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5 NFL teams that improved the most after the 2023 NFL Draft

By Sayre Bedinger

Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell, Jahmyr Gibbs from Alabama, Jack Campbell from Iowa, and general manager Brad Holmes pose during the players' introductory news conference at team headquarters in Allen Park on Friday, April 28, 2023.Lions 042823 Kd275
Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell, Jahmyr Gibbs from Alabama, Jack Campbell from Iowa, and general manager Brad Holmes pose during the players' introductory news conference at team headquarters in Allen Park on Friday, April 28, 2023.Lions 042823 Kd275 /
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Apr 28, 2023; Houston, TX, USA; From left to right, Houston Texans quarterback CJ Stroud (left), second overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, and Texans linebacker Will Anderson Jr., third overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, pose for a photo at a press conference at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-USA TODAY Sports /

3. Houston Texans

Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. . Houston Texans. 10. AFC South. 3. player

I think you can definitively include the Houston Texans among the top three teams this NFL offseason when it comes to the “most improved” category. The Texans have absolutely killed it this year, and general manager Nick Caserio deserves a ton of kudos for turning this ship around in relatively short order.

Now, the work is certainly not yet done. There is no doubt that the Texans have to actually go out and prove that these moves were good on the field, but the process has been tremendous and it finally feels like the team has a foundation in place to be competitive now and into the future.

The 2023 NFL Draft was an obvious highlight, but I think you have to start with the hiring of DeMeco Ryans as Houston’s new head coach. Ryans comes over after having the no. 1 defense in San Francisco to now coach the team he once played for in the NFL, and I think we’re going to see him maximizing the abilities of his players defensively, perhaps allowing the Texans to make a quicker jump than many expect them to.

You go out in the 2023 NFL Draft and take CJ Stroud no. 2 overall, an outstanding pick on its own, but then you jump up from the 12th overall spot to no. 3 and take Will Anderson Jr. It could be argued that the Texans managed to land the best QB and the best non-QB in the 2023 NFL Draft.

They continued to invest in an already solid offensive line by adding guard Shaq Mason in a trade with the Bucs and then drafting Juice Scruggs in the second round.

They brought in players like Denzel Perryman, Jimmie Ward, and Sheldon Rankins defensively.

I just think if you look at what Houston has done this offseason from the coach hiring process to free agency to the NFL Draft, they have absolutely killed it.

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