When the NFL draft begins later this month, the Texans are widely expected to take a quarterback at No. 2 overall. However, after the Panthers traded up to the No. 1 pick, Houston will likely end up with the second quarterback off the board.
The Texans might be using that to their advantage. According to NFL Network’s James Palmer, Houston has narrowed it down to two possible selections: Alabama’s Bryce Young and Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud.
“The Texans have the mindset right now of ‘Let’s see who gets picked at No. 1 and we’ll take the other guy, because both of them check a lot of boxes,” Palmer said. “It’s really down to the two of them, and they’re evaluating both of them.”
Bryce Young and CJ Stroud. How do the #texans view each of them and what’s their mindset sitting at #2? My report on NFL NOW on @nflnetwork. pic.twitter.com/0XOPq8hK6I
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) April 4, 2023
While Kentucky’s Will Levis and Florida’s Anthony Richardson are potential top 10 picks, neither appear to be in the conversation for Houston. According to Palmer, this is because Young and Stroud have shown qualities in college that Richardson and Levis have not yet at this point in their careers.
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Both Young and Stroud have played in the College Football Playoff for premier programs, even though neither ended up winning a National Championship. It appears that the Texans are looking at those experiences as valuable.
“These two guys have some things that the other two quarterbacks maybe don’t have,” Palmer said. “The first one is experience, that’s valued heavily by DeMeco Ryans and his staff…the leadership factor as well is extremely important to him.”
