The Houston Texans have struggled to find an identity since the departure of Deshaun Watson. On Thursday, the franchise's rebuilding effort got a new face on each side of the ball.

With the second overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Texans selected Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud.

In a stunning move, the Texans then acquired the third overall selection from the Arizona Cardinals to draft pass-rushing linebacker Will Anderson Jr. out of Alabama.

In return, the Cardinals received the 12th overall pick, as well as the number 33 pick in the second round, and a first- and third-round pick in 2024.

Houston is the first team with two of the top three picks in a single draft since Washington back in 2000.

The Texans' picks came after the Panthers drafted Alabama quarterback Bryce Young with the top overall pick, acquired from the Chicago Bears.

Stroud was a two-year starter for the Buckeyes, tallying 85 touchdown passes to just 12 interceptions. He was a 2022 Heisman Trophy finalist and cemented himself as a top-tier pro prospect by throwing for 348 yards and four touchdowns in a College Football Playoff loss against Georgia – the eventual national champions.

At six-foot-three and 214 pounds, he projects as a traditional pocket-based quarterback who has been hesitant to create opportunities with his legs.

Anderson led the Alabama defense for three seasons, making 34.5 sacks in 41 career games. After landing on the All-SEC Freshman Team in 2020, Anderson followed with 17.5 sacks in a decorated sophomore season.

Anderson lacks the elite size and athleticism of the very best pass-rushers, but he was consistently disruptive over an impressive career at Alabama.

Anthony Richardson vowed to make his own legacy in the NFL after he was selected fourth overall by the Indianapolis Colts.

The most exciting prospect at any position in this draft, Richardson has the highest ceiling of all the quarterbacks in the class, but saw two go before him in Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud.

Indianapolis, however, did not hesitate to pull the trigger and select Richardson, making him their quarterback of the future despite concerns over a lack of experience in college.

Richardson started only 13 games for Florida, but those games were an exhibition of his remarkable potential, which is illustrated by his incredible arm and ability to blend elusiveness, power and speed as a runner.

He improved his standing as a potential top-five pick with a stunning workout at last month's Scouting Combine, which saw him run the 40-yard dash in 4.43 seconds at 244 pounds.

With his frame and his talent on the ground in the open field, Richardson embraced comparisons to both Cam Newton and Lamar Jackson, dubbing himself 'Cam Jackson'.

But speaking on stage after being selected, he said: "It's time to make my own legacy now."

The Colts will hope he quickly starts writing it in Indianapolis as they look for a return to prominence after a 4-12 season in 2022.

Bryce Young was the heavy favourite to go first overall in the 2023 NFL Draft, and there were no surprises as the Carolina Panthers selected the Alabama quarterback with the opening pick.

The Panthers traded up from the ninth pick in a deal with the Chicago Bears last month to have their choice of the top four quarterbacks in the class.

In recent weeks it became apparent Young had emerged as the frontrunner, and he will now be tasked with elevating a talented Panthers team back to playoff contention.

The Panthers have not had a winning season since the 2017 campaign.

Young experienced little other than winning during his time with Alabama, going 23-4 in two seasons as a starter with the Crimson Tide.

He finished his collegiate career with 8,356 passing yards, 80 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

Young thrived primarily because of his ability to navigate often chaotic pockets with consummate ease, also showing the ability to create throwing windows by moving defenders with his eyes.

A tremendous off-schedule playmaker, Young can make dynamic plays as a runner and throwing on the move, yet his improvisational playing style will have been a concern to some teams given he is undersized at 5ft 10in and 204 pounds.

Young's size arguably makes him a substantially increased injury risk, but the Panthers are betting on him to stay healthy and turn them into perennial contenders in the NFC South.

Ryan Mason promised Tottenham’s players will stick together between now and the end of the season after they staged an impressive second-half comeback to draw with Manchester United.

Spurs were coming off the back of a 6-1 drubbing away to Newcastle on Sunday and looked in trouble again when Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford fired United into a 2-0 half-time lead.

But Mason rallied his players at the break and they hit back strongly in the second half, goals from Pedro Porro and Son Heung-min rescuing the result and reminding home fans of their team’s powers of recovery after the debacle on Tyneside.

