The Houston Texans should look to maximize the Cleveland Browns pick beyond positional need

The Houston Texans did the unthinkable by landing C.J. Stroud and Will Anderson in the 2023 NFL Draft. The team needed a quarterback and a difference maker on defense, and after a few moves that led to the day of, the Texans selected Stroud and Anderson in back-to-back picks, cementing the team's future in the process.

Now, the team is looking at the 2024 season with different expectations, where before the idea was that 2024 would be year two of the rebuild under DeMeco Ryans, but there is no longer that expectation. The expectation now is to fill the holes in the team, improve where it can, and then be the team that competes with the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2024 playoffs.

It's possible, though not without a strong offseason. They'll have money to spend on free agents, and maybe a trade or two but the one place they need to hit with is the draft. Right now everyone who does mock drafts are selecting cornerbacks for the Texans, but if we've seen anything over the years, it's that you can never have too much of any position. Especially skilled positions and the offensive line.

The Texans shouldn't worry about "filling a need" in the 2024 draft, because they have needs at every position. It doesn't matter what we think is the "most pressing", because it's very likely that the team will make some signings ahead of the draft. So instead of super-focusing on a corner, especially when it's likely the team brings back a few of their current free agents at the position, the team should look at their first-round pick as a chance to get the best player available.

The only position the team doesn't need, aside from your special team players, is quarterback. If the best player available when the Texans pick is a wide receiver, take him. If it's a corner, take him. If it's an offensive or defensive lineman, take them. Don't limit yourself to forcing a corner in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft when a linebacker with tremendous talent could do just as well.

There are seven rounds and countless opportunities to improve the secondary, let the first round be about the best available.