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Will Anderson Jr. Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Did Texans give up too much in trade for Will Anderson?

By Adam Gretz | Last updated 4/27/23

The Houston Texans made the first big splash of the NFL Draft on Thursday night when they completed a blockbuster trade with the Arizona Cardinals.

That trade moved them from No. 12 to the No. 3 overall pick to select Alabama's Will Anderson, but did they give up too much in that trade, especially given the number of needs the Texans have all over their roster?

The trade for Anderson came just after they selected quarterback C.J. Stroud with the No. 2 overall pick.

To get Anderson the Texans traded the No. 12 pick in 2023 (originally acquired from Cleveland for Deshaun Watson), the No. 33 pick in 2023, a first-round pick in 2024 and a third-round pick in 2024.

Houston also received the No. 105 overall pick from Arizona as part of that trade.

While Texans fans seemed generally excited with the move, not everybody was a fan of the price.

ProFootballTalk's Michael David Smith was especially critical of the move.

I'm sure Texans fans are all kinds of excited right now but ... this was not a smart move. Houston gave up way, way too much to move up for a pass rusher. After getting their QB the Texans needed to add lots of picks, not to give up a boatload for one player.
— Michael David Smith (@MichaelDavSmith) April 28, 2023

That will be the argument against what Houston did here.

The Texans were one of the worst teams in football this past season and have needs everywhere — along the offensive line, at wide receiver and especially on defense. They could have used all of those picks to help plug a lot of those holes. It might not have landed them Anderson, but they could have almost certainly landed some potential starters with the No. 12 and 33 picks.

For most bad teams, the "stand pat and keep the picks" approach probably would have made the most sense, but the Texans were in a unique situation here given the number of picks they have over the next two years and where those picks reside.

They still have two third-round picks in 2023 and had two first-round picks in the 2024 class prior to this deal (also owning Cleveland's pick from the Watson trade). It is not like they are depleting their draft capital or sacrificing their future. They had a lot of flexibility and an opportunity to land two potential franchise-changing talents at two of the most important positions on the field (quarterback and a pass rusher).

How often is a team going to have the opportunity to potentially turn its franchise around while still having a first-round pick the next year? Not often. It cost a lot, but it might be worth it. The Texans saw that chance and went for it.

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