Texans Could Cause an NFL Draft Shakeup, Brock Purdy’s Recovery, and Other NFL Bullets

April 18, 2023, by Patrick K. Flowers NFL

Well, these aren’t quite “morning bullets” at this point. First, I had to pick my son up from school because he wasn’t feeling well when I got home from dropping him off. Then I had to hammer out a post on Damar Hamlin’s return to football activities. Nonetheless, here we go. I saw a tweet last night from Benjamin Solak with two contrasting takes on the No. 2 pick of the NFL Draft from the two most prominent NFL insiders that piqued my interest.

Adam Schefter believes that the Houston Texans are looking to go the non-quarterback route at No. 2. However, Ian Rapoport says that he would be surprised if Houston didn’t take a quarterback with the second overall pick in the draft.

Choose your fighter pic.twitter.com/oedbmeu54C
— Benjamin Solak (@BenjaminSolak) April 17, 2023

Schefter said on NFL Live that he doesn’t think we’re going to see the run on quarterbacks at the top of the draft that we believed we would. According to Schefter, Houston will take a non-quarterback, and the teams rumored to be looking up to No. 3 know it. So that’s allowing them to sit back and wait.

The reason that there is a belief that Houston won’t take a QB stems from recent rumors that the Panthers have zeroed in on Alabama quarterback Bryce Young with the top pick. For a long time, even before the Panthers struck a deal with the Bears last month for the top pick, I’ve believed that the Panthers preferred Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud. That made Bryce Young the apparent fit for Houston at No. 2. Now things at the top of the draft are muddied with just nine days until the Panthers are on the clock.

If Carolina takes Bryce Young, the Texans appear content to select a player at another position. Will Anderson Jr.? or Tyree Wilson? I’m unsure who Houston prefers, although I believe it would be Anderson. Either way, I’m confident they will go with a pass rusher at No. 2 if they don’t take a QB. The question then becomes, will Houston take a QB at 12 or wait until next year to land Caleb Williams?

If Houston passes on a QB at No. 2, there’s a chance that the Cardinals stay at No. 3. They’ll probably take whichever pass rusher the Texans don’t. The Colts would then have their pick of Stroud, Richardson, and Levis at No. 4. Then the QB need becomes pressing for teams once the Titans are on the clock at No. 11. At that point, if I’m Houston, I kick the can on the QB rather than drafting the guy they didn’t want at No. 2 and no one wanted in between.

It’s an interesting thought exercise, but I’m as ready for the NFL Draft as all of you are. I’ve got mock draft and NFL Draft discussion fatigue at this point. But Vegas usually knows:

With Bryce Young a massive favorite to go first, the second pick could shape the entire top-10.

Rumors about Houston trading down, staying and not selecting a QB at 2, and also selecting Levis > Stroud have all been circulating.

All of this uncertainty hurts ARI's trade-down
— Connor Allen (@ConnorAllenNFL) April 17, 2023

Ian Rapoport reported another interesting NFL Draft nugget this morning …

Interesting https://t.co/52uHDDz6ss
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 18, 2023

Que up the Adrian Windhorst “why would he do that?” meme. Why would the Giants spend a pre-draft visit on a QB projected to go in the first or second round when they just handed Daniel Jones a pricey long-term extension? Sure, you can point to due diligence. Still, it doesn’t add up or seem like a good use of their time and resources at this point. But hey, the Giants are gonna Giant.

San Francisco 49ers QB Brock Purdy said on Friday that he was “not really sure” if he would play in 2023. The quote has been making the rounds on social media, without the proper context, of course. However, Purdy also said that the recovery from the surgery to repair his torn UCL was going well and according to plan. In reality, Purdy was saying that he’s not sure whether or not there will be setbacks in his recovery. And, if so, what the timeline would look like.

“It’s going well,” Purdy said of his recovery in an interview with CBS Sports. “Just taking it one day at a time. Just trying to heal up and feel a little bit better every single day, and it’s all gone as planned. Obviously we’re in great communication with the doctors that I’m working with, the Niners, the organization as a whole, everyone’s on the same page and we’re excited for how it’s going. So just taking it one day at a time.”