QB ROUNDUP

Critical takeaways from Houston Texans meetings with 3 exciting quarterback prospects

Bryce Young, CJ Stroud
Bryce Young, CJ Stroud, and Anthony Richardson all met with Houston. Composite image by Brandon Strange.
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With the NFL Draft Combine in the rearview mirror, speculation season is in full swing on whom the Houston Texans will take at No. 2 in the draft. Multiple people believe Houston will go with a quarterback with its first selection.

Three top quarterback prospects in the 2023 draft not only went through measurements at the combine but also had a chance to speak with the Texans. Here are some takeaways about those potential future playcallers from Indianapolis.

CJ Stroud

The Ohio State Buckeye said he is looking forward to strengthening his relationship with the Texans over the next few weeks. Stroud’s focus during the interviews at the combine with Houston were on his leadership and personality, he said.

Stroud measured in at 6 feet, 3 inches weighing 214 pounds at the combine. He also had an arm measurement of 32.625 inches and an arm size of 10 inches.

When it comes to the play-making portion of the combine, Stroud showed off his arm strength in Indianapolis. The quarterback looked on target and delivered beautiful long balls to receivers.

As the Texans seek a potential franchise quarterback, general manager Nick Caserio and head coach DeMeco Ryans will be looking for a person that can galvanize a group of men, excel at getting others to buy in and fit the culture the team is aiming to create. Learning about a person’s personality is a vital quality to seeing if he is the right fit.

Bryce Young

Young was the lone individual at the combine that had everyone wanting to see his measurements. The Alabama prospect’s height came in at 5-10 1/8 with a weight of 204 pounds. His arm size was 30.5 inches and hand size came in at 9.75 inches.

The reason for the interest in Young’s measurements was because of his height. While he is on the shorter side of the height spectrum for a quarterback, he is considered one of the top prospects in the draft because of the playmaker he was with the Crimson Tide.

Young chose not to participate in any of the skill drills at the NFL Combine. However, he did speak with reporters in Indianapolis. When asked about what his greatest asset is, he responded with leadership.

The young quarterback met with the Texans, and he said he enjoyed his time with Houston and called the staff amazing. In the small window, he picked up wisdom, he added.

Anthony Richardson

Richardson had the most eye-popping combine of all quarterback prospects when it comes to pure athletic talent. The greatest example came from his 40.5 inch vertical jump, which set a combine record for quarterbacks.

Richardson measured in at 6 feet, 4 inches and weighed 244 pounds at the combine. His arm size was 32.75 inches and his hand size was 10.5 inches. He also participated in the throwing sessions at the combine. Similar to Stroud, he dazzled spectators with his arm strength.

Richardson also met with the Houston Texans in Indianapolis, he revealed. While he did not give a lot of specifics, he did call the meeting informative and a time when both sides got to know a little bit about each other.

If you take each quarterback’s words at face value, the conversations between the Texans and the prospects were kind of like the first screening at an everyday job interview. Caserio and Ryans not only looked to learn about football but about each player as a person.

With several weeks until April 27, it will be interesting to see which quarterback gets the edge to potentially be Houston’s No. 1 pick.

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The Cubs beat the Astros, 12-3. Composite Getty Image.

Kyle Tucker launched a three-run homer and matched a season high with four hits against the team that traded him in December, and the Chicago Cubs routed Houston 12-3 on Saturday night to stop the Astros' five-game winning streak.

Tucker also scored four times to pace a Cubs lineup that pounded out 15 hits, including three by Dansby Swanson. Seiya Suzuki, Michael Busch and Nico Hoerner also went deep.

Chicago hit three homers in an inning for the second time this season during a seven-run fourth. Busch and Hoerner had back-to-back solo shots to put the Cubs on top 3-2, and Tucker’s drive made it 7-2.

The offensive outburst came in support of Colin Rea (5-3), who allowed two runs and five hits over five innings. The only blemish on his line was rookie Cam Smith’s two-run homer in the third, which briefly gave the Astros a 2-1 lead.

Smith, part of the package Houston received for Tucker, finished with two hits and has homered in consecutive games for the first time in his career.

Lance McCullers Jr. (1-3) came off the injured list and allowed eight runs on seven hits over 3 1/3 innings.

Isaac Paredes, also part of the Astros' trade return for Tucker, hit his 17th home run.

Key moment

Tucker’s three-run homer in the fourth that put the Cubs ahead 7-2.

Key stat

McCullers has a 10.89 ERA in five home starts this season, but hasn’t allowed an earned run in three road starts.

Up next

Houston LHP Framber Valdez (8-4, 2.88 ERA) opposes RHP Jameson Taillon (7-5, 4.77 ERA) when the series concludes Sunday.

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