The Houston Texans had an extremely busy Sunday morning making a pair of moves that will greatly impact whatever quarterback they choose with the No. 2 overall pick.
Houston reportedly locked in star left tackle Laremy Tunsil to a three-year contract extension that, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, makes him the highest paid tackle in NFL history. The deal is reportedly worth a total of $75M with $50M in guarantees.
While they were bolstering their offensive line, they finally granted the trade request that wide receiver Brandin Cooks made during this past season and reportedly sent him to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for two draft picks (a 2023 fifth-round pick and a 2024 sixth-round pick).
Cooks had requested a trade during the 2022 season, but the Texans were unable to deal him before the trade deadline.
Cooks caught 57 passes for 699 yards and three touchdowns in 13 games for the Texans this past season.
Houston owns the No. 2 overall pick in the draft and figures to be a prime landing spot for whichever top quarterback the Carolina Panthers do not take with the No. 1 overall pick.
The good news for that quarterback, whether it be Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud, Will Levis, or Anthony Richardson, is that they will have one of the NFL’s best left tackles protecting their blindside, which might be one of the most important things a young quarterback can have.
The bad news is without Cooks they will have one less impact target to throw to. Wide receiver was already a huge weakness for the Texans, but they do also own the No. 12 pick in the draft thanks to the Deshaun Watson trade with the Cleveland Browns. That should be prime position to land one of the top wide receivers in the draft. They also own the No. 33 overall pick in the draft and have five picks in the top-73 selections. That should be enough to help them land some playmakers.
