The 2023 NFL draft set the record for most trades during the three-day even with 43.
The Houston Texans were the first team to get the ball rolling when they dealt with the Arizona Cardinals to move up to take Alabama defensive end Will Anderson No. 3 overall on Day 1.
By Day 3, the Texans were working with the Philadelphia Eagles with three trades. According to general manager Nick Caserio, the trades the Texans made throughout the weekend was an understanding of other franchises.
“I think you try to have an understanding philosophically about different organizational philosophy, the propensity to maybe move when you make a trade,” Caserio said. “We made the trade with Philly, and Philly made the trade with Detroit as well for a 2050 fourth round pick, or whatever it was for [DeAndre] Swift.”
The Texans were able to make the trades they were thanks to finding willing partners and also advertising themselves as being willing to listen to anything.
“Some teams are, I would say, more willing to move and to be creative than others,” said Caserio. “It’s okay. It just depends whatever your philosophy, whatever floats your boat. I think it’s probably a two-way street. I think anybody that looks at our organization knows that we’re literally open for business probably 24/7. So if there’s a trade or someone to consider, they’re going to pick the phone up and call because we’re going to at least think about it.”
The profiling of teams is part of the draft process. In the final week before the draft, the Texans were making calls to see who would be willing to move up or back in the first round.
Said Caserio: “I would say that’s probably the biggest thing, have an understanding of kind of who’s willing to move, what’s your propensity to move? How often have they done it? Are they less inclined? We actually look at this and study this before the draft. So we kind of do an overview of the decision makers in each organization. We look at the trade history, their draft history, some of the things they’ve done, maybe some of the trades that we’ve executed with them. We even go back to my time in New England dealing with certain teams.”
With a framework in mind of who is willing to be creative and who isn’t, the Texans are able to quickly make trades throughout the draft.
“You kind of know who are those teams, and you kind of know some other teams that are like they literally won’t move or pick up the phone,” said Caserio. “It doesn’t mean it’s right or wrong. It just means that’s what they believe in philosophically. So it kind of gives you an opportunity to be creative in different situations. If it makes sense, you do it. If it doesn’t, you keep them moving.”
The Texans’ nine-man draft class matches their 2022 total, marking the first time since 2013-14 that Houston has had consecutive draft classes with at least nine players.
