B
Houston Texans
Mondon Jr. should have been long gone. The Texans pounced, and earned a B.
by jaytex ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 8 picks
· 5 steals
· 1 reaches
The Texans did not reach, did not trade up, did not blink. They just waited, and Smael Mondon Jr. fell into pick 178. Call it a sensible B, earned the boring way.
Sanders has a lot of ground to make up just to look fairly priced. The edge rusher spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at. On the needs board they went 5 of 8, with running back the one that mattered most.
A tidy weekend of work that should hold up just fine.
Pick-by-Pick
In Round 1, Pick 27 they get a load in the middle, and a steal at that. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
Isaiah Bond in slot 58 is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Donovan Jackson at the Round 3 slot is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. The roster fit checks out.
Raheim Sanders at No. 127 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Malachi Moore at the 128th overall pick is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
Hollin Pierce in pick 167 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Steal is underselling it; Smael Mondon Jr. at pick No. 178 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. A need, and now a little less of one.
Jordan Hancock at the 243rd pick is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.