Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Houston Texans’ DeMeco Ryans Breaks Silence on NFL Draft Trade

Originally posted on Gridiron Heroics | By Matt Lombardo | Last updated 3/27/24

The Houston Texans have aggressively added young talent around former No. 2 overall pick quarterback C.J. Stroud, and are considered one of the Kansas City Chiefs‘ biggest threats to a third straight Super Bowl berth out of the AFC.

However, just over a month before the 2024 NFL Draft, general manager Nick Caserio and the Texans decided to move out of the first round to bolster their war chest in later rounds, by making a trade with the Minnesota Vikings.

DeMeco Ryans Supports Houston Texans Moving Back in NFL Draft

The Texans sent the No. 23 overall pick to the Vikings in exchange for two second-round picks and a fifth-round selection, in a move Houston head coach DeMeco Ryans describes as a value decision.

“There’s a really large amount of players in a second to third, fourth round,” Ryans told reporters at the NFL Annual Meeting in Orlando, adding that the range was viewed as the “sweet spot.”

Theoretically, the Texans can also move back into the first-round should a player fall towards the bottom half of the round that Ryans and general manager Nick Caserio have rated highly on their board.

Likewise, having a pair of second-round picks gives the Texans a chance to add two of the top 64 players in this year’s class to an already young and rapidly ascending roster that is built for sustained success.

This article first appeared on Gridiron Heroics and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: