:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/68758557/1292672999.0.jpg)
The Houston Texans-Deshaun Watson trade saga rumbles on, and as long as Watson is ignoring Nick Caserio’s phone calls, muted Jack Easterby on Twitter, and purged the Texans from his social media accounts, Houston’s quarterback drama is going to be the center of the NFL offseason. With this comes trade packages, and with that, comes new mock drafts where the Texans trade Watson for a high pick and replace him with a young, unknown, rookie quarterback.
In this mock draft from Pro Football Focus, the Texans select BYU’s Zach Wilson after making a trade with the New York Jets to move up to the second pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
2. Houston Texans (from New York): Zach Wilson, BYU
Projected trade: New York Jets trade No. 2 pick to Texans as part of Deshaun Watson trade package
The only change in Watson-related news this past week is that his assumed desire to get out of Houston became official through a trade request. And no team has a more valuable trade asset to offer the Texans than the Jets do in the second overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft. Of course, Watson would have to approve any trade thanks to his no-trade clause, but there is reason to believe New York would have some level of appeal.
The Jets made one of the most well-received head-coaching hires of the offseason when they brought in Robert Saleh from San Francisco; they are also in a position to add pieces to their roster through free agency, as they have over $60 million in projected cap space.
On Houston’s end, they get their choice of quarterback behind Lawrence. It’s a close call between Wilson and Fields, but it’s hard not to be impressed with what Wilson did this past season at BYU. He has special arm talent and has shown the ability to improvise and create outside of structure — two things that have proven to be favorable traits in recent years. Wilson’s 95.5 passing grade led all quarterbacks this past season.
The future is here. The end is near. How about Zach Wilson as Houston’s new franchise quarterback?