That result led to the sacking of interim coach Cristian Stellini by Daniel Levy, and the Tottenham chairman was the target of Spurs fans’ anger in the first half when it looked like their team would be overrun.

Mason, who has been installed until the end of the season whilst Levy searches for a permanent successor to Antonio Conte, said he was proud of his players for their fight and the way they went at United with the Newcastle result fresh in their minds.

“It’s been difficult after Sunday because the manner in which we lost wasn’t nice for anyone to be involved with,” said Mason. “But the most important thing now until the end of the season will always be to stick together as a team.

“Football – small details can change games, change results but ultimately the most important thing is to be together. And to everyone – the fans, the outside world looking in, they’ll see a team that’s solid and united together. And when you are that you have a chance of success.

“(We have) big character, big personalities, stuck together, kept believing and acted as a team throughout the whole game. That pleases me after what happened at the weekend because we probably didn’t have that as a group.

“And off the back of how the first half went in terms of the scoreline, to go out at half-time and stick together, fight for each other and really got our fans involved, I thought they helped us massively, and it’s pleasing.

“It proves a lot to me what I already thought about this group but to see that on to the pitch is a good feeling.”

Though admirable, the result did little to revive Spurs’ rapidly diminishing hopes of catching United in the race to qualify for the Champions League.

The gap to Erik ten Hag’s side in fourth stands at six points with Tottenham having played two games more.

Mason was asked whether at 2-2 he was tempted to go after the win that would have gone some of the way towards reeling in United and breathing life into the top-four scramble.

“We invested so much energy into getting that scoreline at 2-2,” he said. “It felt like we were almost acting a little emotionally to try and get that third, and sometimes that’s great but at the same time I felt there were a couple of moments when we looked a bit leggy, a bit open unnecessarily.

“So we changed it a little bit – still try and win the game but at the same time recognise the game and moment we were in.

“I felt once we had got the second goal the lads had sort of invested so much energy into it that we went a little bit flat and they took a little bit of control of the game without really creating anything.

“To come off 2-2 off the back of going in 2-0 down at half-time is a positive.”

Ten Hag reflected on a game in which, after a solid first half in which they dominated Spurs and were clinical with their chances, control of the match ultimately got away from them once they lost their dominance of the ball after the break.

“After half-time, there was a difference,” said Ten Hag. “We lost the control. We were not ball-secure. Then you have to go into the fight.

“When you lose your battles, you don’t block the crosses, when you don’t squeeze out, you don’t block shots, you concede goals and that’s what happened.

“Finally you have to be satisfied and take that point.”

Kawhi Leonard and Paul George will continue to lead the Los Angeles Clippers next season.

That is according to Clippers president Lawrence Frank after their elimination from the NBA playoffs at the hands of the Phoenix Suns, going down 4-1 in the first round.

During his end of season address, Frank insisted Leonard and George remain important to the organisation's ambitions, with both averaging 23.8 points per game in the regular season, though only made 52 and 56 appearances respectively.

"When we traded for Paul and signed Kawhi as a free agent in 2019, it wasn't for one or two years, wasn't three or four," Frank said. "Every year you have those guys, they give you a chance. And so it's about surrounding those guys to continue to improve your chances.

"Kawhi's a ceiling raiser. When you study past NBA champions, they have a top-five guy on their team, and Kawhi has shown that when healthy he can be the best player in the world. Paul is an eight-time All-Star now. So we're going to continue to build around those guys and look for every which way [to improve around them]."

Frank also said Leonard will be ready to go next season despite a torn meniscus, which meant he could not play in any of their last three games against the Suns, all defeats, while George has not played since March 21 after suffering a knee injury.

"Regardless of the treatment [for the meniscus], Kawhi will be ready for next year," Frank said. "The really encouraging thing is the ACL's firmly intact, which is great. So this is a meniscus tear. And then over the whatever next couple weeks, figure out what's going to be the best source of treatment."

Both Leonard and George are entering their fifth season with the Clippers, and have $48million player options for the 2024-25 campaign.

"Those guys are great players and they're great partners and we want to keep them as Clippers for a long time," Frank added. "And so we'll look forward to those [extension] conversations.

"And the No. 1 goal is 'How can we build a sustainable championship team?' And those guys have been great partners, so at the appropriate time, we look forward to sitting down with them."

