B
Houston Texans
The Texans cashed the board's mistake on Nwankpa: B.
by Powerful ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 6 picks
· 4 steals
· 0 reaches
Every so often the board makes a mistake, and the Texans were there to profit. Xavier Nwankpa, the No. 189 name on the board, should have been long gone before the 239th pick. It nets out to a B, which feels about right.
If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through running back. Interior defensive lineman was the priority and it is no longer a question, which is most of the job. Building through the lines is a philosophy, and they stuck to it.
Good work on the whole, with running back the one box left unchecked.
Pick-by-Pick
In slot 19 they get a run-stuffing presence up front at fair value. The biggest hole, addressed.
Tyler Booker at the 55th pick is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. The roster fit checks out.
They read the board right and Deone Walker was the payoff at Round 3, Pick 22. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A quiet steal in the 122nd overall pick: Luke Kandra for less than the market said. It fills a real need, too.
No edge and no loss on Eli Stowers in pick 164; it is a wash and a sensible one. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They will replay Xavier Nwankpa at No. 239 for years; that is how good the value is. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.