B
Houston Texans
Grand theft in Round 5, Pick 27: the Texans steal Mondon Jr. and grade out a B.
by Powerful ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 6 picks
· 5 steals
· 0 reaches
When a board-topper like Smael Mondon Jr. slides to pick No. 164, you do not overthink it, and the Texans did not. Call it a sensible B, earned the boring way.
They punted on running back, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest. They went 4 of 8 on their needs, which is most of what a draft is for.
A tidy weekend of work that should hold up just fine.
Pick-by-Pick
Walter Nolen at No. 25 is money in the bank, a interior defensive lineman taken below his worth. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Taking Tyler Booker in the 58th overall pick is close to grand larceny; an offensive lineman that good had no business lasting this long. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They robbed the room for Andrew Mukuba here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
Gunnar Helm at pick 126 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Circle this one: Smael Mondon Jr. at pick No. 164 is a fall that decides a draft. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
A clean, defensible pick in slot 241 with a little surplus value in Shilo Sanders. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.