The Carolina Panthers have benched former first overall pick Bryce Young, leaving us reminiscing on the time that Cleveland Browns tight end saved his former team, the Houston Texans, from drafting him.
The Texans were in the driver’s seat to win the first overall pick with head coach Lovie Smith running the show in 2022. Sitting at 2-13-1, the Texans had the rights to the pick, and all it would have taken was one more loss against the Indianapolis Colts.
However, Smith and his team decided to fight, scoring a go-ahead touchdown with less than a minute to go in the game. On the receiving end of that touchdown? Akins.
Not only did Akins catch the touchdown with less than a minute to go in the game, but the Cleveland tight end then caught the two-point conversion from Texans quarterback Davis Mills to give Houston the lead over the Indianapolis Colts.
Ironically, he caught the two-point conversion over his now-teammate and Browns safety Rodney McLeod.
Davis Mills : 22/38 for 298 yards, 3 TD's, 2 INT's & a 87.4 QB Rating
Jordan Akins : 4 catches for 70 yards & 2 TD's on 8 targets (Caught the game-winning 2-point conversion with 50 seconds left after he caught a 28-yard TD on 4th & 20) pic.twitter.com/ku4wPLfpUq— Lee Harvey (@MusikFan4Life) January 8, 2023
Akins finished that Week 18 game with four catches, 70 yards, and two touchdowns, adding that two-point conversion to win the game.
The Texans would lose the No. 1 overall pick to the Chicago Bears, and the rest is well documented. The Bears traded that pick to the Panthers for a massive haul that included multiple first round picks and Pro Bowl wide receiver D.J. Moore.
To make matters worse for the Panthers, they would go on to have the worst record in the NFL in 2023, giving the top pick in the draft right back to the Bears. They used that pick on former Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Caleb Williams.
The Texans would go on to draft Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud. Since then, Stroud has won NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, been named to a Pro Bowl, and even beat the Browns in a playoff game in his first season in the league. He has the Texans sitting at 2-0 in 2024 thus far.
And none of this would have been possible if Jordan Akins didn’t catch that touchdown or two-point conversion.
