Expert Reveals Texans' Worst Possible Draft Scenario

What if the draft board doesn't fall in the Houston Texans' favor?

Jared Koch | Mar 17, 2025

Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) goes down in in the second quarter before being helped off the field, Thursday, October 31, 2024, in East Rutherford. / Kevin R. Wexler-NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Houston Texans

The Houston Texans are walking into this year's draft with a few potential directions to go with their first-round pick, but no route likely sticks out more than their needs on the offensive line.

After a flurry of moves to ship out existing starters from last season's unit up front, the Texans are now a perfect candidate to target a top offensive line prospect in this year's draft. With their highest pick at 25th overall, it doesn't quite position Houston in the best spot to make those desired upgrades, but if the board falls a bit in their favor, they'll be in decent shape.

However, Pro Football Focus' Bradley Locker outlined a worst-case scenario for the Texans that could unfold on day one of the draft: a situation where a string of offensive linemen are selected before the 25th pick.

"Following the trade of Laremy Tunsil, the Texans have seemingly forced themselves to select offensive linemen early in the draft," Locker wrote. "In a class with seemingly few legitimate first-round tackles, a run could be had at the position before Pick No. 25. Teams like the Patriots, Jets, Bears, 49ers, Dolphins, Bengals and Seahawks could all use offensive line reinforcements, which might mean that general manager Nick Caserio has none of Will Campbell, Armand Membou, Kelvin Banks Jr. or Josh Simmons left to choose from."

In this nightmare outcome for the Texans, it puts them between a rock and a hard place. Not only would no top offensive lineman on the board force them into another unexpected direction to either reach or pivot in the first round, but it would leave them without a clear answer to add in the draft to upgrade a lacking unit up front.

It's hard to expect all of those aforementioned options to fall in the Texans' lap toward the tail end of the first round, but the expectation would see one top guy up for grabs. In a league looking out for offensive line help, that could be easier said than done to accomplish.

The Texans have ensured a bit of a fallback on the offensive line as they plan to have Tytus Howard and Blake Fisher as starting tackles, as well as Ed Oliver and Laken Tomlinson as potential fill-ins at guard, but don't quite inspire change like a top prospect at the position in this year's draft would.

The clear top plan atop the draft for Houston should be to focus on getting the best contribution possible on the front lines to fill out their biggest need, helping put C.J. Stroud in a positive situation in the process. If that can't come to fruition, things could get ugly quickly for the Texans.

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