Ryan Mason has a Tottenham team "willing to fight" for their place in the upper echelons of the Premier League after a comeback draw with Manchester United.

Goals from Pedro Porro and Son Heung-min helped the interim boss break the club's losing streak in the first game in charge after replacing Cristian Stellini

Mason is no stranger to the Spurs hot seat, having been caretaker following Jose Mourinho's exit two years ago, during which he was in charge for the EFL Cup final.

But after a 6-1 loss to Newcastle United last time out, Mason was delighted to get a response from his side that underlines their desire.

"In football, you can win, lose or draw but the most important [thing] is that we react together," he told BT Sport. "I have a team that's willing to fight.

"I thought in the second half, we were outstanding [with] the character we showed after last Sunday. I hope the fans can see that we were a team today.

"Those players in there, I know I've got men who when they pull together, they're a very strong team. That's my job, to inspire them and make sure we act as a team."

Goalscorer Son, who was supplied for his point-clinching finish by regular partner Harry Kane, suggested Spurs' performance was born out of frustration over recent failings.

"I thought we didn't deserve to be 2-0 down in the first half," he added. "We played quite well, we had the chances to score. But we weren't clinical enough.

"We didn't want to let the fans down, we wanted to give everything and that was the dressing room speech. We couldn't let the game go. We were really angry about it.

"Football is all about the fans. The last week was unacceptable, and we didn't want to repeat that. With them, we really appreciated their support. They were fighting with us."

Nottingham Forest defender Neco Williams says he is “gutted” that he will miss the rest of the season after sustaining a fractured jaw in his side’s 3-1 win over Brighton.

Forest claimed their first win in a dozen matches on Wednesday to boost their hopes of avoiding relegation, moving one point above the Premier League bottom three after seeing off the Seagulls.

But victory came at a cost as Williams suffered a nasty blow after an inadvertent collision with team-mate Brennan Johnson.

He was stretchered off and immediately taken to hospital, where he had surgery and is set to return home on Friday afternoon, according to a statement from Forest on Thursday evening.

While Forest did not give an indication of how long he would be out for, the Welshman himself indicated he will play no further part in the campaign with five matches remaining.

He wrote on Twitter: “Absolutely buzzing the lads got the win yesterday but at the same time I am gutted to say my seasons over for sustaining a broken jaw.

“I will do everything I can to help my teammates bring home those points every game.”

The 22-year-old has made 34 appearances in all competitions this season since joining Forest from Liverpool last summer in a transfer worth £17million.

Ruben Selles vowed Southampton will “fight until the very last point” after his side slipped closer to Premier League relegation following a damaging 1-0 defeat to Bournemouth.

Marcus Tavernier’s second-half winner at St Mary’s left the the division’s bottom club six points from safety with five games to go.

Beleaguered Saints thought they had snatched a dramatic draw but Che Adams’ 89th-minute effort was disallowed for offside following VAR intervention.

A painful defeat to their south-coast rivals inflicted a club-record 11th home league loss of the season on Southampton, with lingering hopes of survival fading fast.

“We are going to go and try to put a performance in every game to try to win, and we are going to do it until the very end,” said Selles.

“I know it’s only five games to play. But we are professionals and we will fight until the very last point.

“I know now it’s hard, I know the table is looking like it’s a difficult one but we are going to give it a try.”

Southampton lacked attacking thrust and urgency for much of a miserable evening played in soggy conditions.

Aside from Adams’ disallowed effort, the home side rarely threatened an equaliser following Tavernier’s deflected effort in the 50th minute.

“It’s a disappointing night, we came with the intention to put in a good performance and we obviously didn’t,” said Selles.

“Some of the things that can go against us, they went against us.

“Even the offside goal, it’s a couple of centimetres but it is offside. It was a hard night.”

Southampton lost captain James Ward-Prowse for the second half due to a sore throat and he will be assessed before Sunday’s visit to high-flying Newcastle.

Bournemouth moved on to 36 points – seven clear of the drop zone – following a significant win over their near neighbours.

Cherries boss Gary O’Neil initially feared substitute Adams was onside but felt his team were due a favourable VAR call.

O’Neil insists Bournemouth still have work to do to ensure safety following a third consecutive away success.

“It’s a big win for us, of course,” he said. “The performance was pleasing. I thought we were by far the better side today.

