Texans 'Absolutely' Open to Trading No. 3 Pick in 2022 NFL Draft, Nick Caserio Says
January 19, 2022
Houston Texans general manager Nick Caserio said Tuesday he'd consider trading the No. 3 overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft.
Caserio explained his mindset about this year's draft during an appearance on SportsRadio 610 (via Chase Goodbread of NFL.com):
"Absolutely. Always open for business. You never want to limit yourself. I've always been open-minded when it comes to the draft. ... Every team and every individual has a different philosophy. 'We're not gonna trade, we're always going to pick, we're not going to move.' I think we're a little bit more open-minded, progressive thinking, move up and down. And it's not just move to move."
The Texans are coming off a 4-13 season to miss the playoffs for the second consecutive year. They posted a 4-12 mark in 2020.
Houston played the entire campaign without quarterback Deshaun Watson, who remained on the team's active roster but was declared inactive on gamedays amid investigations into 22 civil lawsuits and 10 criminal complaints filed against him by women alleging sexual assault and misconduct.
Rookie third-round pick Davis Mills received a majority of the playing time to fill the void under center, and he put together a solid year, completing 66.8 percent of his throws for 2,664 yards with 16 touchdowns and 10 interceptions across 13 appearances.
In a year without a standout quarterback prospect, the Texans may opt to give Mills another season to prove himself while trying to upgrade their roster in other areas.
Caserio noted on SportsRadio 610 there are several different factors to consider with potentially moving the No. 3 pick:
"Trades, specific to the draft, are always driven by A) player availability, B) where are you moving, what are you moving away from, and then C) what are you getting in return in terms of assets that can potentially fill out the rest of your team. So we're rolling up our sleeves right now, going through that draft process. There's a number of a good players that will be available. Again, we're open for business on anything."
If Thibodeaux and Hutchinson are both off the board by the time Houston is on the clock, the decision will likely come down to taking an offensive tackle or trading the pick.
Alabama's Evan Neal headlines a strong group of tackles and could be the choice if Houston stays put.
The Texans' roster needs quite a bit of work to get back into contention, however, so trading the No. 3 pick for multiple future assets could be the move. At minimum, it sounds like Caserio will do his due diligence in trying to find a trade that can help accelerate the team's rebuild.