And just like that, the 2026 NFL Draft is over! After months and months of hype, draft prep, pro days, the entire NFL Combine…ketchup interviews…and more leading up to this moment, everything ends after just three days. This is the third and final part of my “Battle Red Blog at the 2026 NFL Draft” series, where I’ve been chronicling Battle Red Blog writer Nickschwager’s and my experience covering the NFL draft on-site. I’m concluding the three-part series with the third day of the NFL Draft, covering rounds
4-7. There unfortunately weren’t any Texans draftees on-site for this day on the draft, but it was still an eventful one nonetheless.
The first night, Houston traded up two picks to get OG/C Keylan Rutledge from Georgia Tech, a mauler in the middle of the o-line that will (hopefully) solve Houston’s quandary at the line of scrimmage. Some fans, including a few I talked to at the draft itself, were a bit surprised by the pick and thought it may have been a “reach,” but were ultimately still supportive of the pick.
On day two, the Texans traded up two picks yet again, going from pick #38 to #36 to select Ohio State DT Kayden McDonald! McDonald was a very coveted prospect across the NFL cognoscenti, and the fact he fell out of the first round was both shocking to many and seen as a prime opportunity for a football team to double-dip on nabbing starting-caliber players. The Texans just so happened to be that team! He was one of my favorite players of the draft, he was one of Battle Red Blog’s Kenneth Levy’s favorite players, and he was a favorite of a Texans fan I talked to outside of the draft stage who actually wished for the Texans to draft him. His, and many of the Texans fans’ wishes across the country, came true that Friday night.
Following that pick, the Houston Texans got a little funky (as they always do) and drafted TE Marlin Klein from Michigan with the 59th overall pick, their only selection that wasn’t related to a trade. A team captain for the Michigan Wolverines in 2025, Klein earned some supporters thanks to his above-average blocking and untapped potential in an anemic passing offense while in college. But, that lack of production was also seen as a spot of risk if a team were to take him. Be that as it may, the potential for a NFL “Y” tight end is there, and the Texans saw that as worth one of their most valuable picks in the draft.
Josh Norris of Underdog called it a symptom of the, “…weirdness of the TE range on day two…” since Houston was joined by the Jacksonville Jaguars (Nate Boerkircher, TAMU) and the Miami Dolphins (Will Kacmarek, Ohio State) as teams that took certain TE prospects a little higher than many were expecting. Some Texans fans (including me) were a little disappointed by the selection given the other talented players that were still on board, but that’s just as well since plenty were still remaining entering day three. Some of my favorite day three guys included:
- RB Emmett Johnson (Nebraska)
- RB Kaytron Allen (Penn State)
- LB Kyle Louis (Pitt)
- CB Keionte Scott (Miami)
- S Zakee Wheatley (Penn State)
The short night between the end of day two and the beginning of day three was stuffed with anticipation for Texans fans. The team has now arguably addressed their biggest needs on the first two days of the draft, and now, curiosity rose on how they would round out their Super Bowl-caliber roster. Well, as the Saturday morning sun rose over the Allegheny mountains, above the Pittsburgh skies hung gloomy clouds. A brief shower in the morning gave the event a sort of damp, afterparty aesthetic, but once I arrived at the Draft event on the North Shore, it was still crowded and charged with excitement. I met Nick at a Topps trading card event going on inside Acrisure stadium, and it was aflutter with card fanatics and advertising galore. They even had former Steelers LB James Harrison come to open some packs on stage!
It was certainly packed event, and in the card-collecting mania of it all…I succumbed to the pressure. I’ll admit it, I’m not much of a “card guy” (sorry collectors out there), but I did, in fact buy a Jayden Higgins card for $5.00:
But look! It was a tiny little piece of his uniform fabric inside the card! Isn’t that cooool?
By the time I departed the trading card party, the draft was just an hour away, and the Texans had one of the first picks of round four! They’ll get a chance to select any one of a wide list of great college players, including the shortlist of personal favorites I mentioned earlier. But…yeah, well, it didn’t really work out for me. Here’s the full list of their draftees from rounds 4-7:
- Round 4, Pick 6 (104th Overall): OG Febechi Nwaiwu, Oklahoma
- Round 4, Pick 23 (123rd Overall): LB Wade Woodaz, Clemson
- Round 5, Pick 1 (141st Overall): S Kamari Ramsey, USC
- Round 6, Pick 23 (204th Overall): WR Lewis Bond, Boston College
- Round 7 Pick 27 (243rd Overall): LB Aiden Fisher, Indiana
- Undrafted Free Agent (UDFA) Tracker here
Three JAM PACKED days, if I may add.
