C
Houston Texans
The Texans got the worse of every deal, and it shows in the C.
by Hutchens84 ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 7 picks
· 5 steals
· 2 reaches
Call it a hunch or call it a gamble, but the Texans spent the 59th overall pick on Markel Bell, a name most had 53 spots down the list.
The Royer steal is the beam this whole class leans on. Overpaying at the table undid a lot of the good work elsewhere. If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through edge rusher.
On the needs board they went 5 of 8, with running back the one that mattered most.
Hit on Jeremiyah Love and the swing picks, and this ages a lot better than it grades today.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get an every-down engine for the run game, and a steal at that. The biggest hole, addressed.
They reached into another round for Markel Bell, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. A need, and now a little less of one.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Christen Miller at slot 69 is the proof. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A quiet steal in the 106th pick: Bryce Lance for less than the market said. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Febechi Nwaiwu in the 141st overall pick is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. The roster fit checks out.
They barely believed it either: Joe Royer still on the board at No. 167. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Brent Austin at pick 243 is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. A minor itch, scratched.