Rejoice, for the NFL Draft is upon us. This is the first big NFL event since the Draft Combine where fans get to see what their teams will do to try to improve their team. Fans will channel all of their emotional and psychological well-beings into the actions of their team engaging in a glorified, publicized hiring fair of college prospects to join their team. Of course, they will all be the key to unlocking future glory, bring Super Bowls and joy as they move on their Hall-of-Fame trajectories.
This will be the year there are no draft busts. All will work out…right?
Anyway, the Houston Texans will join their other 31 compatriot organizations in this spectacle, coming to you live from the land of the Yinzer and Iron City Beer (Pittsburgh, PA). More than few terabytes/petabytes of information has been spilled (including right here at this site) figuring out who the Texans should draft to fix the issues with this team and get them over the hump of the Divisional Round. Soon, that speculation will end, and Houston will have its young reinforcements to help the team now and into the future.
With that, a few things to keep an eye out for during this draft.
The fate of the Houston 1st Round Pick. By virtue of matching the franchise record for wins last season, along with yet another Elite 8 NFL finish, the Texans are in the back half of the 1st round (sitting at #28). At that part of the draft, the truly elite prospects will be long gone, but Houston can still try to find that next great star. Yet, the Texans are not assured of just staying at that pick. Houston has not drafted in the 1st round since that epic night in 2023. In 2024, Houston traded out of the 1st round before the draft, not making a selection until Day 2. In 2025, Houston did have a late 1st round pick and started the night in the 1st round. However, midway through said night, Houston traded with the NY Giants of New Jersey, sending their 1st round pick to them for picks in the 2025 and 2026 Draft.
By value and contract price, there isn’t a done of difference between a late 1st round and early 2nd round pick. Caserio, having made his bones in New England, grew used to the team trading out of its late 1st round slot to stock up on picks in the later rounds. For Houston, their 1st picks on Night 2 have been fairly solid (Lassiter in 2024, Higgins in 2025). While there hasn’t been a lot of chatter about Caserio moving that 1st round pick yet, do not be shocked if Houston either goes a 3rd straight year without a Day 1 draftee, or if Houston does manage to move up in the 1st round.
How many deals will Caserio do in this draft? If there is one constant about the Texans under Caserio is that they are going to make some deals in the draft. Since 2021, Houston has engaged in multiple draft day trades. The 2023 Night 1 trades headlined those moves, but draft day trades are a major constant for Houston. The results, well, some good and some not so good. Still, Caserio is not one to sit still. Houston starts this draft with eight total picks. Whether they bring in eight total players by the time the draft ends Saturday afternoon remains to be seen. The record for trades in a single draft is Howie Roseman with the Eagles with 8. Challenge accepted, Mr. Caserio?
Position that Houston picks first: Regardless of whether Houston logs its first pick in Day 1 or Day 2, it is almost impossible to find a consensus for what position Houston will draft first, to say nothing of what player they will get. Granted, predicting out to the late first round and beyond becomes an almost impossible exercise in percentages. If you are looking for mock draft to help you on that front, good luck. The positions are all over the place, from offensive line to defensive tackle to linebacker. Even a few have mentioned a tight end. That is presuming that Houston doesn’t move down or up in the 1st round. If Houston truly feels that it is in Best-Player-Available (BPA) territory, then anything is far game.
How many times will commentators mix up NRG and Reliant?: Somewhat lost in dash to get to the draft, the Texans announced that their home stadium will revert to its classic name. When Houston started playing for real in 2002, they kicked off in Reliant Stadium. It remained that way until 2014, when the team changed the name from Reliant to NRG. Not setting an opening line for this one, but figure on a few folks mixing up the language of “player X is looking forward to play at NRG, er, Reliant next season”.
Who will Mel Kiper Jr. go gaga for in this draft? Ah yes, the OG draftnik, Mr. Mel Kiper, Jr. He’s been at this for decades, and usually, he will find some prospect he likes or some decision that drives him insanely bonkers, much to the consternation and delight of commentators on social media. Last season, the slide of Shedeur Sanders set him off, subjecting us to days of Kiper lamenting the stupidity of the NFL not realizing that Sanders had incredible talent and that they would regret seeing him slide. Given how Sanders played in his couple of starts in Cleveland, that hype might have been a bit…unwarranted. Going all the way back to his spat with the Indianapolis Colts for their decision to draft Trev Alberts over Trent Dilfer, Kiper is always good for these type of inane outbursts (in this case, it was a half-right tirade. Alberts never really lived up to his draft position, but Dilfer, even winning a Super Bowl with the Ravens, never really lived up to the Kiper hype). Likely he needs to just retire, but since ESPN is not really concerned about sanity and logic, expect him to keep at it.
The preferred forum to watch the Draft. A bunch of people in suits sit around and talk. A bunch of football players in suits will walk around and give out man-hugs to another man in a suit. This is what will dominate the sports headlines. It is so big that multiple networks will cover this event. ESPN/ABC and the NFL Network will all have people involved. The ESPN/ABC network will draw the most eyes, due to access and name-recognition, but that will also mean having to suffer through the aforementioned Mel Kiper, Jr. and potentially Stephen A. Smith. ESPN will not apologize. Might go with the NFL Network if you have access. Sure, talking heads are annoying, but they aren’t quite as annoying as the other marquee guys. Of course, you could just set your phone notifications to see who Houston drafts and like, try to live an actual life, but honestly, who has time for that?
Any rate, while you can always voice your takes here at Battle Red Blog, there will be multiple watching options for watching the draft, mainly from the Disney/ESPN/ABC conglomerate to the NFL Network. Look forward to seeing you from Thursday to Saturday.
