HOUSTON — When Nick Caserio traded quarterback Deshaun Watson to the Cleveland Browns in the 2022 offseason, the Houston Texans’ general manager wanted to use the trade to “put together a foundation.”
Fast forward two years and the draft picks that the trade yielded helped the Texans capture the AFC South title last season with their young nucleus. Offensive Rookie of the Year and Pro Bowler C.J. Stroud might not have been a direct result of the trade, but when the Texans sent shockwaves through the NFL with their 2023 draft-day trade — announced moments after they took Stroud with the No. 2 pick — they used assets from the Browns trade to take defensive end Will Anderson Jr. at No. 3.
“Moving into the future and next year, we like where we are with the young nucleus of guys that we have,” DeMeco Ryans said coming off his first year as a head coach. “I feel like we have a good group to build off of.”
The Browns sent the Texans their 2022, 2023 and 2024 first-round picks, a 2022 fourth-round pick, a third-round pick in 2023 and a fourth-round pick in 2024.
Caserio noted that the potential looked “good on paper” but understood the organization had to “maximize the opportunity.”
So far, the 2023 draft has seen the biggest dividends. Anderson was named the Defensive Rookie of the Year, and he and Stroud joined Jerome Mathis (2005) and Brian Cushing (2009) as the only Texans rookies to be named Pro Bowlers. Caserio sent the Browns’ 2023 first-round pick (No. 12), their own second-round pick and their 2024 first-round pick (No. 27) to acquire the No. 3 pick from the Arizona Cardinals to select Anderson. Through two drafts, Anderson is the lone Pro Bowler after finishing with 7 sacks, 10 tackles for loss, 22 quarterback hits and ranking third in pass rush win rate (25.8%).
