The No. 2 overall pick is becoming more of a mystery as the 2023 NFL draft draws closer.
The Houston Texans were thought to go with a quarterback after the Carolina Panthers kick off the draft Thursday night in Kansas City. However, with the equally quarterback-needy Panthers seeking to take Alabama’s Bryce Young, who the Texans also coveted throughout the process, Houston may go best player available rather than cram the next best signal caller into that selection.
According to Sam Monson from Pro Football Focus, if the Texans don’t take a quarterback with the second overall pick, it will come with a great risk.
One of the biggest questions of the draft is whether the Texans are really considering not drafting a quarterback at No. 2 overall. Whatever the motivation behind the decision, choosing to roll the dice with a current quarterback depth chart of Davis Mills, Case Keenum and E.J. Perry would be a wild gamble. There are cases to be made for targeting the 2024 draft, in an effort to secure Will Anderson Jr. as well as a quarterback, but this would be playing with fire.
General manager Nick Caserio told reporters April 17 seemed to indicate that the most important part of a team winning games is how they are able to work with situation football.
“How you play on Sunday is a product of how you handle situational football,” Caserio said. “How you handle situational football is a product of who is on your team and do the players on the field understand what’s important. So regardless of the team, regardless of who is coaching, those aren’t going to change. Philosophically how you get to that point could be different. Each team will approach it a little bit differently.”
Going with best player available over a quarterback because it is better for the Texans’ situational football will be a tough sell to a fan base that thought the team’s quarterback woes would be corrected this offseason.
