Huddle up! With the NFL Draft on Thursday, here are three key questions surrounding the pro and the college teams in the state.
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Would the Texans dare pass on a QB with No. 2 pick?
For much of the time leading up to the draft, the debate as been whether the Houston Texans prefer Bryce Young or C.J. Stroud as a quarterback to take with the No. 2 overall selection. Not that it matters much, because with the Carolina Panthers having the first selection, Houston would have no choice but to take whichever player the Panthers don’t.
However, a new and perhaps more intriguing debate has also popped up. Will Houston simply NOT draft a quarterback at No. 2?
There are some logical arguments for bypassing a quarterback.
One, Alabama linebacker Will Anderson might be a generational pass rusher, and bringing him in could be a boon for the franchise’s defense for years to come.
Two, if the Texans aren’t fully in love with Stroud or Young, another quarterback could be available to draft at No. 12 with their second first-round pick.
Finally, Houston can just choose to not draft a quarterback at all, ride it out in 2023 with Davis Mills or whoever else, and try to be in position to draft one out of what looks to be a better crop of quarterbacks in 2024 (Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, Michael Penix, etc.).
After months of debate, we’ll finally see what general manager Nick Caserio decides to do on Thursday.
How much of a chance is there that Bijan Robinson will fall to the Cowboys at No. 26?
There doesn’t seem to be much debate that Bijan Robinson of Texas will be the first running back taken off of the board.
The big question will be where he is taken, and whether he could possibly fall to the Dallas Cowboys at pick No. 26.
That would be the dream scenario for the Cowboys, who can then grab Robinson and plug him in to be Ezekiel Elliott’s replacement for maybe the next decade.
According to a lot of mock drafts, Robinson won’t fall that far and that the Cowboys should keep dreaming.
However, with the running back position more devalued seemingly each year, is a team actually going to spend a pick in the teens or early 20s on Robinson?
Dallas fans only hope that won’t be the case, or that a Cowboys franchise that loves stars like Robinson tries to trade up for him.
Where will Max Duggan get drafted?
The TCU quarterback certainly won the hearts of many around the state and nation when he unexpectedly helped the Horned Frogs advance to the national championship game, and earned a spot in New York City as a Heisman Trophy finalist.
But how much of his toughness and grit displayed in college will translate into the NFL? Duggan’s speed can likely play in the NFL, but he’ll have a lot of work to do when it comes to other intangibles, such as size, arm strength and decision-making.
At the moment, Duggan projects as a mid-to-late-round pick and will do good to make a roster as a backup heading into next season.