Texans had at least two players above C.J. Stroud on draft board

Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback C.J. Stroud was not the top-ranked player on the Houston Texans' overall draft board on April 27. 

ESPN NFL insider Kevin Seifert reported for a piece published Thursday that Houston had both Alabama Crimson Tide pass-rusher Will Anderson Jr. and Alabama signal-caller Bryce Young rated higher than Stroud. 

Seifert wrote that the Texans weren't sure what they were going to do with the No. 2 pick "two hours before" the draft started, in part because "Anderson was the top-rated player on the Texans' draft board for most of the offseason -- ahead of Young, Stroud and every other quarterback available." 

Seifert also said that "Stroud was the team's next-highest-ranked quarterback after Young." 

It's now known that the Carolina Panthers were never passing on Young with the draft's top pick. According to Seifert, Houston elected to take Stroud second over Anderson because general manager Nick Caserio was "concerned the Tennessee Titans could trade up from No. 11 to No. 3" to grab the Ohio State quarterback. 

Tennessee was routinely linked in rumors and mock drafts with Stroud throughout the spring. Titans head coach Mike Vrabel is a former Ohio State player and coach, and Tennessee veteran quarterback Ryan Tannehill is in the final year of his contract. However, it's thought some teams dropped Stroud on their draft boards after he reportedly posted a poor score in the S2 Cognition Test. 

Shortly after the Texans acquired Stroud, they sent the Arizona Cardinals overall pick No. 12 and choice No. 33 in this year's draft along with first- and third-round selections in 2024 to move up in the draft order to No. 3. Houston then happily landed Anderson.

Per Darren Urban of the Cardinals' website, Houston also received overall pick No. 105 this year from Arizona. 

The Texans didn't know when they completed the trade with the Cardinals that Kentucky Wildcats product Will Levis would slide to No. 12 and, ultimately, all the way to the draft's second round. Only time will tell if Houston would've been better off with Anderson at No. 2 and Levis later in the process.