D-
Houston Texans
The Texans robbed the room for Gadsden II. Final grade: D-.
by Drane04 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 13 picks
· 7 steals
· 5 reaches
The Texans bet big and early on Tommi Hill, 45 picks ahead of the board. Bold does not always mean right. The process wobbled, and the D- is where it lands.
The Gadsden II pick alone nudges the whole weekend up a notch. Overpaying at the table undid a lot of the good work elsewhere.
Leaving quarterback unaddressed is the roster risk they will have to answer for in the fall.
Add it up and it is a weekend the front office will hope everyone forgets, quarterback very much included.
Pick-by-Pick
In Round 1, Pick 25 they get a difference-maker at receiver, outstanding value to boot. The biggest hole, addressed.
In pick 32 they get a wrecking ball inside, and a steal at that. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
A quiet steal in the Round 2 slot: Nick Emmanwori for less than the market said. A minor need, but a need all the same.
Aireontae Ersery is a better player than slot 58 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing TreVeyon Henderson in the 63rd overall pick. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They jumped the gun on Jared Ivey, taking him earlier than his grade liked. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They let Jayden Higgins come to them and pounced at pick 79. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
A clean, defensible pick in pick No. 89 with a little surplus value in Donovan Jackson. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
A conviction pick on Jared Wilson at No. 95 that the board grades a round light. It fills a real need, too.
A wild overpay on Tommi Hill in the Round 4 slot, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
A premium they did not need to pay, Jackson Slater a notch or two before his time. A need, and now a little less of one.
Jay Higgins at Round 5, Pick 28 is a conviction pick that outran the value. The roster fit checks out.
Taking Oronde Gadsden II in Round 7, Pick 25 is close to grand larceny; a tight end that good had no business lasting this long. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.