NFL Mock Draft: 3 first round mistakes the Texans can’t afford to make

The Houston Texans hold some of the most power in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft, which is why these mistakes have to be avoided.

Thursday night, the Houston Texans will have an enormous amount of pressure on them. All of the rumors, all of the reports, and all of the social media posts are going to be put to bed. Houston will officially show the world what they’re going to do with that all-important no. 2 overall pick.

General manager Nick Caserio is the only one who knows what the Texans are going to do, but if we bought into a lot of those rumors floating around, we could be tricked into believing Caserio is going to make a monumental mistake.

Houston could be one of the better, more-improved teams around the league after this draft if they play their cards right. But, that suggests Caserio stays level-headed and acts wisely.

Whatever the Texans end up doing in the first round, they cannot and should not make one of these three catastrophic mistakes.

First-round mistakes the Houston Texans must avoid in 2023 NFL Draft: Not drafting a quarterback

There has been a lot of chatter around Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud falling down draft boards, and I can’t help but think of a similar situation for another former Buckeye quarterback.

Two years ago, teams made a similar mistake when Justin Fields saw his name drop down draft boards before getting scooped up at No. 11 by the Chicago Bears.

Make no mistake about it: Stroud is the second-best quarterback in this draft class, and it’s not close. The potential of Anthony Richardson is there. Will Levis is polarizing. But, Stroud is clear and away better than both.

The Texans have a golden opportunity to get their franchise quarterback locked down, right now, and for them to pass on that opportunity would be downright foolish. It is the most important position in all of football, and they cannot afford to not have it taken care of for maybe the next decade.

This is as easy a decision as you can get in the NFL Draft. Houston could pack it in for 2023 already, and go into the season thinking they’re tanking for Caleb Williams, but why not take someone who is going to, more than likely, become a very good starting quarterback in the NFL?

Do the right thing, Nick Caserio, please.