The nature of the NFL draft is such that all 32 teams could be selecting players whose college careers were summarily ended with an injury.
The Houston Texans are no exception. In fact, their two first-round picks from last year — cornerback Derek Stingley and guard Kenyon Green — both missed time during offseason workouts. Stingley was recovering from a foot injury that kept him to just three games in 2021, and Green was recovering from offseason knee surgery.
Don’t be surprised if the Texans are taking a player in the 2023 NFL draft who also had his college career cut short with an injury.
According to assistant director of player personnel and college scouting director James Liipfert, the Texans don’t see all season-ending injuries to college players as equal.
“I think that’s an extremely case-by-case thing,” Liipfert said. “Not all season-ending injuries are the same. A guy could have torn his ACL in Week 2 or a guy could have broken his pinky finger in Week 12. They were both season-ending injuries.”
Liipfert provided that what helps their case determination is the Texans’ medical staff, who he referred to as “a bunch of rockstars,” and are consistent with their information on prospects.
“We have really good meetings with them,” said Liipfert. “It’s a constant flow of information, sending them information, getting their thoughts. They have their grading process on how we look at guys. I would say you’re not scared of it, but ultimately you need to have conviction to when is the guy going to be ready and what are you going to get out of this guy when he is ready to go. As long as you have the information, that’s all that matters.”
One name that the Texans have been linked to in mock drafts at No. 12 overall is USC wideout Jordan Addison, who completed his final season after 11 games due to an ankle injury.
