The Houston Texans appeared to make a redundant selection in Round 6 of the 2023 NFL draft.
The Texans picked former Notre Dame center Jarrett Patterson, even though they took Penn State center Juice Scruggs in Round 2 — trading up for the former Nittany Lion, no less.
What the Texans like about Patterson is his versatility, not just his experience as a center, both of which were on display at the Senior Bowl.
“Let’s say he and Juice are kind of similar, but they’re kind of different,” Caserio said. “Gives us a little depth and maybe some versatility inside.”
Scruggs and Patterson have played at both guard positions and center.
“In the case of Scruggs, center to guard, he can potentially play all three,” said Caserio. “Patterson has played all three. He started at center, I want to say in ’21 or whatever year it was, then he started at guard. He’s done both. Essentially it says he can play all three positions. How does he fare relative to someone else inside? When you’re taking seven to eight offensive linemen into the game, the ability to do multiple is going to enhance that player’s overall value.”
The Texans have three interior offensive linemen on the roster with Jimmy Morrissey, Michael Deiter and Scott Quessenberry, who started 16 games for Houston last year. Houston is also counting on starter-level contributions from Shaq Mason and Kenyon Green at guard.
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