Texans Trade for Will Levis, Take Tyree Wilson No. 2 in Lance Zierlein NFL Mock Draft

Buzz about the Houston Texans potentially throwing a curveball at the top of the draft won't quiet down after NFL.com's Lance Zierlein had them taking Texas Tech edge Tyree Wilson with the No. 2 pick in his latest mock draft.

Zierlein noted the Texans "might not be a lock" to take C.J. Stroud if Bryce Young goes No. 1, and having two first-round picks gives them some flexibility to potentially add help along the defensive line early before taking a quarterback.

To get the quarterback, Zierlein has the Texans trading with the Las Vegas Raiders to get the No. 7 overall pick and selecting Kentucky's Will Levis.

The Texans could get creative early in the draft because they have 12 total picks, including five of the top 73 selections, to potentially trade up without having to take away all of their assets as they try to fill out their roster.

Levis' stock looks to be the most uncertain leading up to the draft. The consensus favors Young and Stroud being the top two quarterbacks taken, though the order remains unclear at this point.

Anthony Richardson, who Zierlein has going at No. 14 to the New England Patriots, could move into the top 10 on the strength of his predraft workouts. ESPN's Todd McShay had the Florida standout going third overall to the Indianapolis Colts, who he projects to trade up a spot with the Arizona Cardinals, in his most recent mock draft.

For comparison with Zierlein, McShay has Levis dropping to No. 14 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers trading up to select him.

This is the second time already this week there has at least been the suggestion the Texans might not be locked in on a quarterback at No. 2 overall.

In his Football Morning in America column on Monday, Peter King of The MMQB wrote Houston general manager Nick Caserio is "very conservative" and won't "force" a quarterback at the top of the draft if he's not in love with the options available.

One NFL personnel person told King he could see the Texans going with Alabama edge Will Anderson Jr. with the second pick and "then using his second [first-round pick] and trading back up to get his quarterback."

King did note he's "90 percent on board" with the general consensus that a quarterback will be picked at No. 2, but there is at least a small chance Caserio could try to go in a different direction.

Wilson over Anderson as the top edge defender selected in this draft would be almost as surprising as the Texans passing on a quarterback with their top pick. The Texas Tech star missed the final three games last season with a foot injury that required surgery.

A foot specialist did clear Wilson on March 24, but he won't have a workout for teams until mid-April to give his incision more time to heal.

Anderson had nearly twice as many tackles for loss as Wilson (58.5 to 32) and more than twice as many sacks (34.5 to 17) in their college careers.

B/R's NFL scouting department has Anderson ranked as the No. 1 player in the 2023 class; Wilson is the No. 16 overall player.

All of this could end up being a smokescreen created by the Texans in an effort to drum up trade interest for the second pick, but they might also view this as a unique opportunity to land an impact defensive player for new head coach DeMeco Ryans and get a quarterback later in the first round.