B-
Houston Texans
The Texans checked most of the boxes and earned a B-.
by jaytex ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 11 picks
· 4 steals
· 3 reaches
The Texans bet big and early on Haynes King, 65 picks ahead of the board. Bold does not always mean right. Good, not great, and the B- says as much.
The Washington Jr. pick is the one they will point to when this weekend is judged. They punted on wide receiver, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest.
They were the ones paying the moving tax this weekend.
Good work on the whole, with wide receiver the one box left unchecked.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get a building block for the line. A clean fit for the roster.
They liked Gennings Dunker enough to skip the value, taking him in pick 38. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Christen Miller in the 59th pick lands just on the right side of the ledger. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Eli Stowers is a better player than slot 69 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
A top-tier running back at a bargain, Mike Washington Jr. in the 106th overall pick, plain and simple. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Kaytron Allen in No. 141 is fair value, right on his grade. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Demond Claiborne at Round 5, Pick 8 jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Nice patience on Keagen Trost, who had no business lasting to pick 195. The roster fit checks out.
By-the-book stuff, Riley Nowakowski at the 215th overall pick squarely in line with his ranking. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
A quiet steal in the Round 7 slot: Thaddeus Dixon for less than the market said. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
A wild overpay on Haynes King in the 243rd pick, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. It fills a real need, too.