With the No. 2 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft and a considerable need under center, the Houston Texans are primed to draft a quarterback in the hope that he becomes the face of the franchise for the next decade. Whether that’s Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud, Will Levis, or Anthony Richardson, the Texans are likely to be setting themselves up for a franchise altering draft.
Whichever quarterback steps into the picture in Houston is going to be tasked with leading the Texans out of the AFC South basement. A fixture they occupied in 2022 for the first time since 2013. Things haven’t always been rosy for the Texans, though. They have just 11 wins in the last three years and one of the most talent-deficient rosters in the league. But hiring DeMeco Ryans as the new head coach is as big a first step as any. The former 49ers’ defensive coordinator was one of the hottest head coach candidates of the cycle and landing with his former team is an excellent fit.
Rookie quarterbacks aren’t expected to walk into the NFL and light the league on fire. Expectations are high for players drafted at the top of the first round, but their impact is always taken with a grain of salt in the early years. That isn’t because the talent isn’t real, just that adjusting to life in the NFL at the game’s most important position isn’t an easy learning curve.
It doesn’t help that most rookies are being drafted to almost inhospitable conditions. Maybe that’s an over-exaggeration, but the teams picking at the top of the draft are there for a reason: they’re not very good. That means there’s usually a lack of weapons and a turnstile offensive line at their disposal. Sometimes, teams are so desperate to get their franchise quarterback that they’ll throw him to the wolves while still trying to build the pieces around them.
Ryans and the Texans are operating differently, though. They’re building the foundations of a strong offensive line before bringing a rookie quarterback into the fold. Some of it is by luck and what past regimes left for them, but some of it is by design.
The bones of a good offensive line were already in place. The Texans are stronger at the starting tackle positions than most NFL teams with franchise left tackle Laremy Tunsil and the ever-improving Tytus Howard solidifying the edge. As strong as they are, things have been rocky with Tunsil recently. His name has consistently come up in trade talks and his strong 2022 season where he reasserted himself as one of the premiere left tackles in the league did little to dampen the market.
Instead of trading Tunsil to a contender, the Texans opted to extend him, giving him a monster three-year $75 million contract with $60 million in guaranteed money – making him the highest paid offensive tackle in NFL history. If and when the Texans draft a quarterback, Tunsil’s deal would coincide perfectly in tandem with the rookie contract, giving the Texans a good avenue to continue to improve the roster. Between now and the end of the season, the Texans are also going to have to give Howard an extension as he enters the final year of his rookie deal.
With the tackle spots already assured, concentrating on the interior of the line has been the priority for the Texans. They already drafted Kenyon Green with the No. 15 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft with the hope that he’s the stable presence at left guard that they’ve been searching for. So far that hasn’t been the case, as Green struggled mightily in his rookie season, giving up the fourth-most pressures among all offensive guards in the league.
That’s not so surprising. It takes more than just a year for a player to find their feet, especially on the offensive line. So while his rookie season looked a little ugly at times, it’s not a reason to eulogise his potential. Green can still be a hit, but it might take time – and the Texans have enough time to be patient.
However, while patience is on the menu, the Texans are still pushing to make the offensive line good in the present. After all, protecting your franchise quarterback is generally a good thing. They set the table by locking up the other guard spot and trading for Shaq Mason from the Buccaneers. Mason has been an elite guard in the NFL for close to a decade now, and even though he’s close to 30 years old he still has plenty left in the tank. The Buccaneers just had to shed some cap and begin building for the future. The Texans were happy to oblige.
So now, heading into the draft, the Texans are sitting pretty with 3 of their 5 starting offensive line roles filled with great players, with Green still having the potential to blossom into a good starter. That just leaves the center position. They previously signed Michael Dieter in free agency, but that feels more like a depth move than anything. However, drafting someone like John Michael Schmitz or Luke Wypler on Day 2 isn’t out of the question. Both have the chance to be good starting centers in the NFL – especially Schmitz.
It’s hypothetical, but putting that offensive line together feels good. It looks good on paper. Paper doesn’t always translate to success but there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic. Having Young or Stroud step behind that offensive line will have Ryans and his coaching staff feeling a lot more confident about seeing one of those guys take strides in their first season. Rookie quarterbacks don’t often get the chance to play behind competent lines.
There might not be a number to quantify how important that can be. But allowing them more protection, more time to process and identify coverages post-snap, and just giving them more confidence can lead to better play early on. That’s clearly the thought process here with the Texans.
More specifically, protection might be even more important for either Stroud or Young, but both for different reasons. For Young, it comes with the nature of his size. At 5-foot-10 and 204lbs, he’s one of the smallest quarterbacks on record and, for that reason, you don’t want him to be taking hits too often. It’s a different reason for Stroud. He’s a pure passer, maybe the best passer in the class, but his ability to create plays off script is still a work in progress. He showed that he can do it against Georgia, but it’s still rare and he’s prone to struggling under pressure. Let him work behind a strong offensive line and you’ll see results.
Whoever the Texans decide to take at No. 2 overall, they’re building a strong offensive line to give their guy the chance to grow early on. It’s smart team-building, even if they still need weapons for the quarterback – but that’s a conversation for another day.
-Thomas Valentine
Twitter: @tvalentinesport
Photo: Ed Schipul. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.