The 2023 Houston Texans had to work hard and make the right decisions in the draft, including pulling off an at-the-time contentious trade-up to secure Will Anderson one pick after selecting CJ Stroud second overall, before they could go on an absolute tear and become the new face of the AFC South.
But in 2024, the Texans will need to build on that amazing foundation by adding even more talent to their roster. Some of these players, like Anderson and Stroud before them, may have an immediate impact as rookies. These players include a very intriguing tight end with OSU experience and a ball-hawking safety from SoCal with enormous potential.
In 2024, these rookies might be members of the Houston Texans.
Ohio Stadium during the NCAA football game between Ohio State University and Michigan State University, tight end Cade Stover (8) of the Ohio State Buckeyes gains yards.
November 11, 2023, USA; Columbus, OhioState of Ohio During Ohio Stadium’s NCAA football game against Michigan State University, tight end Cade Stover (8) of the Buckeyes gains yards.
2. At tight end, Cade Stover might push Dalton Schultz.
Dalton Schultz, a tight end who often goes unappreciated despite being a top-tier receiving option, is returning to the starting lineup for the Texans going into the 2024 campaign. Schultz is a mainstay in some of the league’s top offenses.
And yet, in spite of inking Schultz to a three-year, $36 million deal that may keep him under team control through 2026 with a 2025 out, Houston selected Cade Stover in the first round of the draft, the player who may eventually replace him.
Stover, who stands 6-foot-4 and 247 pounds, transferred from Ohio State, where he played with CJ Stroud, to Houston, where he was selected second overall in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Stover wasn’t Stroud’s favorite target by any means because Marvin Harrison Jr. was still a member of the team, but he did lead the Buckeyes in tight end production in 2022 with 406 yards and five touchdowns, and he improved even further in 2023 with a 576-yard season that ranked second on the team behind
the future Arizona Cardinals WR1.
Is he a work in progress even now? Yes, Stover started out as a defensive lineman in college, but he improved with each season as a tight end and is now a 24-year-old rookie in the NFL on one of the better AFC teams. There, he will be able to play alongside veteran Schultz and learn from him, and when everything is said and done in a few years, he may even take Schultz’s spot when he’s ready to play the position to the fullest.
Or, like Stroud, could Stover arrive in Houston, significantly surpass collegiate expectations, and establish himself as the team’s top target at tight end right away? In light of Stover’s current career trajectory and the comments made by general manager Nick Caserio earlier in the offseason, it’s reasonable to conclude that this is a real possibility that supporters shouldn’t completely rule out until further evidence suggests otherwise.
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