joining Joe Montana (1989) and Tom Brady (2007). Among his numerous record-setting performances was his 470-yard, five-touchdown performance in Week 9 that earned him his first of two AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors, as he also captured the award in Week 18 after clinching a playoff spot and division crown for the franchise's first time since 2019. Stroud also won NFL Offensive Rookie of the Month and AFC Player of the Month for November, becoming just the second rookie quarterback in league history to win AFC Offensive Player of the Month and just the fifth player ever to earn NFL Offensive Rookie of the Month in the same month.

Anderson Jr., the club's third overall selection and very next pick after Stroud this past April, started in 13 games, totaling 45 tackles including 10 tackles for loss, 67 pressures, 7.0 sacks, one pass defensed and one blocked field goal. Anderson's 7.0 sacks this season set a new rookie franchise record for most sacks in a single-season and his 67 pressures led all rookies in the NFL this year. Anderson turned in arguably his best performance of the season in the Week 13 win against Denver, in which he racked up five tackles (three solo), 2.0 sacks, four quarterback hits, two tackles for loss and one pass defensed. He also made his presence felt on special teams in Week 3 at Jacksonville when he blocked a field goal, becoming the first Texans rookie to block a field goal since J.J. Watt in 2011. Anderson also had a pair of sacks in Week 17 against Tennessee, and a six-tackle game in Week 5 at Atlanta.

Stroud becomes the first player in Texans lore to garner PFWA Rookie of the Year and Offensive Rookie of the Year honors while Anderson Jr. joins Dunta Robinson (2004), DeMeco Ryans (2006) and Brian Cushing (2009) as Texans who have claimed the Defensive Rookie of the Year nod.

PFWA NFL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: 1966 – MLB Tommy Nobis, Atlanta Falcons; 1967-74 – no selections; 1975 – RB Mike Thomas, Washington Redskins; 1976 – WR Sammy White, Minnesota Vikings; 1977 – RB Tony Dorsett, Dallas Cowboys; 1978 – RB Earl Campbell, Houston Oilers; 1979 – RB Ottis Anderson, St. Louis Cardinals; 1980 – RB Billy Sims, Detroit Lions; 1981 – RB George Rogers, New Orleans Saints; 1982 – RB Marcus Allen, Los Angeles Raiders; 1983 – RB Eric Dickerson, Los Angeles Rams; 1984 – WR/KR Louis Lipps, Pittsburgh Steelers; 1985 – WR Eddie Brown, Cincinnati Bengals; 1986 – RB Rueben Mayes, New Orleans Saints; 1987 – ILB Shane Conlan, Buffalo Bills; 1988 – RB John Stephens, New England Patriots; 1990 – S Mark Carrier, Chicago Bears; 1991 – OLB Mike Croel, Denver Broncos; 1992-2012 – no selections; 2013 – RB Eddie Lacy, Green Bay Packers; 2014 – WR Odell Beckham, Jr., New York Giants; 2015 – RB Todd Gurley, St. Louis Rams; 2016 – RB Ezekiel Elliott, Dallas Cowboys; 2017 – RB Kareem Hunt, Kansas City Chiefs; 2018 – QB Baker Mayfield, Cleveland Browns; 2019 – DE Nick Bosa, San Francisco 49ers; 2020 – QB Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers; 2021 – LB Micah Parsons, Dallas Cowboys; 2022 – CB Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner, New York Jets; 2023 – QB C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans.

