If we are looking back at various inflection points over the last 12 months, where the rebirth of the Houston Texans back to relevancy was supercharged by a decision or set of decisions made by upper management, the first night of the 2023 NFL Draft might be at the top of the list.
No franchise in recent history transformed their culture more in one night than the Texans did when they drafted QB C.J. Stroud with the second overall pick, and then moments later, traded up to take DE Will Anderson, Jr. with the third overall pick. It was a glorious evening that was a long time coming for diehard Texans fans.
With that as the catalyst, the Texans went on to have a very solid second and third day of the draft weekend, as well, so much so that ESPN.com named the Texans’ rookie class the best in the NFL last week:
The Texans are No. 1 for a simple reason: They found a franchise quarterback. C.J. Stroud had one of the top 10 rookie seasons of the past 25 years despite missing a couple of games with concussion symptoms. But the Texans didn’t stop there.
Third overall selection Will Anderson Jr. finished the regular season with seven sacks and is a Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate. Third-round pick Tank Dell had 47 catches for 709 yards and seven touchdowns before suffering a broken leg in Week 12. And rookies held down the center position all year: At first it was sixth-round pick Jarrett Patterson, then second-round pick Juice Scruggs took over when healthy.
This is a far cry from the period of 2018 through 2021, where the Texans didn’t have a first round pick in three of those years, and in two of them, 2018 and 2021, they didn’t have a first OR second round pick. (In 2020, they used their second round pick on Ross Blacklock, so that’s pretty much like not having a second round pick, too.) Here are a few other thoughts on the Texans’ rookie class and related topics:
Pretty amazing that the first night of the draft actually EXCEEDED the hype.
Literally, as I begin typing this paragraph, this bit of news came down from Aaron Wilson of KPRC Channel 2:
Indeed, those moves were home runs off the personnel bat of Texans Executive Vice President and General Manager, Nick Caserio.
There are at least three other players who could, maybe SHOULD, be starters next season
Stroud and Anderson are the headliners of this rookie class, but there are at least three other draftees in the class who have a chance to start for the team next season. Tank Dell might have been the best rookie wide receiver in football before a broken leg suffered against the Denver Broncos ended his season. Jarrett Patterson, a sixth round pick, was the starting center for half the season, and did a solid job. Second round pick, and would be center, Juice Scruggs, came back midway through the season to start at left guard for the last couple months. All three of these guys could start next season. Two will, for certain, Dell and one of the offensive linemen.
Hopefully, the 2023 class’ sophomore year is better than that of the 2022 draft class
While the 2023 class establishes its foundational roots for this team, the 2022 class is about as star crossed as it gets. Guard Kenyon Green missed the entire season with a shoulder injury, after a dismal rookie season in 2022. The two second round picks, safety Jalen Pitre and wide receiver John Metchie III, were disappointments. Pitre backslid from a solid rookie season, and Metchie, who in his defense was coming off cancer in his rookie season, just couldn’t get open. Finally, running back Dameon Pierce went from the team’s best offensive weapon in 2022 to literally zero offensive snaps in the playoff loss to Baltimore.
Let’s check in on the team who picked ahead of the Texans on the first night, shall we?
That would be the Carolina Panthers, who selected Alabama QB Bryce Young with the first overall pick. Now, before I go throwing shade at the Panthers and mercilessly ridiculing them, I wanted Young for the Texans, but was fine with Stroud at number two. I, like many others, was wrong on that one. Young had one of the worst seasons a quarterback has had in years, with a -1,078 score in the passing DYAR advanced stat, one of the five worst seasons since 1981. Also, Young averaged 4.1 net yards per attempt (includes sack yardage from 62 sacks) during the season. The Panthers are a mess, and unfortunately for them, they gave up their draft pick this spring to get Young. It is the first overall pick in the draft, and it belongs to Chicago.
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