'Lovie's Middle Finger': Could Texans Still Draft No. 1 QB with No. 2 Pick?
A lot of people are angry over the Houston Texans defeating the Indianapolis Colts at the end of the NFL regular season - a feel-good moment that means Houston loses the first pick of the 2023 NFL Draft to instead draft in the No. 2 slot.
Was this soon-to-be-fired coach Lovie Smith's "middle finger'' at his bosses, as has been theorized? Three takes:
1) As juicy as the theory is, there is no real evidence of the "middle finger'' theory. More likely, Lovie's stubbornness - a major factor in his postgame firing - drove him to do the blinders-on philosophy of, "You play to win the game.''
2) If Lovie went into that game approaching it as anything more than a "preseason game in January,'' surely his bosses knew that. Why didn't they stop it?
3) Maybe circumstances will allow the No. 2 pick to bring to Houston the No. 1 QB.
The Chicago Bears have quarterback Justin Fields, and in theory, they don't figure to draft another at that position.
This means the Texans - even though No. 2 is not as valuable at No. 1 (for many reasons, including its trade value) - may get the top quarterback in the class after all.
Somewhere in the early going in this draft are Bryce Young of Alabama, C.J. Stroud of Ohio State and Anthony Richardson of Florida. But according to a recent Sports Illustrated mock draft, that "top guy'' is Kentucky Wildcats quarterback Will Levis.
"You will notice everything is ultra-quick," Sports Illustrated writes. "An up-tempo offense based on quick reads and fast decision-making. Levis gets rid of the ball in a hurry and it's the high-octane scheme that you see many NFL teams attempting to mimic."
Of course, they aren't done there.
What about where the first-round pick Houston obtained from the Cleveland Browns has landed? It's the 12th overall selection, here used by SI to send Tennessee Volunteers receiver Jalin Hyatt to join Levis and the Texans.
"Hyatt possesses legitimate track speed and should run a 40-time in the high 4.2s or low 4.3s," says Sports Illustrated. "He plays with excellent foot speed, which helps him set up cuts in his routes and wins against press coverage."
Levis and Hyatt alone won't turn Houston into a top-shelf contender overnight, but the duo could be a threat to the AFC South for a long, long time.
But no matter who the pinpointed QB is? Hopefully he's good enough to allow the Texans to start "flipping the bird'' at their opponents, instead of, as is speculated, at each other.
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