“The lads are recovering for Sunday (at home to Leeds), there’s no celebration, there’s not talk of points tallies. I can easily see 36 points going down this year. We won’t be resting.”

Speaking about the disallowed goal, he said: “We were due one to go our way. We’ve had some tight ones go against us.

“There were a few screams on the bench when it was ruled out. I didn’t think it was going to be.

“We had some footage in front of us which wasn’t clear. That’s a horrible moment as a coach when you’re sat there and waiting for someone to decide.

“But the players didn’t deserve to suffer that today, so pleased that we had a VAR check go our way for the first time this season, I think.”

Match-winner Tavernier limped off 12 minutes from time with a hamstring issue.

“He seems to think it isn’t too serious,” said O’Neil. “Hopefully it was just a touch of cramp.”

Manchester United allowed themselves to lose "control" of their Premier League clash with Tottenham, acknowledges Christian Eriksen after their 2-2 draw.

First-half goals for Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford had helped Erik ten Hag's side carve out a commanding lead in north London.

But an inability to build on their advantage allowed Pedro Porro and Son Heung-min to rescue a point in interim boss Ryan Mason's first game in charge.

It is not the first time this season United have allowed themselves to be overrun by an opponent chasing the game, with Eriksen conceding they failed to command the game.

"I think we took a bit of the gas off," he told BT Sport. "That was our problem. I think it has been [like] that for a few games, where we are sharp and [have not] kept it going.

"I think we lost a bit of energy, a bit of control, and they got belief, and it went the other way. That's how it goes normally. When you are 2-0 down, anything can change quickly.

"We didn't have the control to finish them off, [and we] gave them the chance to score the first goal. That gave [them] belief."

The result leaves United two points off third-place Newcastle United, albeit with two games in hand on the Magpies, and six points ahead of fifth-place Spurs.

That cushion will likely help them consolidate their top-four spot before too long, but Eriksen cautioned the task must still be completed before it can be celebrated.

"There's still a few games to go," he added. "We need to keep going and get the belief back to finish it off. We need to get it over the line."

Manager Ten Hag echoed the midfielder's comments, though he refused to apportion blame on Bruno Fernandes for a glaring second-half miss.

The Portuguese, who captained the side in Harry Maguire's absence through injury, hit the crossbar in a one-on-one situation with Fraser Forster shortly after Porro had pulled one back.

"[We] don't blame it on one player," Ten Hag added.  "We weren't clinical enough, and I think we had to score more. The goals we conceded were too easy, and we could have avoided them."

Newcastle manager Eddie Howe is taking nothing for granted despite a return to the Champions League for the first time in 20 years looking all the more assured after a 4-1 win at Everton.

Callum Wilson scored his seventh and eighth goals in six matches against the Toffees, with Joelinton and substitute Jacob Murphy adding the others as the Magpies made it 10 goals in their last two matches.

Victory opened up an eight-point gap to fifth place but Howe, whose side thrashed Tottenham 6-1 on Sunday, is refusing to get ahead of himself.

“We know nothing is taken for granted from our perspective,” said Howe.

“It puts us in a lot stronger position. To get six points from Tottenham and Everton is a great return.

“It was always going to be a difficult game for us but we handled the occasion well in a hostile environment.

“The first goal was going to be crucial. It was probably our best move and it came at a good time for us.

“The confidence was there and it was evident in the second half, maybe a bit of the edge of the game had gone but I think we had to earn the right to get to that point because Everton put us under pressure in the first half.”

Sabri Lamouchi feels his mission to keep Cardiff in the Championship is almost complete following their dramatic late win at fellow strugglers Rotherham.

Cedric Kipre struck with just two minutes left to seal a 2-1 win that all-but guarantee the Welsh side’s survival and keeps Rotherham firmly in trouble.

The Bluebirds are now six points above the drop zone with two games remaining, while United remain just three points above 22nd-placed Reading.

The initial meeting between the two teams last month was abandoned with Cardiff 1-0 up before the pitch became unplayable due to heavy rain.

Lamouchi was angry at that decision but delighted to see his side inch closer to safety in the replayed game.

The Frenchman, who took charge in January, said: “It is not mathematically done but we are so close. The players deserved the win. I saw my players with the right mentality. We created the chances.

