Ryan Malllet

C.J. Stroud's already got more Texans starts under his belt than Ryan Mallett ever managed, with a rocket arm echoing Mallett's college days at Arkansas—where he slung it deep for 8,000+ yards—but Stroud's poise in clutch spots and that 2023 Rookie of the Year shine make him the upgrade Houston craved. Mallett's Texans stint? A fleeting 2015 spark before the bench.

Nah, Ryan Mallett's not in Canton—his NFL odyssey topped out as a spot starter, never sniffing Pro Bowl glory or bust status. Think of him like those Arkansas gunslinger legends who lit up the SEC but fizzled pro-side; Hall's for the Schaubs and Strouds building empires, not the what-ifs.

Tragically, Ryan Mallett passed away in June 2023 at 35 in an apparent drowning, cutting short any post-NFL pivot to coaching or broadcasting. No 2026 gigs in business or charity on record—just a reminder of football's fragile stars, from Spring League nods to that untimely end.

Mallett's cannon arm—ripping 290-yard games late with Baltimore—would feast under today's pass-happy rules, no-doubt deep balls thriving sans 2010s defensive jams. But his shaky decisions and mobility woes? Modern blitzes would expose him like a sitting duck, maybe a poor man's Geno Smith at best.

Schaub towers over Mallett as Houston's steady hand, posting a 31.68 career rating to Mallett's measly 8.0 in Texans blue. Schaub engineered those 2011-12 playoff pushes; Mallett was the injury-fueled Hail Mary who beat Pittsburgh once then vanished—franchise anchor vs. emergency flare.