As in every NFL Draft they’ve been here as a duo, Texans general manager Nick Caserio and head coach DeMeco Ryans went in with a unified public approach.
They would take the best players available, regardless of position, based on grades. The only exception this year was the quarterback.
But Caserio and Ryans did in this draft what they normally do. They took the best players available at the positions they needed to fill, especially during the early impact rounds.
The Texans didn’t need edge rushers, wide receivers, defensive backs, or running backs. They needed football-first guys in the trenches of their offensive and defensive lines.
And that’s what they got.
In Caserio and Ryan, we saw a little of the aggression we saw a few years ago when, after drafting C.J. Stroud second overall, they traded up to take defensive end Will Anderson with the third overall pick.
Not quite as dramatic, but during the first round, they worked out a trade with the Buffalo Bills to move up two spots and take versatile Georgia Tech offensive guard Keylan Rutledge with the 26th overall pick. Then they worked out a deal with Las Vegas to jump up two positions in the second round to grab Ohio State defensive tackle Kayden McDonald with the 36th overall pick.
Clearly, their intel said the Texans needed to be aggressive or risk losing the two players they liked the most in the draft.
In all, the Texans drafted eight players during the three-day, seven-round NFL Draft. They had four picks in the first 106 selections, and three of the four were either offensive or defensive linemen, including Oklahoma guard Febechi Nwaiwu with the 106th overall pick.
That’s being serious about addressing your needs.
Both Caserio and Ryans are excited about the offensive linemen, with Ryans being seen pumping his fist in celebration after the selection of Nwaiwu.
“That’s the only one you saw? Well, that reaction was for each and every pick. I love them all,” said Ryans, who completed his fourth draft as the Texans’ head coach. “Febechi, but I like the player. Very smart player. Can play multiple positions. He played guard, played some center. Having that flexibility at the interior of our offensive line, we’re excited about him.”
Caserio was equally as excited about Rutledge.
“Tough, violent, physical,” he said. “The guy wants to step on your throat on every play. Which I would say sort of embodies what our football team is about.”
The difficult reality is that not all of them may pan out, but at least you can see the Texans are taking their most pressing needs seriously. They brought in a couple of veteran offensive linemen in free agency in tackle Braden Smith and guard Wyatt Teller to better protect Stroud, but adding Rutledge and Nwaiwu gives them depth and players they should be able to count on for years to come.
Then there is McDonald, who figures to come in immediately and plug the spot next to defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins, giving the Texans an interior defensive front that will be hard to penetrate. McDonald, Ohio State’s first consensus All-American defensive tackle, could be the steal of the draft for the Texans. No way should he have still been available early in the second round.
“Football is all about competition. That’s why you add these young guys. We already have a really good team, and we had the opportunity over the past couple of days to add some really talented young men that are going to come in and compete.”
Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans
“McDonald is a guy we all like. Scouts, coaches, everybody, collective group, everybody liked the talent. Young player, but he’s grown,” Ryans said. “He shows the strength in the run game. He shows the ability to get off blocks and finish. We’re very excited to add a young defensive tackle to that room, and I know he’ll flourish with the guys that he’ll be learning from.”
The Texans also made some other interesting moves, including Michigan tight end Marlin Klein in the second round, then taking two linebackers in Wade Woodaz (fourth round) and Aiden Fisher (seventh round), USC safety Kamari Ramsey (sixth round), and Boston College wide receiver Lewis Bond (sixth round).
These players should help fill out the Texans’ special teams while developing into future starters.
Ryans seems excited about the entire class because the selected players fit what he and Caserio consider as Texans-type players.
“You guys have all noticed that they’re our type of guys,” Ryans said. “They’re football-first guys, high-character guys, guys who just love playing football. Guys with big smiles, big energy guys.
“They’re going to fit right into our locker room. Not just the person, but we feel like we got really good football players as well. It always starts with the film first and having great character, great men on top of that makes it even better. We got that in all the guys that we have chosen.”
Now, in a couple of weeks, we will start to see what kind of NFL players they will be when the Texans hold their first rookie minicamp.
