The Texans notoriously lost out on the chance to have the first overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft in the last game of the regular season, beating the Colts in an inconsequential — some would argue pyrrhic — victory.
By beating Indianapolis, the Texans fell back a spot in the draft behind the Bears, costing the franchise and first-year coach DeMeco Ryans their choice of quarterback between Alabama's Bryce Young and Ohio State's C.J. Stroud. But it wasn't the only blunder in the team's attempt to grab the first overall pick.
According to an April 18 report from Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 in Houston, the Texans tried — and failed — to broker an agreement with the Bears to trade positions in the draft. But the two franchises reportedly couldn't agree to terms, again costing Houston the chance to take its preferred choice of Young or Stroud.
Wilson reports trade talks ended over a "disconnect over trade value" and the "premium cost of moving up one spot." Houston had two proposals: The first involved the Bears and Texans swapping places at Nos. 1 and 2, with Chicago also netting Houston's 12th overall pick. The second involved a switch of the top two picks, with Houston adding a 2024 first as well.
TSN's NFL Draft HQ:
Live picks tracker | 7-round mock draft | Top 200 big board
But that was just one part of a series of trades Chicago GM Ryan Poles wanted to make in regard to the first overall pick. After working out a deal with Houston, Poles had a deal in place with Panthers GM Scott Fitterer — as confirmed in an in-depth piece by Panthers.com — to trade the No. 2 pick to Carolina. In return, the Panthers would have sent their No. 9 overall pick, a second-round pick acquired from the 49ers (61st overall), a 2024 first-rounder and receiver D.J. Moore.
"Wednesday afternoon, we were there," Fitterer said (via Panthers.com). "That evening, we kept waiting for, basically for Houston to make a decision. (Owner David Tepper's) calling me because we're waiting for that to happen. And all day Thursday, nothing. And Thursday night, I call Ryan. He's like pacing at his house. He goes, 'I can't sleep. Now I'm sick to my stomach,' because ultimately, he's going to really rack up picks and stuff.
"And then Friday comes, nothing in the morning. I talk to him at noon. He's frustrated. Talk to him again about 2:30 p.m. He's frustrated. And it's kind of like, OK, what's it take then? Take two out. What if we just want to come to one?"
MORE NFL DRAFT:
- Compare final mocks from Mel Kiper, Daniel Jeremiah, Todd McShay, others
- Live NFL Mock Draft 2023: Updated projections, rumors
- TSN 3-round projections for NFL Mock Draft 2023
Ultimately, the cost of moving up another spot and removing the would-be middle man in Houston was incremental: The new deal saw Carolina add only a 2025 second-rounder.
"In my case, I just listen, I just do numbers, right? I can do value," Tepper said (via the Panthers). "I pointed out, in this particular case, I said it will be the cheapest trade-up in the history of the world from two to one, the last increment. Now, it might have been that we were overpaying for everything else.
"I do a lot of trades in my life. That's what I do. I've done OK with it. So the decision was made. And so we all agreed, let's do it, let's go."
With that, the Bears got a suitable trade to move back from the top spot, the Panthers got their preferred pick and, once again, the Texans were left out in the cold.
That botched trade has seemingly become more pronounced in recent weeks. Rumors have swirled that Houston not only preferred Young — the prohibitive favorite to go No. 1 — over Stroud, but also didn't view the latter as being worth a second overall pick. Still more rumors indicated the Texans couldn't find a suitable price to trade back with another QB-needy team, costing the team a chance to at least accrue draft capital.
And so, Houston is widely expected to use the No. 2 pick to draft another Alabama player, EDGE defender Will Anderson Jr., instead of a potential franchise quarterback. That result is as much a failure of former coach Lovie Smith and his staff as it is the front office.
Much to the delight of Bears and Panthers fans everywhere.