Many fans have argued that the resumes dotting this Texans draft class reveal that the Texans were less interested in getting grade-A talent, and more interested in finding “culture” guys. Players that were team captains, known for their intensity, awareness on the field, and – specifically with the linemen that were just drafted – rugged physicality. While I agree with the premise of the draft may have been to find players that will have a positive impact on Houston’s team culture, the reality of that premise begs the question: was the Houston Texans’ team culture in need of help? Was the state of the team’s culture in a place where more athletic players needed to be glossed over for the sake of finding more team captains? While drafting more players that will maintain a positive team atmosphere is a plus, I’d argue that this third day of drafting was less about Houston looking to become a more “physical” or “mentally tough” team and more about general manager Nick Caserio trying to make the management of Houston’s fiscal state and of its oft-injured defensive backfield a little bit easier.
Since Houston has done such an exceptional job drafting star players from 2022-2025, the sheer amount of giant contracts the team will have to dole out just to keep their best players happy will be enormous. This dilemma already started with big paydays going to CB Derek Stingley, S Jalen Pitre, WR Nico Collins, and most recently RG Ingram, DE Danielle Hunter, and DE Will Anderson, and it’s inevitably going to continue with QB CJ Stroud, CB Kamari Lassiter, and S Calen Bullock. All three of these players will be looking for healthy extensions (and deservedly so), but there’s no possible avenue for Nick Caserio to find the resources to keep all of these stars under the Houston sky. However, one way he can make this whole mess a little easier on himself is by filling in depth at positions where players are often injured (S, LB, O-line) with rookies on cheap contracts. In my view, this draft was the first step (or first big step) by Caserio in transitioning from building the back half of the roster through short-term free agent contracts, to slightly cheaper rookie contracts. Gone are the days of signing players like CB Tremon Smith, S M.J. Stewart, LB E.J. Speed, and OG Laken Tomlinson, as they have been replaced (or will eventually be replaced) by this new crop of rookies. Or, at least, I like to imagine this is what the ideal plan looks like from the perspective of the front office of the Texans.
As to what I was doing at the event, since none of these new Texans were on-site for media availability after being drafted Saturday afternoon, most of my Texans-related work on day three was reviewing the players they had drafted and crossing my fingers they’d take S Zakee Wheatley (they didn’t). But, there were still a couple of other players not drafted by the Texans that I did get an opportunity to interview. They were: RB/WR Eli Heidenreich and TE Seydou Traore. If you don’t know Eli Heidenreich’s story of being a Navy grad turned homecoming Steeler, read through Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter Noah Hiles’ extensive coverage into what Heidenreich means to the city of Pittsburgh. Seydou Traore, the newest star in a the ever-growing NFL International Player Pathway Program (IPPP), will be taking his talents to Miami after a meteoric rise from 2019-2025 that started with learning how to play American football in London to ending his last collegiate season at Mississippi State with 35 receptions for 369 yards and 5 touchdowns! Both players arrived to the media room in quick succession, ending my weekend with a bang that I definitely wasn’t expecting. However, with the experience I gathered from the whirlwind first two days of the draft, I was more prepared for these two interviews, and got a few solid questions in before they had left.
In all of its hype, the NFL Draft had chewed me up and spit me out on day three as a Texans fan blogger starstruck, honored, and humbled. On day one, Nick and I entered the media workroom wide-eyed and nervous, unsure of what to do or what to expect since this was our first time. By day two, we had established a game plan and became a more organized duo for the Kayden McDonald press conference. By day three, we were ready for the day, even if I was a little exhausted from the sheer explosion of content and information on Thursday and Friday. I departed the draft last night, driving home through the cool spring night happy, still a bit awestruck, and unsure what I had recalled was real and what was a dream.
But, the most important thing I take away from this experience is a newfound sense of empathy for the players, especially the two I got to interview on the last day. These were players that were most unsure of their future among all the players at the draft event, and to see the excitement, determination, and sheer elation radiating from them after being drafted, filled me with a sense of purpose to echo their same passion in my work, and to embrace the joy that they were leaving the stadium with. After all, the NFL Draft is a party before everything, and by the time I was leaving the stadium, I wanted the whole thing to start over again.
Here’s Houston full 2026 NFL Draft class, in its full glory from editor Patrick Haughton
Overall, I think I’d give this Houston Texans grade a B-. The Keylan Rutledge and Kayden McDonald picks make this inherently a good class, but I will continue to internally debate if Wade Woodaz and Kamari Ramsey were the best players availabe at 123rd and 141st overall, respectively. Only time will tell, but what do you think of this 2026 Draft class? Will this be the class that finally pushed Houston over the mountaintop and to Super Bowl glory, or is the team still a few pieces away from a championship? Let us know your thoughts, and your draft grades, down in the comments below!
Go Texans!!!
