ESPN: Insiders Feel Texans Drafted Stroud to 'Water Down' Cardinals Trade Value at 3

The Houston Texans had one of the boldest strategies seen in some time during the first round of the 2023 NFL draft.

The organization grabbed their quarterback of the future in C.J. Stroud at No. 2 overall, then traded back into the top three with the Arizona Cardinals to get Will Anderson Jr., who was considered the best defensive prospect in this class.

But general manager Nick Caserio may have had an interesting strategy in how he went about making the move, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.

"Theories abound about how Houston maneuvered the top of the draft to acquire C.J. Stroud and Will Anderson Jr., and here's one that was brewing in the green room on Day 1: The Texans, in their efforts to get Anderson, took the quarterback first to water down Arizona's options to trade out of the third pick, thus neutralizing teams that might have wanted Stroud.

"That way, GM Nick Caserio could at least try to get a better deal at No. 3 while saving face with the QB of the future and making first-year head coach DeMeco Ryans happy with a cornerstone defensive player."

While it was a pretty good thought process from Caserio, the Texans still gave up quite a bit to move up nine spots. Houston gave up the No. 12 and No. 33 picks in 2023 and their first-round and third-round picks next year to get a non-quarterback.

But if both players end up panning out, it'd be all worth it.

Stroud and Anderson were among the best players in college football over the last few seasons, playing for Ohio State and Alabama, respectively. Stroud was a two-time Heisman finalist and ended his career as one of the most prolific passers in Buckeyes history.

In his junior season, he threw for 3,688 yards with 41 touchdowns and just six interceptions while completing 66.3 percent of his passes.

Meanwhile, Anderson—the Chuck Bednarik Award winner in 2022—racked up 204 tackles, 58.5 tackles for loss and 34.5 sacks during his three seasons with the Crimson Tide.