C
Houston Texans
The Texans let Thornton Jr. fall and pounced. Final grade: C.
by Shepqb4 ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 5 picks
· 2 steals
· 1 reaches
The best pick of the weekend was also the simplest. The Texans watched Dont'e Thornton Jr. slide 69 picks past his grade and did not hesitate. The final tally is a middling C.
The Turner pick is the one the value grade keeps tripping over. The trade table is where this weekend went wrong. If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through running back.
It nets out as a middle-of-the-pack haul that neither helps nor hurts much.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 26 they get a building block for the line. A real need, handled.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Shemar Turner. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
You do not let an offensive lineman like Donovan Jackson reach the 127th pick and blink. They did not. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Connor Colby in the Round 5 slot is fair value, right on his grade. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Dont'e Thornton Jr. at the 243rd overall pick is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.