It has long been assumed that the Houston Texans will be drafting a quarterback with the second-overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. 

However, one NFL insider believes there is a greater-than-zero chance that the team goes a different route. 

With the first pick almost assuredly being used on a QB, perhaps general manager Nick Caserio is not in love with any other QBs and prefers Will Anderson Jr. at pick two. 

Famed NFL writer Peter King brought up this scenario in his most recent edition of Football Morning In America. 

King notes that the Texans also own pick 12, and could use this pick to trade back up. The Texans also have two first-round picks in 2024 that could be used as trade ammunition. 

Regarding the possibility of the Texans not choosing a QB at two, King said the following:

The Texans also pick 12^th. With that pick and two first-round picks next year, is it impossible to think they’d take the cleanest prospect in this draft, Alabama pass-rusher Will Anderson, at two and get their quarterback slightly lower, somewhere around the fourth pick or after? I think the Texans are going to go quarterback at two. But in the last few days, I’ve heard this about Houston GM Nick Caserio: Very conservative. If he doesn’t love a quarterback at two, he’s not going to force it. He’d rather take this year’s sure edge thing, Anderson, the way Detroit took Aidan Hutchinson with the second pick last year. Detroit got rewarded handsomely with a great rookie year from Hutchinson.

An elite pass rusher is one of the most important positions in the modern NFL, so taking Anderson would not be a total surprise. If what King is hearing is true, Caserio could prefer to wait and select a guy like Hendon Hooker, or possibly even wait until the 2024 NFL Draft. 

It's important to note that King does not see this as particularly likely. In fact, King gives it a 90% chance that Houston goes QB at two. However, it's not a foregone conclusion like some have portrayed. 

For any Texans fans getting nervous about not getting CJ Stroud or Bryce Young, take a look at how King ended his section:

 But I still believe it’s far more likely Houston stays at two and gives its fans the long-term quarterback the franchise has been seeking since its inception in 2002. Owner Cal McNair will certainly want the quarterback at number two, and Texans fans will be deflated if the loser of the Young/Stroud stakes in Carolina isn’t the pick at two.

To sum it all up, Caserio won't take a QB just for the sake of doing it. However, it may not be worth the risk to try and trade up from 12 to land your guy. In trades, there has to be mutual interest. Why risk it? 

Stroud or Young should be the pick at two.