B
Houston Texans
The Texans let Winston Jr. fall and pounced. Final grade: B.
by JayTex ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 7 picks
· 4 steals
· 3 reaches
When a board-topper like Kevin Winston Jr. slides to the 165th pick, you do not overthink it, and the Texans did not. A sturdy weekend that grades out a B.
The cost of the McCoy reach is exactly the players who went right after him. They punted on edge rusher, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest.
The roster is better shaped than it was, with running back chief among the fixes. The skill positions did well by the weekend.
A workmanlike haul that should hold up just fine.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 25 they get a weapon on the perimeter, though they paid up to get him. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
Steal is underselling it; Tyler Booker at No. 58 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Rylie Mills in pick 95 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
You do not let a linebacker like Demetrius Knight Jr. reach Round 4, Pick 25 and blink. They did not. It fills a real need, too.
A running back of that caliber at the 128th pick is the definition of value, full stop. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Kevin Winston Jr. in the Round 5 slot is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
A real head-scratcher, Bru McCoy in slot 241 is miles ahead of his ranking. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.