Day 2 of the 2026 NFL Draft kicks off with the Texans already scheduled to take part early on with the 6th pick in the 2nd round (38th overall), but Nick Caserio is on the phones again and makes the 20th draft day trade in his 6th year as Texans GM. This call is to the Las Vegas Raiders and the Texans again move up 2 spots to #36 overall. To do so they give the Raiders their 3rd round pick at 91, that they got from Buffalo on Day 1 when they traded up, and get back the Raiders pick at #117 in the 4th round.
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So with their 2nd pick of the draft, 4th in the 2nd round and #36 overall, the Texans select Ohio State DT Kayden McDonald. Last season, McDonald's first as a starter, he was selected as a unanimous 1st Team All-American, was Big Ten DL of the Year, and of course, 1st team All-Conference (Big 10). He was also a semifinalist for the Outland Trophy, awarded to the nation's top interior lineman. McDonald played in all 16 games the year before in the Buckeyes national championship run, but wasn't a starter.
McDonald shows a keen ability to shed blockers and quickly get to the ball carrier allowing him to accumulate an above average amount of tackles and tackles for loss for an interior lineman. So this guy should be a nightmare for the oppositions run game. He's not a pass rusher so he won't make his money with sacks, seeing as he only had 3 in his 3 year college career, but with opposing offenses having to game plan around both Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter, McDonald could find a few more sacks than he normally would.
Many "draftniks" had McDonald as the top DT on their boards. He attended the draft on Day 1 expecting to be selected in the 1st round, which of course didn't happen. Most "experts" had him going late 1st/early 2nd. He was in the green room again for Day 2 and didn't have to wait long as the Texans grabbed him with the 4th pick.
Caserio's phone battery must have been low or he couldn't get any bars because the Texans stand pat with their next selection. And it wouldn't be a Texans draft without a TE being drafted, as they've done now for a 3rd year in a row, and 5th time in the last 8 drafts.
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So with their 3rd pick, their 2nd in the 2nd round, and 59th overall, the Texans select Michigan TE Marlin Klein. This is one I think may have been a huge reach for the Texans as the German-born TE doesn't have a whole lot of football experience and was projected as a 3rd or 4th rounder, and some "experts" even had him going in the 5th. And here the Texans are taking him in the 2nd? First head scratcher in the draft for me.
Though a team captain for the Wolverines, Klein doesn't have very impressive numbers. In 4 years at Michigan he's only had 12 starts. He had just 38 catches for 364 yards in his collegiate career with 24 and 248 of that respectively coming last season. Also just 1 career TD. Should point out that Michigan is a very run oriented team and that Klein's 24 catches and 248 yards last year were both 3rd most on the team with the team leader having just 45 catches for 651 yards. So there's that. He's not afraid to get in and block but lacks the strength to do so effectively. Route running and getting separation from defenders are among many of his weaknesses.
Klein is raw, considering he grew up in Germany playing soccer, and again, he wasn't in a very pass oriented offense in Ann Arbor, so there's always the chance he's a late bloomer and develops, but those aren't the type of players you draft in the 2nd freaking round. And though the Texans do seem to draft TEs almost every year, they haven't been very successful finding one that sticks. Perhaps that's why they're always drafting one.
With the Texans trading away their 3rd round pick to move up to get McDonald, that would do it for the Texans on Day 2. With 4 rounds to go the Texans will start Day 3 with just 4 picks remaining, with 2 of those coming in the 4th round, and 3 of the 4 coming in the next 41 picks.
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