The future Hall of Famer is a big fan of Houston’s star quarterback.

C.J. Stroud earned a plethora of fans as he led the Houston Texans to the playoffs amid a rookie of the year campaign last season. You can count NFL legend and future Hall of Famer Tom Brady among this group.

Brady—who with seven Super Bowl victories, is widely considered the great quarterback of all-time—recently joined The Pivot Podcast to discuss an array of topics, from his recent Netflix roast to stories from his iconic playing career.

Brady also touched on the current generation of quarterbacks, highlighting Stroud as one of the players he enjoys to watch due to how he approaches the game.

“C.J. is a good example,” Brady said. “I really appreciate where he came from and all the expectations that he had, and then what [he went] and put together last year with a lot of humility. When I watch quarterbacks, the first thing I watch is, ‘Does he endear himself to his teammates?’ … He does feel like one of the guys. If he wants to separate himself from the rest of the team, you’re not going to play 20 years. You’re just not, because the only way you’re going to play is your teammates.

“There’s only so much you can do. There are so many things I sucked at, but the only way I could get to where I wanted to get to was to have the best teammates—and the only way to get the best teammates was if I was the best teammate. So, you have to talk the right way, hang the right way, celebrate the right way, lose the right way, and that’s the bonding, that’s the gift in sports.”

Brady went on to mention the importance of being authentic, adding “there’s nothing better than being a great teammate.”

“They know you so intimately, you can’t fool people in a locker room,” Brady said. “You can’t bulls–t your way through a football season. Maybe you can for one year if you’re a good actor, but people really are going to know who you are.”

Obviously, Stroud has a long way to reach someone of Brady’s status, or even that of a modern-day superstar like Patrick Mahomes. But he’s certainly on a promising path.

Last year’s No. 2 overall pick broke multiple records in his first NFL season, as he led the Texans from the AFC cellar to their first playoff win in four years. Now, Houston enters 2024 as a top playoff contender, with the emergence of Stroud largely to thank.