Lions may force Texans to draft Sam Howell with second overall pick

The Houston Texans’ fate could be in the hands of the Detroit Lions and Sam Howell.

How scary does that sound at this present moment? As the Houston Texans are not likely to win another game this season, the Lions may have the ability to decide who Houston selects with the second overall pick.

SideLion Report, our Lions site here on FanSided published an article about how it’s looking more likely that Pittsburgh Panthers quarterback Kenny Pickett is the guy that Detroit wants. FanSided’s own Matt Lombardo detailed how many NFL GMs flew to Heinz Field last Thursday night to see a thrilling overtime win for the Panthers.

If the Lions do end up selecting Pickett with their first overall pick, is Sam Howell the guy that Houston would select? At this point, it’s anybody’s guess given how many scouts and experts have expressed the fact that is one of the lesser-hyped and skilled quarterback classes in some time.

"But, for as dominant as Howell and Pickett have been, at least one NFL personnel director says teams shopping for quarterbacks this year might be sifting through the racks a year too late.“Both of these guys are tier-two guys,” the executive says. “They’re a cut below the top of last year’s class. Howell needs to become more consistent, maybe he’d benefit from staying an extra year.”"

Do the Houston Texans take Sam Howell, or let someone else trade up for him?

When Davis Mills was drafted last season, it was safe to say that he was put into arguably the worst situation for any of the prospective quarterbacks last season. The Texans have seen flashes of greatness from Mills in the New England and Los Angeles (Rams) games, but consistency has been key.

All those other factors that Mills can’t control (offensive line playing poorly, always playing from behind, etc) are taken into account. Who’s to say that Howell doesn’t suffer the same experience as Mills did? The Texans did have representatives at Heinz Field last Thursday:

This opens the door for one avenue of gaining draft capital that hasn’t really been explored yet. Would Nick Caserio, the Texans’ GM actually trade back from the number two spot? There have been 29 times that a team has traded up in the first round to select a quarterback. Most of those instances have been rather recent on top of that fact.

So who’s to say no to getting more high-end draft picks from quarterback-needy teams like the Broncos, Vikings, Steelers, Saints, and even the Seahawks? Maybe not Seattle, but there is leverage with this second pick that could create another first-rounder for Houston to use in this year’s draft or beyond.

This could be an interesting development down the road. Keep your eyes peeled, Texans fans- this could get wild come the week of the draft.