The Houston Texans need offensive line help, and NBC Sports’ Peter King sees the AFC South champions from a year ago trading up for Washington State tackle Andre Dillard to secure it.
In King’s final mock draft, he envisions the Texans sending their first-round pick and one of their twin second-round picks, 23rd and 55th overall respectively, to the New York Giants for pick 17. With that pick, Houston gets first-round talent to protect franchise quarterback Deshaun Watson.
No team in the NFL needs a radical upgrade at tackle as much as the Texans. Per Pro Football Focus,the starting Houston tackles last year, Julie’n Davenport and Kendall Lamm, allowed 101 quarterback disruptions (sacks, hits, hurries) on Deshaun Watson, which is downright abominable considering Watson’s one of the most mobile quarterbacks in the league. Think how many pressures he avoided just by being Deshaun Watson. Dillard’s the top tackle on Houston’s board, from what I hear, and teams think he’s got a chance to be a good left tackle.
If the Texans manage to get Dillard, they would still have two more picks in the top-100, 54th overall in the second and 86th overall in the third, to continue to fix the offensive line or look for cornerback help. If Houston manages to get one of their top tackle prospects, even if they have to trade up to do it, then it should bode well for the rebuilding of the offensive line.
