B-
Houston Texans
The Texans won the night they stopped Winston Jr. from sliding. Grade: B-.
by Powerful ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 6 picks
· 1 steals
· 2 reaches
Somebody in Round 5, Pick 28 was going to get robbed, and it turned out to be the rest of the league. The Texans sat still while Kevin Winston Jr., the No. 104 name on the board, slid all the way to them, then sprinted to the podium.
They are betting Griffith proves the room right and everyone else wrong. The running back hole is the one line item this class does not answer. On the needs board they went 4 of 8, with wide receiver the one that mattered most.
In sum, a sturdy weekend with one asterisk, the running back spot they never got to.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 25 they get a pocket-collapsing interior rusher at fair value. The biggest hole, addressed.
Isaiah Bond in Round 2, Pick 26 lands just on the right side of the ledger. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
By-the-book stuff, Dylan Fairchild at No. 89 squarely in line with his ranking. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
A reach for Oronde Gadsden II in the 126th overall pick; a little patience would have been rewarded. It fills a real need, too.
A top-tier safety at a bargain, Kevin Winston Jr. in slot 165, plain and simple. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
Thor Griffith in the Round 7 slot is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.