Do Texans Have Top 2023 NFL Draft Class?

As the 2023 season winds down, has any team gotten a better return on their 2023 NFL Draft class than the Houston Texans?

After winning just 11 games between 2020-2022, the Houston Texans will enter the final weekend of the 2023 regular season with a chance to make the playoffs. 

While first-year coach DeMeco Ryans has done a tremendous job, it's the rookie class that he and general manager Nick Caserio put together that has the Texans at 9-7. 

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So do the Texans have the best rookie class this season? NFL Media's Bucky Brooks recently ranked the top five classes thus far, and the Texans came in at No. 2. The only team above them is the Detroit Lions, who have a rookie class that includes tight end Sam LaPorta, running back Jahmyr Gibbs, safety Brian Branch and linebacker Jack Campbell. Detroit is 11-5 and has won their division for the first time since 1993. 

However, there's something to be said for figuring out the most important position, and the Texans appear to have done that. Quarterback C.J. Stroud, the No. 2 overall pick, is probably going to win Offensive Rookie of the Year. 

A pick later, the Texans selected pass rusher Will Anderson Jr., who has recorded 44 combined tackles, 22 quarterback hits, 10 tackles for a loss and seven sacks. 

Third-round pick Tank Dell is out for the season with left fibula fracture that he sustained in early December, but the rookie wideout had 47 catches for 709 yards and seven touchdowns before his injury. So far, this looks like a franchise-altering draft class. 

Does C.J. Stroud Need Texans Playoff Berth To Lock Up Offensive Rookie of the Year?

Of course, the Texans now won't have a first-round pick in 2024, because they traded it to the Arizona Cardinals to move up and select Anderson. At the time of the trade, it looked like the Texans had traded a future top-five pick.

But because of the success Anderson has helped the Texans have this season, the Cardinals are on track to have the No. 17 overall pick. Would they have gotten a better player than Anderson with that pick? It's not impossible -- Dallas Cowboys star receiver CeeDee Lamb was taken 17th in the 2020 NFL Draft -- but probably not. 

And again, if the Texans found their franchise quarterback -- which it seems they have -- the 2023 NFL Draft class will be considered a resounding success, regardless of how the rest plays out.