The Houston Texans don’t make their first pick on Round 3 of the 2021 NFL draft. With a variety of roles to fill across their roster, the prospect of taking anyone at No. 67 overall seems overwhelming.
If the Texans were to go in the direction of a receiver, one name they need to consider is former USC Trojan Amon St. Brown.
So says Ben Linsey of Pro Football Focus, who evaluated ideal day two fits for every NFL team.
The Texans currently own a league-low projected win total of 4.5 wins, but they don’t make their first selection in the 2021 NFL Draft until the third round (67th overall). Needless to say, they could go a number of different directions with needs across the roster.
Some additional depth at wide receiver beyond Brandin Cooks, Randall Cobb and Keke Coutee is a good place to start. St. Brown won’t be limited schematically with experience both inside and outside in his time at USC and the ability to run a full route tree. He earned receiving grades of 72.0 or higher in all three of his seasons with the Trojans.
Going with St. Brown only makes sense if he is indeed the best player available on their board. The Texans had trouble generating a pass rush in 2020, and couldn’t stop the run either. If a defensive player is ranked higher on their board than St. Brown, it would behoove Houston to go in that direction rather than provide Tyrod Taylor or Ryan Finley a rookie target to fit in with their veteran receiving corps.
What the Texans should not do is give up any draft capital to take St. Brown. If anything, they ought to look at a trade back if there is no one better on their board. Receiver is not that big of a priority.
