2025 TEXANS DRAFT

Previously lost article recreated

DAY 1 (Round 1)

Draft #5 for Texans GM Nick Caserio, probably known better this time of year as Trader Nick for the 13 trades he’s made in his 4 previous drafts. In fact, before the draft even got underway, Caserio made a trade with the Cleveland Browns that involved Day 3 picks. Caserio trades this years 5th pick (#166) and a 2027 fifth round pick to the Browns for 2 sixth round picks and a 7th rounder, all this year (#179, #216, #255). So the Texans had 7 picks when the sun rose Thursday morning and had 9 by the time the draft started.

No one thinks for a second that all 9 of those picks will be made by the Texans. Those are just extra picks that will allow Caserio to do some moving around in the draft.

The Texans have been to and won a playoff game in each of the last 2 years, yet they are a team with a lot of needs on both sides of the ball. Their biggest need is obviously the offensive line, one of the worst in football the last 2 years, and considering they traded their best o-lineman, Laremy Tunsil, has made it even worse. Their WR room falls off hard after Nico Collins. Stefon Diggs moved on in free agency, and Tank Dell is questionable to even play this upcoming season. Then there’s needs on the d-line, particularly inside, secondary depth, and RB depth. 

The draft started with the Texans having the 25th pick. They end Day 1 of the draft with no 1st round pick. Trader Nick takes a call from the New York Giants and gives them their pick at 25. The cost for the G-men is their 2nd round pick at #34, a 3rd round pick (#99), and a 3rd round pick next year. 

So despite all of their needs, especially on the o-line, the Texans do not participate in making a selection in Round 1 and will start Day 2 with 5 picks, 2 in the 2nd round - the 2nd pick (#34), and the 26th pick (#58), and 3 picks in the 3rd round - 15th pick (#79), 25th pick (#89), and the 35th pick (#99). Do they make all of those picks? We’ll see what Trader Nick does.

DAY 2 (Rounds 2-3)

The Texans don’t get their 2025 draft party started until Day 2, as they traded out of the 1st round. That gave them the 2nd pick in the 2nd round to start Day 2, and with that pick (34th overall) the Texans select Iowa State WR Jayden Higgins. He had just 2 seasons of FBS (D1-1A) football, both with the Cyclones. He played his freshman and sophomore seasons with FCS (D1-2A) Eastern Kentucky.

Higgins has a wingspan over 6’7”. He can play both outside and at slot and should create mismatches in the slot with his body control and catch radius. He led the Cyclones in receptions last season with 87, and receiving TD (9), but his 1,183 yards were 2nd on the team behind Jaylin Noel.

Jaylin Noel was selected with the 15th pick in the 3rd round (79th overall) by the …..Houston Texans. Yes, the Texans draft both of the Iowa State WRs. The 4th year senior (all with ISU) had 1,194 yards on 80 catches with 8 TD last season. Noel was also a big part of the Cyclones return game with a 15.3 yard average per punt return last season, and a 22.2 yard career kickoff return average. 

Noel is primarily built for the slot with plus speed but can play outside if needed. His fast play pace could make him comparable to Tank Dell but about 30 pounds heavier which may keep him on the field a little more than Tank. Smaller hands and drops could be an issue.

In between those 2 picks the Texans do address their biggest team need, offensive line. With the 16th pick in the 2nd round (48th overall) they select Minnesota OT Aireontae Ersery. The 5th year senior started 38 of the Golden Gophers last 39 games the last 3 years. He was the Big 10 O-Lineman of the Year last season.

Ersery is a big human, standing 6’6” and weighing in at 331 lbs. That could cause him to struggle against outside speed rushers but he does have good quickness despite his size. 

The Texans use their final pick on Day 2 to make their 1st defensive player selection. With the 33rd pick of the 3rd round (97th overall) the Texans go with USC CB Jaylin Smith.

Smith is a 4th year senior, spending all 4 years in SoCal. Smith has experience at safety, nickel and outside corners and is better in man coverage, but he lacks the prototypical measurables and speed for his position. He might be more suited the special teams with the Trojans heavily involving him as a gunner and jammer on punts.

So that takes care of the Texans portion of Day 2 of the NFL draft, as they finally get to come out and play after passing on Day 1. One more day and 4 more rounds to go.

DAY 3 (Rounds 4-7)

The Texans started the final day of the draft with no 4th or 5th round picks. It doesn’t take long for Caserio to change that as the Texans wheel and deal to move up into the 4th round. And with the 14th pick in the 4th (116th overall) the Texans select USC RB Jo’Quavious Marks, better known as Woody Marks.

Marks spent 4 years at Mississippi State compiling 1,883 rushing yards with 22 TD along with 1,225 receiving yards in this 4 seasons, before transferring to SoCal last year. Marks had 1,133 yards and 9 TD for the Trojans with another 321 yards on 47 receptions.

Marks is a good one cut runner with good patience, vision and tempo and the ability to elude the first tackler in space. He also has excellent hands that make him a plus in the pass game. He can go from zero to 60 in a heartbeat but doesn’t have the homerun speed to finish and seems to be too affected by arm tackles. He also shouldn’t be too effective in short yardage situations.

The Texans don’t pick again until the 6th round, 11th pick (#187 overall), and with that pick the Texans take Penn State safety Jaylen Reed. How many freaking Jaylen’s are there? The Texans really like those 4 year players and Reed is another one. Reed had 3 picks last year, including a pick 6, and has 5 INT the last 2 seasons, starting all 26 games for the Nittany Lions in that span.

Reed is physical enough to be a plus in run coverage and he has natural instincts to make plays on the ball, but he’s inconsistent with where to be in coverage. He’s better in zone coverage because he doesn’t run well enough to play over the top or in certain man covers. Top profilers had him projected as a 4th rounder and the Texans get him in the 6th. Very likely to have more of a special teams impact, as is the case for most late round picks.

In the strange category, Caserio is using those late round picks to move up again. This time they go up to the 21st pick in the 6th round (#197 overall). And with that pick they take Jaylin, sorry, the Texans draft Graham Mertz from Florida. OK, what’s so strange about that? Mertz is a QB. They move up to take a 3rd string QB? Does he have a legitimate shot to battle Davis Mills for backup QB?

Mertz is a 6 year QB who spent 4 of those years at Wisconsin before transferring to Florida. Mertz had a 20/3 TD/INT ratio for the Gators in 2023 and led the nation in completion percentage, but only started 5 games last year before tearing an ACL. Gotta wonder if he’ll even be available for training camp. Head scratching pick here. 

On to the final round. With the 8th pick in the 7th round (#224), the Texans select Rutgers DT Kyonte Hamilton. He was recruited as a wrestler and has since played in 51 consecutive games for the Scarlet Knights. Hamilton had a career high 4 sacks last season but he’s projected as a backend of roster or practice squad guy.

The Texans final pick of the 2025 draft is 2 picks away from Mr. Irrelevant. Pick number 39 in the 7th (#255 overall) is Iowa TE Luke Lachey. It couldn’t be a Texans draft without a TE, right? Lachey had just 74 catches for 893 yards and 4 TD in his 5 years with the Hawkeyes, spanning 42 games. All 4 of his TD came in the 2022 season. Lachey is not likely to be much of a factor right away with the TE room the Texans have.

And that does it for the 2025 NFL Draft. The Texans end up adding 9 players, but only ONE was for their biggest concern on the team, offensive line, and that’s with 6 of the 9 being drafted on the offensive side of the ball. Just 3 defensive players.