B-
Houston Texans
The Texans won the night they stopped Neal from sliding. Grade: B-.
by jaytex ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 6 picks
· 2 steals
· 4 reaches
The Texans did not reach, did not trade up, did not blink. They just waited, and Devin Neal fell into No. 167.
If Stackhouse pans out, nobody remembers the price. If not, this is the pick they hear about. Leaving edge rusher unaddressed is the roster risk they will have to answer for in the fall.
Job largely done: running back settled and 4 of 8 of the wish list covered. Building through the lines is a philosophy, and they stuck to it.
Bottom line, more hits than misses and a roster nudged the right way.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 25 they get an anchor for the offensive line, reach and all.
Xavier Restrepo in the 58th overall pick is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They reached a country mile for Vernon Broughton at pick 89, and the board is aghast. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Nazir Stackhouse in pick No. 127 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They robbed the room for Devin Neal here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
LaJohntay Wester is a better player than the Round 7 slot suggests; smart patience, rewarded. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.