PFWA NFL OFFENSIVE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: 1992 — PK Jason Hanson, Detroit Lions; 1993 — RB Jerome Bettis, Los Angeles Rams; 1994 — RB Marshall Faulk, Indianapolis Colts; 1995 — RB Curtis Martin, New England Patriots; 1996 — RB Eddie George, Houston Oilers; 1997 — RB Warrick Dunn, Tampa Bay Buccaneers; 1998 — WR Randy Moss, Minnesota Vikings; 1999 — RB Edgerrin James, Indianapolis Colts; 2000 — RB Mike Anderson, Denver Broncos; 2001 — RB Anthony Thomas, Chicago Bears; 2002 — RB Clinton Portis, Denver Broncos; 2003 — WR Anquan Boldin, Arizona Cardinals; 2004 — QB Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers; 2005 — RB Cadillac Williams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers; 2006 — QB Vince Young, Tennessee Titans; 2007 — RB Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings; 2008 — QB Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons; 2009 — WR Percy Harvin, Minnesota Vikings; 2010 — QB Sam Bradford, St. Louis Rams; 2011 — QB Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers; 2012 — QB Robert Griffin III, Washington Redskins; 2013 — WR Keenan Allen, San Diego Chargers; 2014 — WR Odell Beckham Jr., New York Giants; 2015 — RB Todd Gurley, St. Louis Rams; 2016 — RB Ezekiel Elliott, Dallas Cowboys; 2017 — RB Kareem Hunt, Kansas City Chiefs & RB Alvin Kamara, New Orleans Saints; 2018 — RB Saquon Barkley, New York Giants; 2019 — RB Josh Jacobs, Oakland Raiders; 2020 – QB Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers; 2021 – WR Ja'Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals; 2022 – WR Garrett Wilson, New York Jets; 2023 – QB C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans.

PFWA NFL DEFENSIVE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: 1992 — CB/PR Dale Carter, Kansas City Chiefs; 1993 — DT Dana Stubblefield, San Francisco 49ers; 1994 — DT Tim Bowens, Miami Dolphins; 1995 — DE Hugh Douglas, New York Jets; 1996 — DE Simeon Rice, Arizona Cardinals; 1997 — LB Peter Boulware, Baltimore Ravens; 1998 — CB Charles Woodson, Oakland Raiders; 1999 — DE Jevon Kearse, Tennessee Titans; 2000 — LB Brian Urlacher, Chicago Bears; 2001 — LB Kendrell Bell, Pittsburgh Steelers; 2002 — DE Julius Peppers, Carolina Panthers; 2003 — LB Terrell Suggs, Baltimore Ravens; 2004 — CB Dunta Robinson, Houston Texans; 2005 — LB Shawne Merriman, San Diego Chargers; 2006 — LB DeMeco Ryans, Houston Texans; 2007 — LB Patrick Willis, San Francisco 49ers; 2008 — LB Jerod Mayo, New England Patriots; 2009 — LB Brian Cushing, Houston Texans; 2010 — DT Ndamukong Suh, Detroit Lions; 2011 — OLB Aldon Smith, San Francisco 49ers; 2012 — LB Luke Kuechly, Carolina Panthers; 2013 — LB Kiko Alonso, Buffalo Bills; 2014 — DT Aaron Donald, St. Louis Rams; 2015 — CB Marcus Peters, Kansas City Chiefs; 2016 — DE Joey Bosa, San Diego Chargers; 2017 — CB Marshon Lattimore, New Orleans Saints; 2018 — LB Darius Leonard, Indianapolis Colts; 2019 — DE Nick Bosa, San Francisco 49ers; 2020 — DE Chase Young, Washington Football Team; 2021 – LB Micah Parsons, Dallas Cowboys; 2022 – CB Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner, New York Jets; 2023 – DE Will Anderson Jr., Houston Texans.

ABOUT THE PFWA: In its 60th season in 2023, the Professional Football Writers of America (PFWA) is the official voice of pro football writers, promoting and fighting for access to NFL personnel to best serve the public. The PFWA is made up of accredited writers who cover the NFL and the 32 teams daily. Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News is the PFWA president for the 2023-24 seasons and the organization's 31st president. Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post is the PFWA's first vice-president, Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic is the second vice-president, Lindsay Jones of The Ringer is the advisor to the president and Mike Sando of The Athletic is the secretary-treasurer. At-large board members include USA Today's Mike Jones, ESPN.com's Jeff Legwold, Joe Reedy of the Associated Press and ProFootballTalk.com's Charean Williams.