Texans’ Offseason Sets Up Fascinating NFL Draft Possibilities

About This Event

It’s been a good couple weeks for Houston Texans general manager Nick Caserio. The team had stated goals of beefing up the offensive line and running back rooms, as well as a few other less noticeable weaknesses where they could use capable bodies. Caserio hit it all, and did so effectively and efficiently, with reasonable spending for players with proven track records. Caserio brought in Braden Smith, Wyatt Teller, and Evan Brown on the offensive line, and brought back Ed Ingram and Trent Brown in that room, as well. The trade for David Montgomery was a cost effective way to find a starting caliber running back. Lower level signings like Foster Moreau, Jake Hummel, and Dominique Robinson all made sense. In short, if the Texans had to play a game tomorrow, even without having a new draft class of rookies, they could easily trot out a high playoff caliber team. That’s a great place to be with the draft coming up in exactly five weeks! With that in mind, here are the four biggest questions facing a Texans team that really doesn’t have a ton of questions swirling right now: What direction do they go in the draft now? The significance of the signing of Wyatt Teller on Tuesday cannot be overstated, when it comes to the number of directions the Texans can now reasonably go in the draft. There is still work to be done on the offensive line, but with Teller coming in, they have a solid starting five. While the offensive side of the ball was the one needing more of the work coming into the offseason, I think we could see them go with an interior defensive lineman, a linebacker, or even a cornerback with the 28th overall pick. That’s assuming Caserio stays at 28th overall, which history tells us that he almost assuredly will not. How do they view Tank Dell? We know the Tank Dell saga, whose latest injury chapter (one of a handful in his NFL career) consisted of a brutal knee injury in Week 16 of the 2024 season that saw him tear every ligament in his left knee. It’s an injury from which most players never make it back. Throughout 2025, Dell has attacked his rehab ferociously, to the point where the team has indicated he might have been able to return late in the 2025 season. Now, the workout videos for Dell are surfacing online, and he looks fantastic: How much are they counting on Dell, and to what degree has he fully recaptured the magic he showed in his 2023 rookie season? That’s a massive variable for the Texans offensively in 2026. Did they really swap out Tommy Townsend for this guy? After punting for the Texans the last two seasons, Townsend has moved on to Tennessee, where the Titans signed him to a two year deal at identical money to what the Texans had paid him for 2024 and 2025. The Texans’ solution at punter now is a young player by the name of Kai Kroeger, who Caserio picked up for a 2028 last round pick swap. Kroeger was at the bottom of most of the punting analytic stats at the end of 2025, so I would imagine he won’t be the only punter in camp. If he is, then special teams, which has been a strength of the Texans predating the arrival of DeMeco Ryans, might take a hit. How is C.J. Stroud’s offseason going? We can talk about free agents, trades, and the draft until we are blue in the face. If C.J. doesn’t show improvement over what we’ve seen the last two seasons, the rest of it matters very little. We know Stroud is putting in the work, largely because he always does. We know he got a haircut, which for now qualifies as the biggest change he’s made that we are aware of. Stroud is a pretty grounded individual, who’s suffered from ups and downs in football and life. He is equipped to deal with the scrutiny he’s going to receive this season, and the stress that comes with it. The stress level gets amped up because he is probably playing for a contract extension, as well. The post Texans’ Offseason Sets Up Fascinating NFL Draft Possibilities appeared first on Houston Press.

Tags

Share This Event