Even with no 1st or 2nd round picks, the Texans entered the 2021 draft scheduled to make 8 selections. They had their own 3rd, 4th and 5th round picks that I guess somebody forgot to trade away. They picked up an extra 5th round pick from New England in a trade that brought OT Marcus Cannon to Houston. That deal also gave the Texans a pick in the 6th, giving them 3 in that round. Their 2nd 6th round pick comes from a deal they made with Miami where the Texans sent them Benardrick McKinney in return for that pick and LB Shaq Lawson. The Texans got a 3rd pick in the 6th round when they traded last year's 7th round pick to the Saints. The Texans then pick up a 7th round pick from the Bengals in a deal that brought in backup QB Ryan Finley, giving the Texans 8 picks in this year's draft.
The Texans get day 3 started with no 4th round pick. They get back into the game with the 3rd pick of the 5th round (#147), and the more things change, the more they stay the same. The old regime loved to draft TEs, and it appears this new regime with GM Nick Caserio, is no different, as the Texans grab Miami TE Brevin Jordan.
So with the 26th pick in the 5th round (#170), the Texans select their 1st defensive player of the draft, TCU LB Garret Wallow. Wallow is a tackle machine, leading the Big 12 in his junior season with 125, which included 18 tackles for loss, and earning him 1st team Big 12 honors. He had another 90 tackles in 10 games for the Horned Frogs last year, making 1st team Big 12 again.
With Caserio trading picks away to move up 3 times in this draft, twice for 1 player, the Texans are left with just 1 pick left, 11th in the 6th round (#195). They use that pick to take Arizona DT Roy Lopez. Lopez played 4 years at New Mexico St. where he had 12½ TFL in his junior season. His senior season lasts just 4 games because of a leg injury, and he was given an extra year of eligibility. He then transfered to Arizona, where he's from. The Wildcats only played 5 games last year, and Lopez had 18 tackles and 4 for losses in those 5 games.
Friday, the Texans traded 2 of those picks to move back into the 3rd round. One of those was their lone 4th round pick, which left them late to the party again on Day 3, as they sat out the entire 4th round, and in the end, they finish the draft with just 5 selections overall.
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| TE Brevin Jordan - Miami |
The Texans get day 3 started with no 4th round pick. They get back into the game with the 3rd pick of the 5th round (#147), and the more things change, the more they stay the same. The old regime loved to draft TEs, and it appears this new regime with GM Nick Caserio, is no different, as the Texans grab Miami TE Brevin Jordan.
Jordan is a solid receiver that can be used anywhere on the field, and is hard to bring down, as he was the only TE in college football to have over 300 yards after contact. In 8 games for the Hurricanes last year, Jordan had 576 yards and 7 TD. He's also only 20 years old, despite a 3 year college career. Jordan doesn't have great separation, but he finds ways to get open and has good acceleration once he catches the ball. His blocking is erractic and will need work, and he's not all that great when a pass is contested.
Jordan was graded as high as the 3rd round, so for the Texans to be able to get him in the 5th is good value, even though they have 35 TEs on the roster. I don't know what the obsession is of drafting a TE seemingly every year, but hopefully this new coaching staff actually uses TEs in their offense. Of course, the OC is still Tim Kelly.
That would do it for the Texans in the 5th round until Caserio started lighting up the phone lines again. Again, in a draft with limited capital, Caserio is still trading away picks for some reason. This time he's calling the Buffalo Bills. Caserio gives them two of their three 6th round picks for the Bills 5th round pick at #174. But he wasn't done. Caserio then calls the Los Angeles Rams and swaps spots with them at #170 and the Texans only 7th round pick.
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| LB Garret Wallow - TCU |
So with the 26th pick in the 5th round (#170), the Texans select their 1st defensive player of the draft, TCU LB Garret Wallow. Wallow is a tackle machine, leading the Big 12 in his junior season with 125, which included 18 tackles for loss, and earning him 1st team Big 12 honors. He had another 90 tackles in 10 games for the Horned Frogs last year, making 1st team Big 12 again.
Wallow has also played some strong safety during his collegiate career. He's going to have to hit the weight room and get his strength up to par in the NFL. Wallow also plays a little wild at times which gets him out of position, and he can take some bad angles. All coachable, of course.
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| DT Roy Lopez - Arizona |
With Caserio trading picks away to move up 3 times in this draft, twice for 1 player, the Texans are left with just 1 pick left, 11th in the 6th round (#195). They use that pick to take Arizona DT Roy Lopez. Lopez played 4 years at New Mexico St. where he had 12½ TFL in his junior season. His senior season lasts just 4 games because of a leg injury, and he was given an extra year of eligibility. He then transfered to Arizona, where he's from. The Wildcats only played 5 games last year, and Lopez had 18 tackles and 4 for losses in those 5 games.
Lopez is a high motor guy who never takes a play off, and as a high school wrestler, he has a strong core and his hard to move out of the gap. In the NFL he's likely going to struggle against zone blocking teams who should easily take him out of the play. This is a back end of the draft guy who may be no more than just depth, and seeing most of his snaps come from special teams, if he even makes the team.
So that will do it for the 2021 draft. The Texans did not participate in 4 of the 7 rounds, started the draft with 8 picks, and end up only making 5. I do not like that Caserio moved up 3 times in this draft, giving away draft capital, for a season that's likely going to be pretty bad. This "throw away" season should have had you trading back and gathering picks for bigger moves to be made when you can start to right this ship next season.
With limited draft capital, they take a QB with 13 career collegiate games under his belt with their 1st pick (3rd round). They give away 3 picks, including a 4th rounder next year, to pick up a WR. Caserio gives up 3 more picks to grab a player in the 5th round. Not impressed at all with Nick Caserio's draft strategy. It doesn't appear to be too much better than that chin hole guy we had before. So my draft grade (which doesn't mean jack) isn't going to be too favorable. And that grade is:
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