Texans owner says he didn’t force team to pick CJ Stroud

HOUSTON — Texans owner Cal McNair said Monday that neither he nor his wife, Hannah, forced the team’s front office to draft Ohio State quarterback CJ Stroud.

“Hannah and I haven’t decided who we’ll pick,” McNair said at the 20th Annual Houston Texans Charity Golf Classic. “We have a great group of scouts led by Nick [Caserio] And James Lippert did a lot of work on the draft board, followed it on draft day, moved up when he saw the value there, and came back. ”

In the first round, the Texans selected Stroud with the No. 2 pick and traded the No. 12 pick, No. 33 pick, and future first-round pick to the Arizona Cardinals for promotion to the No. 3 pick. Did. Select Alabama defensive end Will Anderson Jr.

Last season, the Texans quarterback posted the worst QBR in the NFL, prompting speculation that McNairs let the team’s general manager Caserio and coach Demeko Lyons pick a quarterback.

McNair expressed optimism about the Texans’ performance during the offseason and hopes the team will show an improvement from the last three seasons, when they went 11-38-1.

“I think it’s good just to look at the roster. It’s a better roster this year and I think it’s going to be very competitive,” McNair said. “They want to have a competitive field on the roster. So I see a lot of progress. A lot of good.”