Premature declaration? Maybe… but probably not.

Pre-draft rumors had any number of teams looking to trade up to select either Ohio State Buckeye quarterback C.J. Stroud or EDGE Will Anderson Jr. of the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Many rumors had the Houston Texans picking one or the other, or even trading back and collecting more picks.

A select few had the Texans taking Stroud with the #2 overall pick, then pulling off a mega-trade with the Arizona Cardinals to land Anderson Jr..

But Houston Texans braintrust DeMeco Ryans and Nick Caserio did just that.

And the NFL world turned on its ear.

I’ll admit I wasn’t sold on Houston taking Stroud. In fact, I preferred Alabama quarterback Bryce Young, who expectedly went 1st overall to the Carolina Panthers.

But then an odd thing happened.

When NFL commissioner Roger Goodell stepped to the podium to announce the 2nd pick in the draft – after all the booing of Goodell, a trademark of NFL drafts in recent memory, died off – I got excited.

Then, the instant I heard “C” in C.J. Stroud, my excitement went to 11. There was no disappointment that Houston took a guy I wasn’t sold on. There was no apprehension. No disdain. Just pure, distilled joy that our team did a thing. A cool thing.

But, once the graphic of who was on the clock changed to the Cardinals, my heart started racing again – somehow I just felt it in my bones that Caserio and Ryans were going to pull it off and Anderson Jr was coming to H-Town.

Prior to that exact moment, I’d considered the idea that Houston would actually trade up to #3 a fantasy – pipe dream, Madden football silliness that would never happen in real life.

But in that instant, I just knew it was coming.

And, then it happened.

ABC didn’t immediately provide details of the trade, which are still slightly hazy (which 1st round pick did the Texans give up next year?), but I’m totally ok with that.

Now, there’s still a LOT of work to be done, both in the remaining 6 rounds of the 2023 NFL Draft, and for Stroud, Anderson and the coaching staff. However, in this moment, right here, right now, the Texans have won.

It’s been far too long since this team’s fanbase could enjoy this sort of feeling. Soak it up, breath it in, exhale it at work all over any Cowgirl fans you encounter. Remember this day for the rest of your fan-life.

It doesn’t matter what happens today or tomorrow. But even if it did, In Demeco We Trust.

In the meantime:

The Houston Texans Won the 2023 NFL Draft

Houston Texans