The Houston Texans rattled the drafniks with their selection of center Juice Scruggs No. 62 overall in Round 2 of the 2023 NFL draft.
According to Gordon McGuinness from Pro Football Focus, the Texans’ taking the Penn State offensive lineman was considered the team’s biggest reach of the draft.
We had Scruggs as a mid-round prospect, with him coming off a 71.5 PFF grade in his lone full season at center in college. Using the 62nd overall pick on him very possibly means he will start in 2023, so we may learn quickly just how much of a reach this really was.
Scruggs was also the Texans’ “most questionable pick” by another outlet.
The Texans needed help at center. Mock drafts that were going as far as three rounds had the Texans using a pick on Ohio State’s Luke Wypler, who came in at No. 54 on PFF’s big board. In reality, NFL teams were comfortable picking anybody ahead of Wypler. Presuming the Texans blew it with Scruggs, why then did Washington, New England, and Seattle all take centers all presumably lower than the 54th-best prospect in the draft — according to PFF’s big board?
Maybe there needs to be a new rubric.
What may actually be puzzling about the Scruggs selection is something that has nothing to do with the player himself. In the sixth round, Houston used a pick on another center prospect in Notre Dame’s Jarrett Patterson. The Texans will have two rookies going against three veterans — Michael Deiter, Scott Quessenberry, and Jimmy Morrissey — for the starting center job.
General manager Nick Caserio indicated on April 28 after the second day of the draft that one of the reasons they grabbed Scruggs was for his possible position flexbility.
“I think in Juice’s case, it’s probably more center than guard, but if he had to go there and play guard, looks like he’d be competitive,” said Caserio.
Houston has key pieces on the offensive line with Laremy Tunsil, Kenyon Green, Shaq Mason, and Tytus Howard. If the Texans can get center on point, they should have adequate pass protection and run blocking.
