With the NFL combine finished, pro days well under way, free agency settling down, and the NFL draft set for April 25, time is of the essence as the Houston Texans look to finalize their roster for the 2019 season.
Free agency has helped to show roughly where teams will be focusing their higher picks in this year’s draft. The Texans have spent most of their time rebuilding their questionable secondary. Bringing in safety Tashaun Gipson on a three-year deal to replace Tyrann Mathieu, and letting both Kevin Johnson and Kareem Jackson go they opted to bring in Bradley Roby and Briean Boddy-Calhoun on one-year deals to replace them at cornerback.
Keeping in mind their decisions to re-sign veteran right tackle Seantrel Henderson to a one-year deal earlier this offseason, and their decision not to bring back backup running back Alfred Blue or last seasons starting right tackle Kendall Lamm it seems clear that the focus in the draft will be on finding a long term solution at right tackle, corner, and depth at running back.
Keeping this in mind, here is my latest prediction for the Texans’ first three selections in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Round 1 — OT Dalton Risner, Kansas State
This year’s draft is very top heavy with tackle talent. We may well see as many as five offensive tackles go in the first round alone, and with good cornerback options in rounds two and three, Houston would be best off going for one of the top tackle talents available at pick 23.
Jawaan Taylor will be gone before the tenth pick comes around, and with both Cody Ford and Andre Dillard’s stocks rising, it is understandable to see Houston going for Dalton Risner. Yes, he may well be gone by this pick, but the fact is that all the top tackles are so interchangeable this year that it’s tough to predict who will fall.
Risner would be a starter from day one, despite the Texans insisting that Henderson and Julién Davenport will be starting. Risner spent most of his college career on the right, although he has also played on the left, a versatility which would be very useful for an injury prone Texans offensive line. Standing tall at 6-5, 308 pounds, Risner is a formidable player and the 23-year-old is already on the Texans radar, having met with representatives from the franchise at the Senior Bowl.
Round 2 (54th overall) — CB Trayvon Mullen, Clemson
The Texans have a habit of recruiting heavily from the Tigers and don’t expect anything to change this year. The Texans have already met with Mullen and that is hardly a surprise. Texans general manager Brian Gaine loves tall, long cornerbacks and Mullen fits that description perfectly. At 6-1, 199 pounds, he has played in 41 games in three years for Clemson, recording four interceptions and seven defended passes.
He’s a strong tackler, good on the blitz as well which defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel will like in him, has good arm length and does well keeping track of the ball. Having run a 4.46 at the combine, he has good speed and would be a good addition to a vastly improved Texans special teams as well thanks to his open field tackling abilities.
Round 2 (55th overall) — WR Hakeem Butler, Iowa State
Butler is quite simply a huge target. At 6-5, 225 pounds, the fact he ran a 4.48 at the NFL combine puts into perspective how fast he really is. His highlights really jump off the screen, his hands are outstanding, get the ball near him and he will catch it. Hard to bring down thanks to good strength, Butler would be a great deep threat for the Texans, helping them stretch the field, an issue they had whenever Will Fuller was injured.
Throw in the fact that he is currently being coached up by NFL legend Calvin Johnson, and Butler looks to have a good future in the league ahead of him.
Round 3 — RB Devin Singletary, FAU
Singletary is a player who has been frequently linked with the Texans in recent mock drafts and for good reason. In Lamar Miller, they believe they have their three-down back, and they still reckon that D’Onta Foreman can be their third-down power back when necessary. What they don’t really have is a back who can make defenses miss, someone who is nimble and agile enough to find the gaps others can’t.
Singletary fits that mold very well. At 5-7, he’s hard to spot behind the offensive line, and at 203 pounds he’s hard to bring down when you can get your hands on him. In three years at FAU, he scored 66 touchdowns and ran for 4,287 yards. He may not be a polished product as of yet, and it can be argued that he isn’t the most explosive player, but nevertheless, he is hard to bring down when he gets going.