“It is an absolutely massive result. My mission was to stay in the Championship. It is not done but I am happy with the result and confident for the next two.

“My only desire is to win the next game at home for our magic fans. This season, for them and for us, has been very frustrating.

“I have big respect for the fans (for travelling to the game again) and big thanks to them.”

Jordan Hugill almost gave the home crowd the perfect start but his header from Wes Harding’s cross bounced back off the woodwork.

Cardiff then took an 11th-minute lead when Kion Etete sneaked in behind Harding to power in Perry Ng’s cross.

The Millers drew level in the 37th minute with Harding’s cross finding its way through to Chiedozie Ogbene who tucked beyond Jak Alnwick.

Cardiff’s deficiencies from the penalty spot emerged again as Sory Kaba missed for the second game in succession. Conor Coventry was deemed to have brought down Jaden Philogene but was reprieved when Kaba’s effort cannoned back off the bar.

The visitors looked the more likely to nick all three points in the second half and took the big chance that fell their way when Kipre kept his composure to lash beyond Viktor Johansson late on.

Rotherham manager Matt Taylor said: “It’s a tough blow right at the end. Their frontline caused us constant problems. A set-piece moment has cost us. It was a really gutting moment.

“Their threat was obvious and we tried to address that at half-time. We got away with the penalty miss.

“We looked a bit nervy every time the ball got in and around our backline in the first half. I was so pleased that we got back into the game.

“I don’t think the tension affected us too much. I think the opposition pushed us into some scary moments and their physicality told.”

Aryna Sabalenka is through to the round of 32 at the Madrid Open after beating Sorana Cirstea 6-4 6-3 on Thursday.

It was an ominous start for Cirstea, being broken to love in the opening game, but she stuck with second seed Sabalenka and broke back, before ultimately being pipped to the first set by the impressive Belarusian.

The key was on break points, with Sabalenka claiming all five that she won against the Cirstea serve, while saving six of eight on her own as she ultimately eased to victory.

Sabalenka now has 26 wins on clay in the WTA since 2021, with only Ons Jabeur (37), Iga Swiatek (34), Paula Badosa (31) and Coco Gauff (28) having more during this time.

Gauff also advanced after a routine 6-4 6-1 win over Irene Burillo Escorihuela, making the sixth seed in Madrid the first player to win 35 WTA-1000 main draw matches as a teenager since 2009.

Ninth seed Maria Sakkari defeated Arantxa Rus 6-4 6-4 and fifth seed Caroline Garcia also had few problems against Yulia Putintseva, winning 6-3 6-4.

However, it was not a good day for 10th seed Petra Kvitova, who was beaten 7-6 (11-9) 6-1 by Jule Niemeier, while 13th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia also lost, 7-6 (8-6) 6-3 to Mirra Andreeva and 20th seed Donna Vekic was eliminated in straight-sets by Rebeka Masarova.

Jelena Ostapenko took just 61 minutes to get past Linda Fruhvirtova 6-0 6-3, and will face 14th seed Liudmila Samsonova next, who did not take much longer to see off Maryna Zanevska 6-2 6-3.

There were also wins for Elise Mertens, Badosa, Camila Osorio, Shelby Rogers, Mayar Sherif, Magda Linette and Irina-Camelia Begu.

Fiorentina sealed their place in the Coppa Italia final after a 0-0 draw against Cremonese on Thursday at Stadio Artemio Franchi, securing a 2-0 aggregate win.

A frantic start to the game did not lead to any goals, with few clear-cut chances for either team despite the pace of the play in the first half.

It took until the 73rd minute for Cremonese to have anything that could be called a chance, with Charles Pickel seeing a close-range header closed down by Fiorentina goalkeeper Pietro Terracciano.

Nicolas Gonzalez curled a shot wide at the other end moments later, but on the whole, it was a match devoid of any serious opportunities.

The hosts hit the target just once from 13 attempts, while Cremonese could only muster two shots at all as Vincenzo Italiano's men comfortably kept them at bay.

Fiorentina will be hoping to rediscover the form that recently saw them win 10 games in a row, having not claimed victory in four, but have almost a month to prepare for Inter, when they will look to lift their seventh Coppa Italia.

La Viola will face the Nerazzurri in the final on May 24 after Simone Inzaghi's men dumped out Juventus in the other semi-final on Wednesday.