B-
Houston Texans
The Texans let Fuller fall into their laps, and walked away with a B-.
by jaytex ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 8 picks
· 4 steals
· 2 reaches
You can draft well and still miss the point. The Texans did plenty of tidy work and somehow never got around to wide receiver, which was the need that mattered most. The bottom line is a respectable B-.
Fuller at that cost is the sort of edge that compounds over a roster. The Washington Jr. reach is the anchor dragging on the value grade. On the needs board they went 4 of 8, with running back the one that mattered most.
The trades cost them a sliver of value they did not need to spend.
Solid rather than spectacular, and there is nothing wrong with that.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 28 they get a building block for the line. A real need, handled.
A market-rate interior defensive lineman, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Christen Miller. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Gennings Dunker at the 59th pick is the proof. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Value with a capital V on Jake Slaughter in pick No. 69, a genuine coup. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Mike Washington Jr. in the Round 4 slot is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Nice patience on Skyler Gill-Howard, who had no business lasting to the 155th overall pick. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A premium they did not need to pay, Kaleb Elarms-Orr a notch or two before his time. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Andre Fuller in the 243rd pick is a gift, value that borders on unfair. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.