Day three of the draft has begun for the Houston Texans, and with the 106th overall pick, they drafted OG Febechi Nwaiwu from Oklahoma!
Measurements:
- Height: 6’ 4”
- Weight: 319 lbs.
- Arm: 34 ½”
- Hand: 9 ⅝”
- Vertical Jump: 24.5”
- Broad Jump: 8’ 9”
- 3-Cone Drill: 7.8s
- 20-Yard Shuttle: 4.73s
Stats:
- 2025: 13 Games (13 Starts, 11 at RG and 2 at C); 845 total snaps; 69.7 PFF Grade (91.6 Pblk, 59.3 Rblk)
- 2024: 13 games (13 Starts, all at RG); 864 total snaps; 59.6 PFF Grade (72.1 Pblk, 53.9 Rblk)
- Spent 2021-2023 seasons with North Texas
- Third-team All-AAC, 2023
- Second-team All-SEC, 2025
- First-team All-American, 2025
While I’ll admit that I knew nothing about Febechi Nwaiwu before this selection, I’m happy to see that Nwaiwu was a starting-caliber guard in the SEC and will now added more depth to Houston’s interior line. A graduate of Coppell High School in Coppell, Texas, Nwaiwu walked on to North Texans in 2021, became a starter for them in 2022, and transferred to Oklahoma in 2024. He primarily played at guard while at Oklahoma, but started two games at center to start the 2025 and looked pretty good from there. Once he’s got his hands on the guy in front of him, he’s able to stay attached and push them out of the way. But, his hands can be a little slow and he has this awkward leaning style that can leave him vulnerable to better d-linemen. Here’s what NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein had to say about Nwaiwu:
Nwaiwu is reliably active with good length. After a bumpy first season with the Sooners in 2024, he displayed improvement in both phases. He centers opponents in front of him to stay connected and uses good technique to displace down-block targets. However, he is inconsistent finding his foe on move blocks. Chronic leaning and slow initial hand strikes can render his massive wingspan useless against two-gappers and in pass protection. Nwaiwu’s snaps at center offer a peek into what might be his best spot, but his position flexibility is a positive regardless. – Lance Zierlein
So, with their first four picks, the Houston Texans have selected an OG/C in Keylan Rutledge, a DT in Kayden McDonald, a TE in Merlin Klein, and another OG in Febechi Nwaiwu. Clearly, general manager Nick Caserio wanted to make this draft all about increasing the physicality of the Texans. Clearly disappointed in their inability to punch the ball into the end-zone from inside the five-yard line last year, Caserio wants to make sure that Houston never loses the line of scrimmage battle, again. Along with free agent signings Wyatt Teller, Evan Brown, and fellow rookie Keylan Rutledge, Febechi Nwaiwu arrives in Houston with a fresh group of mean people movers that will transform the culture of the interior line.
What do you think of this pick? Was Febechi Nwaiwu worth Houston’s first pick in the fourth round, or should they have went in a different direction? Will Nwaiwu’s homecoming to Texas be a welcome one, or will be get buried on the depth chart? Let us know your thought down in the comments below!
Go Texans!!!
