The Houston Texans may not be in the market for a quarterback, but a fraction of NFL teams are and may pull the lever in the first round to address the need.
According to Adam Schefter from ESPN, Liberty quarterback Malik Willis, who arguably is the top signal caller in the draft, has interviews scheduled next week with the Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons. The Panthers are slated to pick No. 6 overall in Round 1 while the Falcons, their NFC South rivals, are scheduled to pick No. 8 overall.
Adding a little more spice to the situation is the fact Willis has already met with the New York Giants (Nos. 5 and 7), New Orleans Saints (Nos. 16 and 19), Pittsburgh Steelers (No. 20), and Tennessee Titans (No. 26).
How the Texans could be drawn into the Willis conversation is if the Saints, Falcons, Steelers, Titans, and Panthers believe the Giants are going to take Willis. At No. 4 overall, the New York Jets would be in the conversation as they already invested a pick in quarterback with Zach Wilson; the Jets won’t be picking a quarterback this year. That fact may prevent the Texans from truly taking advantage of the hype surrounding Willis.
General manager Nick Caserio previously said the Texans are “open for business” at No. 3 overall, but clarified on March 19 that the team will also look for the best player available.
“We’ll look at everything,” Caserio said. “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.
“You always have to be prepared to pick a player regardless of position. We’ll be ready to pick a player whenever that is.”