Cal McNair insists that neither he nor his wife Hannah had anything to do with the Houston Texans picking Ohio State quarterback CJ Stroud in the NFL draft last month.
The Texans owner, speaking at the Houston Texans Charity Golf Classic Monday, quashed speculation that he and his wife forced the team’s front office to place Stroud 2nd overall.
“Hannah and I don’t make choices. We’ll make it clear there,” McNair said on ESPN. “We have a great group of scouts led by us [general manager] Nick [Caserio] And [director of college scouting] James Lüpfert and they did a lot of work on the draft committee and then they followed that on draft day and they stepped up when they saw the value was there and came back.
The Texans picked Ohio State quarterback CJ Stroud as the #2 pick last month. (David Eulitt/Getty Images)
The Texans picked Stroud with their first draft pick last month in Kansas City. They then dealt the Nos. 12 and 33 picks along with a future first-round pick to the Arizona Cardinals for the No. 3 overall pick, which they used against Alabama defensive end Will Anderson Jr.
It’s not that Texans don’t need Stroud. They had the worst QBR in the league last season while fielding Davis Mills and Kyle Allen. They went into the season 3-13-1. Stroud — who was the second quarterback off the board behind Alabama’s Bryce Young — threw for 3,688 yards and 41 touchdowns for the Buckeyes last season, and he’s a solid option for the Texans to build offense.
And despite the Texans’ struggles over both the past season and the past few years, McNair is pleased with the way things are progressing within the organization.
“I think you just have to look at the roster and I think it’s a better roster this year, very competitive,” McNair said on ESPN. “They want competition sites on the list. So I see a lot of progress. Lots of good things.”