Sunday’s Texans-Panthers game will feature an NFL first: The top three picks in the NFL draft will all play in the same game.
Panthers quarterback Bryce Young was the first overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft, and on Sunday he’ll see the No. 2 overall pick, Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud, and the No. 3 overall pick, Texans defensive end Will Anderson. It will be the first time in the common draft era that all three of the top picks in that year’s draft play in the same game.
Obviously, it can’t happen often because usually the top three picks play on three different teams. The Texans, who originally had the No. 2 pick and then traded up to No. 3 for Anderson, are only the third team in NFL history with two of the top three picks. The others, Indianapolis in 1992 and Washington in 2000, didn’t play the other team that had a Top 3 pick those years.
Young vs. Stroud is also only the fifth time in NFL history that a game will feature rookie quarterbacks who were the first and second overall picks in the draft. The other times were 2021 with Trevor Lawrence of the Jaguars vs. Zach Wilson of the Jets, 2015 with Jameis Winston of the Buccaneers vs. Marcus Mariota of the Titans, 1998 with Peyton Manning of the Colts vs. Ryan Leaf of the Chargers, and 1993 with Drew Bledsoe of the Patriots vs. Rick Mirer of the Seahawks. The second pick’s team has won three of the previous four meetings, with Manning’s Colts beating Leaf’s Chargers in the only victory for the first pick.
Stroud and Anderson’s Texans are three-point favorites on the road against Young’s Panthers.
