Mock drafts represent possibilities, which unto themselves are based upon possibilities not fleshed out in free agency.
For instance, a mock draft that features the Houston Texans taking a receiver at No. 12 overall indicates the club has solved the Brandin Cooks conundrum. Otherwise why would the Texans load up on a highly touted wideout that will command playing time from the beginning? Houston’s receiving corps for 2023 would be effective as is with Cooks, Nico Collins, and possibly John Metchie, who missed his rookie year battling leukemia.
Why would the Texans sign a veteran receiver when they already have a 29-year-old under contract?
According to Ian Rapoport from the NFL Network, the Texans are signing former Titans and Los Angeles Rams wideout Robert Woods to a two-year, $15.25 million contract with $10 million fully guaranteed and a maximum value of $17 million.
Rapoport included the editorial remark of “a new QB’s best friend,” but that was hardly the case for the Titans’ trio of Ryan Tannehill, Malik Willis, and Josh Dobbs. Woods caught 53 passes for 527 yards and two touchdowns through 17 games, 15 of which he started. All three statistics were less than what he produced in his injury-abbreviated nine games with the Rams in 2021.
If Houston’s new quarterback is going to make best friends, it will be with Collins, Metchie, and any possible blue-chip receiver the Texans draft on Days 1-2, not Woods.
However, Woods can still be a veteran presence in the receiver room, pending they find a solution for Cooks, who will cost Houston $26,492,723 in salary cap space, according to Over The Cap.
Playing with Woods and Cooks can also be an option as they were teammates with the Rams from 2018-19. Both of those seasons were the only times Woods got over the 1,000-yard mark. If the Texans were to go that route, it would overcrowd the receiver room to draft a wideout on Days 1-2.
