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After the Carolina Panthers traded for the No. 1 pick, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that they would select either C.J. Stroud or Bryce Young with the top pick and the Houston Texans would draft whoever was left out of the two. That might not be the case. ESPN’s Matt Miller recently reported that the Texans only have eyes for Young with the No. 2 pick and wouldn’t want to use the pick on any of the other quarterbacks.
This could be good news for the Las Vegas Raiders. Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that the team has the most interest in either Young or Stroud. If the Texans no longer take Stroud, that leaves the door open for the Raiders to trade up and get him.
“There is a smokescreen that goes on and we get that. So you can’t 100 percent buy into something. There is always a little bit of caution involved, but … I know that they really like Bryce Young,” Bonsignore said on the “Morning Tailgate with Clay Baker,” via Raiders Beat.
“I think that’s who they would have ultimately taken had they gotten that No. 1 pick,” Bonsignore continued. “That’s just my feeling based on certain conversations and things like that … but I think there’s two guys, Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud, that they would probably draft [in the early part of the first round].”
Will Raiders Go After Stroud Now?
It’s important to note that teams often lie or feed false information to the press this time of year. It doesn’t help the Texans for teams to know who they’re going to pick but it does help them to make teams think they’re going to make a move they don’t plan to. Houston needs a quarterback badly and deciding against adding one at No. 2 would be a bold move. The Texans did hire a defensive coach in DeMeco Ryans this offseason so he could prefer the idea of building a great defense before solving the quarterback issue.
If the Texans don’t take a quarterback at No. 2, the Arizona Cardinals become a major team to watch. Every team that may have wanted to draft Stroud but thought he was a lock to go to Houston would now have a chance at him, including the Raiders. If the momentum keeps building that the Texans are going to go defense at No. 2, expect Las Vegas to at least open trade talks with the Cardinals about a move to get Stroud.
Fans Already Predicting Stroud to Raiders
Stroud is perhaps the best fit in Josh McDaniels’ offense out of any quarterback in the class. He’s smart, poised in the pocket and deadly accurate. Those are all things the coach values highly. Many fans had given up on the dream of adding Stroud but it’s now becoming more realistic. Fans are already predicting for the quarterback to end up in Las Vegas.
It’s impossible to know for sure if the Texans will pass on Stroud or if the Raiders are actually interested in him. However, Houston passing on the quarterback only helps Las Vegas if they are in the quarterback business. The draft should be very interesting for the Raiders.
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