Texans Make Surprise Selection With First Pick of 2023 NFL Draft

We all know the Houston Texans need a new quarterback, but will they take the one everyone assumes they will?

It's hard these days to keep track of who the starting quarterback is for the Houston Texans. 

With Davis Mills once again leading the team - for now - what isn't hard to track is the fact that Houston has a problem. 

(Sorry, couldn't help myself.) 

And it's a quarterback one. 

So, with their path set firmly on the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, it seems destined that Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Bryce Young or Ohio State Buckeyes' CJ Stroud will be headed to the franchise next April. 

But, what if they don't?

This is the exact scenario that unfolds in a recent mock draft from The Draft Network (TDN). 

And the draft-focused site predicts the Texans will select Kentucky Wildcats quarterback Will Levis with the top pick. 

"This team has more holes to address than quarterback," says TDN. "Levis did not have the best season but he has the things you cannot teach...outside of Kentucky's restricting offense, Levis can show his full tool belt at the next level."

In the mock draft, Young ends up the next quarterback off the board, heading to the Carolina Panthers. 

Stroud, meanwhile, slips out of the Top 10 and lands with the Las Vegas Raiders at pick 12. 

But Houston wasn't done, as they have another first-round pick to spend thanks to the trade that sent quarterback Deshaun Watson to the Cleveland Browns. 

"Will Levis as the quarterback to build around has its appeal," TDN says while mocking TCU receiver Quentin Johnston to the Texans later in the first round. "Giving him the most physically-gifted wide receiver in the draft is even better...Johnston is a big, athletic, and explosive receiver...has inside and outside versatility...would be an explosive QB/WR duo."

Not many view Levis as the top quarterback in the upcoming NFL Draft, but adding Johnston to him or any other passer selected would give Texans fans a good reason to have more hope looking into the future.

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