I have no idea what the Houston Texans are doing. They traded the 12th pick and the 33rd pick in the 2023 NFL draft, along with a 2024 first and third-round pick just to move up the 3rd pick and select Will Anderson. To be fair, Will Anderson was an absolute monster in college and will likely be a star defensive end. The issue is that they just took C.J. Stroud with the 2nd overall pick and then decided to completely ignore developing an offense around him. It is going to be interesting (horrifying) to see the long-term ramifications for the Houston Texans because of the decisions made in this draft.
FULL HOUSTON DRAFT RESULTS
| Rd. | Pick | Player | Pos. | College |
| 1 | 2 | C.J. Stroud | QB | Ohio State |
| 1 | 3 | Will Anderson Jr. | EDGE | Alabama |
| 2 | 31 | Juice Scruggs | C | Penn State |
| 3 | 6 | Tank Dell | WR | Houston |
| 4 | 7 | Dylan Horton | EDGE | TCU |
| 5 | 32 | Henry To’oTo’o | LB | Alabama |
| 6 | 24 | Jarrett Patterson | C | Notre Dame |
| 6 | 28 | Xavier Hutchinson | WR | Iowa State |
| 7 | 31 | Brandon Hill | SAF | Pittsburgh |
Round 1, Pick 2 Overall: C.J. Stroud, Quarterback, Ohio State (6’3” 214 lbs)
Depth Chart:
QB1: C.J. Stroud
QB2: Davis Mills
QB3: Case Keenum
TALENT
I loved C.J. Stroud’s 2022 season. The man throws a beautiful deep ball and has solid mechanics. Stroud consistently hits his receivers in stride and places the ball in a way that sets up players to succeed. Stroud has an above-average arm, but he doesn’t have a cannon like Josh Allen. He can sling it though and make every NFL throw, which is all that really matters. I love how Stroud throws the ball. His motion just looks effortless and the ball always has some zip on it when it leaves his hand.
Stroud moves very well in the pocket. He also doesn’t really run a lot, even though he clearly has the ability to do so. This is likely a byproduct of the offense Ryan Day runs at Ohio State because Justin Fields wasn’t really considered a runner in college even though he definitely ran a lot more than Stroud. He is not as good a decision-maker as Bryce Young, but Stroud wasn’t that far off. Stroud definitely had a better supporting cast around him than Young did in college, but he can only work with the players he has in front of him, so I find it weird to hold that against him. All I know is that Stroud always seemed to put the guys around him in a position to succeed. He can fit the ball in a tight window, but there were definitely times when he was making questionable decisions.
There has been a lot of debate regarding the merits of C.J. Stroud as an NFL quarterback. The problem is that so much of that conversation seems to be without context. One of the big criticisms I’ve seen for Stroud was his performance in the Northwestern game, where he only threw for 76 yards. Anyone who uses this game as a criticism of Stroud as a quarterback can immediately be dismissed as looking at a stat line and deciding that was good enough to evaluate. The weather for that game had winds ranging from 15 mph to 75 mph as per the national weather report for that day. Saying a quarterback played badly for not throwing in a hurricane is dumb. Worst, it is just bad process because it completely ignores that Stroud also rushed for 79 yards. This was one of two times in 2022 that Stroud rushed for more than 10 yards in a game.
There were only two other games where Stroud threw for under 200 yards in his college career – Tulsa in 2021 and Rutgers in 2022. Ohio State rushed for 577 yards and 8 total touchdowns in those games combined. They also won those games by 21 and 39 points respectively. This is why context matters. Over the past two years, C.J. Stroud has shown himself to be an excellent quarterback prospect. Does he have some things he needs to work on? Yes, but so does everybody entering the NFL. It doesn’t change the fact that Stroud is an excellent quarterback prospect and one I am very excited to watch develop at the NFL level.
2023 OPPORTUNITY
The Texans have seen enough of Davis Mills, which is why they drafted Stroud second overall in the 2023 NFL draft. I expect Stroud to be starting right away in week one because that is what happens when you draft a quarterback in the top five. Nothing more really needs to be said.
2023 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
As I mentioned in the Carolina Panthers Rookie Roundup, only two quarterbacks in the last ten years have finished their rookie seasons as a QB1. It is even less likely that Stroud will make that milestone because of the three quarterbacks taken in the first round this year, Stroud has been put in the worst position to succeed.
