Houston Texans trade up for Will Anderson Jr. after landing QB C.J. Stroud in NFL draft
The Houston Texans finally got their quarterback after all – and arguably the top defender on the board.
Amid widespread speculation that the team could opt against selecting a signal-caller with the No. 2 selection in the NFL draft, the Texans chose Ohio State's C.J. Stroud with the pick on Thursday.
Yet Houston followed that move by trading with the Arizona Cardinals to move up for the No. 3 slot for Alabama pass rusher Will Anderson Jr.
The Texans gave up their additional first-round pick (No. 12 overall) to the Cardinals and as well as the No. 33 overall selection in this year’s draft. They also parted with a first-round pick in 2024 and a 2024 third-rounder. Houston added a fourth-round pick (No. 105) in this draft.
In the days leading up to the draft, the Texans were tied to the top edge rushers – Alabama's Will Anderson Jr. and Texas Tech's Tyree Wilson – with their initial pick. Instead, they opted to make a long-awaited major investment behind center two years after the franchise's falling out with former star quarterback Deshaun Watson, who was traded last March to the Cleveland Browns.
Throughout the pre-draft process, neither Texans general manager Nick Caserio nor first-year head coach DeMeco Ryans committed to using either first-rounder on a quarterback. Ryans, however, teased the possibility in April.
"We have a really good, to a couple of good, quarterback prospects at the top of the draft," Ryans said, "and we want to add a young quarterback to our team. We think that will be the right thing to do for our team. We feel like we have a good nucleus of players. I still want to add some competition to that quarterback position, and this year, there's two good guys at the top that we've looked at and that we value pretty highly. So we're excited about the draft to be at that No. 2 spot."
At Ohio State, Stroud enjoyed a prolific two-year run, throwing for 8,123 yards and 85 touchdowns while compiling a 21-4 record. In 2022, he led the Football Bowl Subdivision in quarterback rating (177.7) and was named a Heisman Trophy finalist. He engineered arguably the best performance of his career (348 yards, four touchdowns) in the College Football Playoff to nearly lead Ohio State to an upset over eventual national champion Georgia.
“I think I’m a playmaker," Stroud said at the NFL scouting combine. "I think I’m very creative and I think I’m smart when it comes to protections and things like that. Because I saw a lot of issues before they were even there. That’s something I pride myself on.
"One thing about me, I think I’m a ball placement specialist. That’s one thing, I like to be very accurate. I don’t want my receivers to have to do anything but catch the ball. I think I’ve shown that time and time on film.”
On Wednesday, Stroud pushed back after reports indicated he had scored low on the S2 cognitive test, which is designed to measure how quickly a player can processes information.
"I know I can process very well and I know I’m very smart," Stroud told reporters at a pre-draft community service event. "You can’t play at Ohio State and not be smart, and for the people — for the S2 test, it is what it is. It happened and I’m willing to stick up and I don’t have no excuses. I know what I can do on that field, though."
Anderson became Alabama's first-ever two-time unanimous All-American. He was ranked by many services, including USA TODAY Sports, as the best player in the draft.
The Texans finished 3-13-1 last season, narrowly missing out on the top pick in the final weekend. Houston's win over the Indianapolis Colts in the finale helped propel the Chicago Bears to the top slot.
The Bears later traded the No. 1 pick to the Carolina Panthers, who took Alabama quarterback Bryce Young to begin the draft Thursday.
Stroud looks poised to take the reins from Davis Mills, the 2021 third-round pick who started 26 games in the last two years.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Texans trade up for Will Anderson after QB pick in NFL draft
