B
Houston Texans
The Texans robbed the room for Jackson. Final grade: B.
by jaytex ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 6 picks
· 3 steals
· 1 reaches
The Texans did not reach, did not trade up, did not blink. They just waited, and Ja'Quinden Jackson fell into the Round 7 slot.
The Conner reach is the anchor dragging on the value grade. If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through edge rusher.
In sum, a sturdy weekend with one asterisk, the edge rusher spot they never got to.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 25th pick they get a load in the middle. The biggest hole, addressed.
No edge and no loss on Elic Ayomanor in the Round 2 slot; it is a wash and a sensible one. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
The board had Tate Ratledge higher than Round 3, Pick 25, and the offensive lineman fell to them anyway. It fills a real need, too.
Circle this one: Malachi Moore at slot 127 is a fall that decides a draft. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
Hayden Conner at pick 167 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Taking Ja'Quinden Jackson in pick No. 243 is close to grand larceny; a running back that good had no business lasting this long. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.