Texans Dominate Top Of NFL Draft After Bryce Young Goes 1st To Panthers
KANSAS CITY -- After weeks shrouded in mystery and filled with speculation the answer for the biggest question of the 2023 NFL draft turned out to be a monumental moment for the Houston Texans.
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - DECEMBER 31: Bryce Young #9 of the Alabama Crimson Tide was the first pick of the NFL Draft. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
Bryce Young went No. 1 to the Carolina Panthers.
"You can tell there's an energy ," Young said. "There's that will to win and for me, I'm going to do everything I can to work and try to earn the right to try and contribute and try to help the team and accomplish our team goals."
As it should be because he was the highest-rated quarterback prospect in the NFL Draft by multiple teams.
And C.J. Stroud went to the Houston Texans with the second overall pick.
Young, by the way, doesn't see Stroud as his rival but rather someone he's rooting for.
"C.J. is my brother," Young said. "Seeing him selected is a blessing. I know the player he and we all know the player he is, but I know the person as well."
But then Houston general manager Nick Caserio went nuts He traded away two first round picks, one this season and one next, in order to trade to the No. 3 overall spot.
The Texans gave up the No. 12 overall pick, No. 33 overall, a first-round in 2024 and a third-rounder in 2024.
And then the Texans took Alabama edge rusher Will Anderson.
"The rebuild is on it's way," Stroud said of the Texans recent hard times. "We're going to turn this around."
"I'm going to keep doing my thing," Anderson said. "Having a relentless mindset."
That is some heavy lifting. And some great work during the NFL Draft.
As it had to be because the Texans' idea of perhaps picking Alabama's Will Anderson No. 2 and then getting a QB later collapsed early Thursday evening.
The collapse happened when the Tennessee Titans called the Arizona Cardinals in search of a quarterback pick at the No. 3 overall selection, per a source.
It became clear the Texans could not pass on Stroud and somehow get him later in a trade-up from their No. 12 overall selection.
ATLANTA, GA - DECEMBER 31: C.J. Stroud #7 of the Ohio State Buckeyes went No. 2 in the NFL Draft. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
So Stroud, emotional after pick, went No. 2 in the NFL Draft.
And then the Texans got Anderson anyway.
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