The Texans are back to work in the fifth round! With the 141st overall pick of the 2026 NFL Draft, the Houston Texans select S Kamari Ramsey from USC:
Measurements:
- Height: 6’ 0 ¼”
- Weight: 202 lbs.
- Arm: 30 ⅝”
- Hand 9 ¼”
- 40-Yard Dash: 4.47s
- 10-Yard Split: 1.57s
- Vertical Jump: 36”
- Broad Jump: 10’ 0”
- Bench Press: 16 Reps
Stats:
- 2025: 9 Games (9 Starts); 27 tackles; 1.5 TFLs; 2 PDs; 72.5 PFF Grade (65.1 Rdef; 89.7 Tack; 54.9 Prsh; 77.0 Cov)
- 2024: 11 Games (11 Starts); 60 Tackles; 5.5 TFLs; 2.0 Sacks; 5 PDs; 2 FFs; 77.4 PFF Grade (53.4 Rdef; 51.1 Tack; 68.0 Prsh; 88.1 Cov)
- Honorable Mention All-Big Ten, 2025
- Honorable Mention All-Big Ten, 2024
Man, general manager Nick Caserio sure does like his USC defensive backs, doesn’t he? This makes for the third USC DB drafted by the Texans in the last three years, with Kamari Ramsey joining CB Jaylin Smith and S Calen Bullock on the roster. He started his collegiate career in UCLA, but transferred to their city rival after the 2023 season. While at USC, Ramsey split his time in 2025 between nickelback and safety before his season was cut short by a knee injury against Iowa in November. Similar to his former USC teammates, Ramsey diagnoses screen plays and reacts to them quickly, launching himself downfield to blow them up. He’s able to get skinny and work his way to the ball carrier, and his ability to line up at different spots on the field shows how highly USC thought of him while he was there.
Although, due to lackluster coverage and bad run defense, he remains a controversial pick. Battle Red Blog reporter Kenneth Levy put Ramsey on his “Do-not-Draft” list earlier this month, saying of him:
Ramsey has yet to find a home in the secondary. He played as a nickel or safety most of his time at USC. He struggled to turn and run with receivers and was slow to trigger against the run. The composite profile lacks a distinct role in Houston. – Kenneth Levy
He was a solid nickelback in college, but considering the slow reaction speed and poor run defense, he’s going to struggle to do the same in the NFL. He became a much better tackler as his career went onward, which ties well with his intelligence and awareness of the opposing QB, but, just like CB Jaylin Smith who was drafted last year, you worry about whether or not he’ll able to continue playing like this in the bigger, faster NFL. Ramsey is a bit of a confusing selection for the Texans, especially considering more NFL ready safeties that were still on the board, like Penn State S Zakee Wheatley. Maybe they see Ramsey as a developmental prospect worse investing in, or maybe as another special teams player, but either way, if he’s able to stay healthy and improve his run defense, Ramsey could be a solid rotational DB in the Houston Texans defense. The Texans had to reach deep into their practice squad to fill their backfield towards the end of the 2025 season, and with this pick, Nick Caserio signals he doesn’t want to deal with that again. He wants to be able to control who’s out there in December and not be at the whims of the practice squad and mid-season free agency.
What do you think of this selection? Are you a fan of Kamari Ramsey and see him as a potential backup to Calen Bullock, or do you think the Texans should have drafted someone else? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments below!
Go Texans!
