Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud proved to be the best quarterback from the 2023 draft and very well could win NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.
He didn’t go No. 1 overall, though, as the Carolina Panther selected Bryce Young with the top pick instead. That left Stroud for the Texans at No. 2 before Houston then traded back up to No. 3 to take defensive end Will Anderson Jr.
ESPN ran a fun exercise where every team effectively had an alternate dimension machine and could see how every rookie would fare in 2023. So in this case, the Panthers took Stroud with the No. 1 overall pick.
If that were to happen, what would the Texans do? Here’s how ESPN predicted the first two rounds of the 2023 draft would have gone if the Panthers drafted Stroud instead of Young.