The Houston Texans have a bevy of needs across the roster as they seek to rebuild from a 4-12 finish in 2020, and the ongoing quarterback struggles in the offseason.
What better way to get on the right track for the future than to take a receiver.
According to Mel Kiper and Todd McShay of ESPN, that is precisely what the Texans do in their latest mock draft. With the No. 67 overall pick in Round 3, the first opportunity the Texans will have to select in the 2021 NFL draft, Houston adds D’Wayne Eskridge from Western Michigan.
“This is the Texans’ first pick of this draft after former coach/general manager traded for Laremy Tunsil,” Kiper wrote. “Eskridge is a slot weapon who will also be a key contributor in the return game.”
Essentially what the Texans would be doing with the Eskridge pick is upgrading from receiver Randall Cobb, who will be 31 years old by Week 1 of the regular season. They would also have a returner who could replace Andre Roberts by 2022 and give the Texans a threat on special teams.
One area that would help Eskridge find his way onto the Texans is his mindset. In his April 16 Zoom press conference with the Houston media, general manager Nick Caserio mentioned how a former player he worked with in New England, receiver Julian Edelman, had a mindset to improve daily. Caserio sees traces of that mentality in Houston, and would like to add younger players who mimic that philosophy.
“I would say we have a lot of people on our roster, in our locker room that have that same sort of mindset and mentality,” Caserio said. “So those are the things that we are going to try to bring to the floor and see if we can identify players in the draft that have some of those qualities, so that when they come in here, we can actually evaluate those and see those.”
Houston’s passing game may not be as dynamic as it was in 2020, and the Eskridge pick may not help them in 2021. However, the player could help them as a weapon when they finally rebuild.
