DRAFT SZN
Here are the underlying factors heavily influencing Houston Texans draft
Apr 25, 2023, 6:53 pm
The NFL Draft gets started this Thursday night!Composite Getty Image.
Houston Texans’ fans need to remember one thing come Thursday night’s NFL draft.
Back in 2011, you pee’d and moaned and threw up your hands when the Texans announced they were taking a defensive lineman named J.J. Watt with their first pick.
Watt went on to become the greatest and most celebrated player in Texans franchise history. So don’t judge a defensive draft pick by its cover. Even if it’s a cover 4 zone.
With the 2023 draft clock ticking down, it’s still anybody’s guess who the Texans will take with the coveted No. 2 pick. So-called experts are all over the draft board predicting which talented student-athlete will be a Texan next season.
I heard one ESPN analyst said, “only general manager Nick Caserio knows who’ll the Texans’ll will pick.”
And I’m thinking, yeah, right after new head coach DeMeco Ryans tells Caserio who the Texans will pick. It’s Ryans’ show. This week Caserio met with the press and answered questions about the draft sounding like the boys’ lawyer in My Cousin Vinny – the boys’ first lawyer before Vinny Gambini and Mona Lisa Vito show up to save their hides.
Experts’ mock drafts have the Texans taking Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud. They have the Texans taking Alabama defensive All-American Will Anderson. Others go a different direction, like ESPN 97.5 FM host Lance Zierlein, who was the first to zero in on Texas Tech edge rusher Tyree Wilson (with others jumping onboard after Zierlein).
I can’t put too much stock in Zierlein since he’s never been able to explain to me why it would take at least five years for a left offensive tackle to make the switch to right defensive tackle when the positions are about as different as left Twix and right Twix.
However, I have a sneaking suspicion that Zierlein is right about Tyree Wilson. He is what the Texans need, though perhaps not what Texans fans want. You can hear the boos now if Wilson’s name is called.
Other analysts have the Texans trading the No. 2 pick at the last moment, moving down from No. 2 and moving up from No. 12 (their second pick in the first round) in hopes of still capturing a premiere quarterback, fingers crossed, Hendon Hooker of Tennessee. That actually makes so much sense that it would be a shocker if the Texans pull it off. Other scenarios have the Texans pitching a trade with the 49ers for suddenly expendable quarterback Trey Lance. Right now the Texans have quarterbacks Case Keenum and the returning Davis Mills. Cue fans yawning and planning Sundays at home next season.
That’s the most compelling aspect of this draft – what will the Texans do? Anything is possible. It’s been a long time since the Texans were A-block news on SportsCenter.
This week Caesars Sportsbook posted odds on who will be the Texans’ pick at No. 2. They have Kentucky quarterback Will Levis the favorite at -140, followed by Wilson (+275), Anderson (+420) and Stroud (+425).
Yes, defense wins games, but defense doesn’t win fans. You saw all those empty seats last year. Season ticket holders, who already paid for their seats, stayed home. Even the last-minute scalpers on Kirby stopped showing up. I know the NFL announces attendance based on tickets sold – the Texans supposedly drew 67,911 fans per game in 2022. Please hold your laughter until the end. My guess: maybe 22,000 actual fannies in seats.
Last week Taylor Swift, over three nights of concerts at NRG Stadium, possibly filled more seats than the entire Texans 2022 season. Try and shake that off. Swift could have sold twice that many tickets. And that’s with Zierlein having Swift a late fifth-round pick at best.
More than any other team the Texans desperately need to hit a home run in this year’s draft. The team is teetering on irrelevancy. It was former NFL commissioner Bert Bell who said, “On any given Sunday any team can beat any other team.” It’s not so with the Texans.
Forgetting the draft order, the Texans are a team void of any star players or, judging by attendance, any reason to show up for games. That’s why the league almost always schedules the Texans games on a given Sunday afternoon, rarely Monday or Thursday night. One draft pick, if it hits, can change all that.
The first round of the draft will air at 7 p.m. on ABC (Channel 13), ESPN and the NFL Network.
Most Popular
SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome
Listen Live
Nick Chubb didn’t expect to be a Houston Texan. At least, not until he got the call on a quiet Saturday at home and was on a flight the next day. It happened fast — too fast, even, for the four-time Pro Bowler to fully process what it all meant. But now that he’s here, it’s clear this wasn’t a random landing spot. This was a calculated leap, one Chubb had been quietly considering from afar.
The reasons he chose Houston speak volumes not only about where Chubb is in his own career, but where the Texans are as a franchise.
For one, Chubb saw what the rest of the league saw the last two seasons: a young team turning the corner. He admired the Texans from a distance — the culture shift under head coach DeMeco Ryans, the explosive rise of C.J. Stroud, and the physical tone set by players like Joe Mixon. That identity clicked with Chubb. He’d been a fan of Ryans for years, and once he got in the building, everything aligned.
“I came here and saw a bunch of guys who like to work and not talk,” Chubb said. “And I realized I'm a perfect fit.”
As for his health, Chubb isn’t running from the injuries that cost him parts of the past two seasons, he’s owning them. But now, he says, they’re behind him. After a full offseason of training the way he always has — hitting his speed and strength benchmarks — Chubb says he’s feeling the best he has in years. He’s quick to remind people that bouncing back from major injuries, especially the one he suffered in 2023, is rarely a one-year journey. It takes time. He’s given it time.
Then there’s his fit with Mixon. The two aren’t just stylistic complements, they go way back. Same recruiting class, same reputation for running hard, same respect for each other’s games. Chubb remembers dreading matchups against the Bengals in Cleveland, worrying Mixon would take over the game. Now, he sees the opportunity in pairing up. “It’ll be us kinda doing that back-to-back against other defenses,” he said.
He’s also well aware of what C.J. Stroud brings to the table. Chubb watched Stroud nearly dismantle Georgia in the College Football Playoff. Then he saw it again, up close, when Stroud lit up the Browns in the postseason. “He torched us again,” Chubb said. Now, he gets to run alongside him, not against him.
Stroud made a point to welcome Chubb, exchanging numbers and offering support. It may seem like a small thing, but it’s the kind of leadership that helped sell Chubb on the Texans as more than just a good football fit — it’s a good locker room fit, too.
It appears the decision to come to Houston wasn’t part of some master plan. But in retrospect, it makes perfect sense. Chubb is a player with a no-nonsense work ethic, recovering from adversity, looking to write the next chapter of a career that’s far from over. And the Texans? They’re a team on the rise, built around guys who want to do the same.
You can watch the full interview in the video below.
And for those wondering how Joe Mixon feels about Nick Chubb, check out this video from last season. Let's just say he's a fan.
I’ve seen some speculation indicating that Joe Mixon may not be happy the Texans signed Nick Chubb. If that is what you believe, watch this clip from an interview with @greenlight pod last year & get back to me. pic.twitter.com/3vaip85esj
— Houston Stressans (@TexansCommenter) June 11, 2025
*ChatGPT assisted.
___________________________
Looking to get the word out about your business, products, or services? Consider advertising on SportsMap! It's a great way to get in front of Houston sports fans. Click the link below for more information!