The Carolina Panthers signed a bunch of veteran skill position players to help upgrade the offense around Stroud. The Panthers also used their second-round pick to draft Jonathan Mingo, so Young could have a potential game-breaking receiver to develop with him. The Indianapolis Colts have Jonathan Taylor, Michael Pittman, and Alec Pierce to help bring Anthony Richardson along, giving Richardson a bunch of young, proven NFL talent to help him through those rookie rough patches.
The Houston Texans might have the saddest supporting cast of the bunch. I keep hearing that Nico Collins is poised for a breakout third season in fantasy circles, but I need the man to have more than 40 catches and 500 yards in a season before I will consider it. Will C.J. Stroud start? Yes. Will it help your fantasy football team in 2023? Probably not.
TALENT
2023 OPPORTUNITY
2023 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
Round 3, Pick 69 Overall: Nathaniel “Tank” Dell, Wide Receiver, Houston (5’8” 165 lbs)
Depth Chart:
WR1: Robert Woods
WR2: Nico Collins
WR3: John Metchie
WR4: Noah Brown
WR5: Nathaniel Dell
WR6: Xavier Hutchinson
TALENT
Of all the receivers taken in the first three rounds, Nathaniel “Tank” Dell was, by a significant margin, the most confusing of those picks. The Texans just drafted their franchise quarterback and they decided to support him with the smallest receiver in the draft. Tank Dell is tiny. Worse, he has absolutely no strength. Cornerbacks went out of their way in college to jam him and he just fell back five yards.
What is worse is that if you are going to be the smallest guy in your draft class, you need to also be the fastest. Dell is not noticeably faster than other receivers in this class. He accelerates quickly enough and has good change of direction, but against mid-level competition, Dell was not noticeably faster than his competition. I just don’t see a way for him to have sustained success at the NFL level.
2023 OPPORTUNITY
The good news for Tank Dell is that there is nobody ahead of him who could keep him from securing a starting role. Robert Woods looked old last year. Noah Brown only showed flashes once in his career. Nico Collins and John Metchie haven’t proven anything. There is a clear path to receiver targets in this offense.
2023 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
Tank Dell is a weird one to project for the 2023 fantasy football season. There is a ton of opportunity for Tank Dell to get targets in the Texans’ offense. The problem is with his physical makeup it seems highly unlikely that he will be able to stay on the field without exploding into a fine cloud of mist upon first contact with a defender. Dell is undraftable in redraft. On the off chance he does perform, you can just grab him on the waiver wire.
TALENT
2023 OPPORTUNITY
2023 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
Round 6, Pick 205 Overall: Xavier Hutchinson, Wide Receiver, Iowa State (6’2” 203 lbs)
Depth Chart:
WR1: Robert Woods
WR2: Nico Collins
WR3: John Metchie
WR4: Noah Brown
WR4: Nathaniel Dell
WR5: Xavier Hutchinson
TALENT
Xavier Hutchinson certainly looks the part. While he tested well at the combine, his athleticism doesn’t really show up on the field. Hutchinson feels like a poor man’s Deebo Samuel. He has good feet for his size. He has good hands. He just doesn’t have the speed to break away from defenders. Hutchinson has an average first step off the line of scrimmage, but he does have a nice stop/start ability which helps him get good separation. I do like how he comes out of his breaks. Hutchinson is a strong player. He doesn’t shy away from contact and will fight for extra yards. He is a solid and willing blocker. At the NFL level, he feels like he is just a guy.
2023 OPPORTUNITY
Same as with Tank Dell, Xavier Hutchinson is in the very fortunate situation of not having players on the depth chart ahead of him that are significantly better. In a lot of ways, I like his chances of breaking out better. Noah Brown and Nico Collins are the guys most similar in body type to Hutchinson ahead of him on the depth chart, but neither of them has shown me sustained success at the NFL level. It really all depends on how this mediocre wide receiver core performs and who sucks the least.
2023 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
Xavier Hutchinson was a sixth-round pick in the 2023 NFL draft. Unless he has an outstanding training camp, it is safe to assume that he will not be fantasy relevant and will go undrafted in all redraft leagues and probably all but the deepest dynasty leagues.
TALENT
2023 OPPORTUNITY
2023 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
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