Houston Texans general manager Nick Caserio previously said the club was “open for business” when it came to the No. 3 overall pick.
Two months later, the AFC South club still has the same mentality of being flexible with the third overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft, even after the club completed the Deshaun Watson trade and landed three first-round picks.
“We’ll look at everything,” Caserio told reporters on March 19. “Again, it goes back to what are you moving away from and what would you get in return. Even though we did a trade yesterday, the thought process isn’t necessarily any different when you get into the draft. What’s the cost associated with that trade? What are you actually going to get in return? Does it make sense for where you are at the present time? If it does, go ahead and do it, if it doesn’t go ahead and pick.”
Trading just to trade may not make much sense for the Texans in the 2022 draft as it isn’t a quarterback heavy field, and the only two teams in the top-10 that need quarterbacks are the Carolina Panthers (No. 6 overall) and the Seattle Seahawks (No. 9 overall). If the Seahawks wanted to leap the Panthers for the best quarterback in the class, they would make a deal with the New York Giants at No. 5 overall, not give up even more capital to take the Texans’ pick at No. 3.
Houston also has the 13th overall pick thanks to the Watson trade with the Cleveland Browns. Even so, that pick may be too far after the quarterback-needy teams to warrant any type of trade.
Nevertheless Caserio is ready at both of Houston’s picks for whatever the board presents.
“You always have to be prepared to pick a player regardless of position,” said Caserio. “We’ll be ready to pick a player whenever that is.”