Texans Land Georgia Star Tight End Brock Bowers in 2024 NFL Mock Draft
The Houston Texans traded their own first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft for the right to move up and select pass rusher Will Anderson Jr. in April. But while that likely will prevent them from being able to select Ohio State receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., a new mock draft still has the Texans securing an exciting target for quarterback C.J. Stroud.
The Texans won't have their own first-round pick, but they will have the Cleveland Browns, thanks to the Deshaun Watson trade. In his latest 2024 NFL Mock Draft, Matt Miller of ESPN projects that the Texans -- via the Browns -- will have the No. 17 overall pick and use it on Georgia tight end Brock Bowers.
"He's so much fun to watch, but he's not that big, and he probably won't wow in testing like a Kyle Pitts," a front-office exec with an AFC team told me. "But my gosh, he's a football player. He'll be a Pro Bowler for a while."
Across his first two seasons at Georgia, Bowers has caught 119 passes for 1,824 yards and 20 touchdowns. He, of course, has helped the Bulldogs win back-to-back College Football Playoff National Championships over that period, so he comes from a pedigree of winning.
The Texans did sign veteran tight end Dalton Schultz this offseason, as he'll join a young offense after five seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. If Schultz regains the form he showed in 2021 -- when he caught 78 passes for 808 yards and eight touchdowns -- the Texans may very well want to keep the 27-year-old around for the long haul.
But he only signed for one season, and frankly, isn't a dominant enough tight end to keep you from drafting a player that you believe has star potential at the same position.
With Watson for a full season, the Browns are one of the more interesting teams in the NFL this season. If he is able to reach the heights individually that he did with the Texans, the Browns are going to be a problem in 2023.
If not, though, the Browns could very easily finish in fourth in a stacked AFC North, and the Texans could land a pick even higher than No. 17.
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