CJ Stroud Asked The Houston Texans To Make One Draft Pick

Houston Texans QB CJ Stroud

Getty Image / Scott Winters


Heading into the NFL Draft last week there was a ton of speculation about what the Houston Texans would do with the second overall pick.

While CJ Stroud seemed like the obvious pick, there were a number of reports that they could go with Will Anderson instead and he was actually the betting favorite to be the pick.

The ended up going with Stroud before trading up to pick 3 to get Anderson anyway.

While that seemed to be the end of the story during the draft, it turns out that the Texans’ decision to take Stroud may have actually impacted one of their picks later in the draft.

In the 3rd round of the draft, the Texans made Tank Dell the 69th overall pick.

This week, Dell revealed to KPRC 2 Houston’s Chancellor Johnson that he reached out to Stroud during the draft to tell the Texans to draft him. Stroud then told the Texans he wanted Dell.

Heading into the draft, the QB-WR pairing fans would have expected if Stroud requested one would have been him and Jaxon Smith-Njigba as the Texans owned the 12th pick.

The trade to pick 3 meant that was no longer a possibility, but the Houston Texans did still manage to get Stroud a receiver who has had a strong last couple of seasons.

During his last 2 years at the University of Houston, Dell racked up an impressive 199 catches for 2727 yards and 29 touchdowns.

With Brandin Cooks now playing for the Dallas Cowboys, Dell will have an opportunity to carve out a nice role for himself right from the start of his career alongside Nico Collins and the returning John Metchie.

It looks like he has CJ Stroud to thank for that chance.