2 selections that would help pick-poor Texans win the draft
The Houston Texans don’t have a first-round or a second-round pick in the 2021 NFL draft. It is the cost of doing business as the Texans gave up those picks as part of a packaged deal to acquire left tackle Laremy Tunsil from the Miami Dolphins. No doubt Tunsil has proven his worth with his only two career Pro Bowl selections coming in Houston, but the quest to shore up left tackle has cost Houston dearly in 2021.
Chad Reuter from NFL.com presented his top two picks for every team. Here is who Reuter thinks would get the Texans’ pick-poor draft started off on the right track.
Round 3 (No. 67 overall) — DE Rashad Weaver, Pittsburgh
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Weaver played nine games for the Pitt Panthers in 2020, collecting 34 combined tackles, 14 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, and two pass breakups. The 6-5, 270-pound edge defender could provide the Texans with a quality player who could grow into the war daddy role on his rookie contract. The pressure to produce wouldn't be immediate as the club still has defensive ends Shaq Lawson and Charles Omenihu playing ahead of him. However, Houston could use that third-round pick to take a player that presumably would complement their completed defense in the coming seasons.
Round 4 (No. 109 overall) — LB Derrick Barnes, Purdue
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The former Boilermaker would give the Texans another competent linebacker alongside Zach Cunningham as new defensive coordinator Lovie Smith may be shifting the outside linebackers to defensive end, which typically happens when a defense transitions from 3-4 to 4-3. Houston would have a younger linebacker to beef up their linebacking corps and provide some enforcement on Barnes' rookie contract. The moves of Barnes and Weaver would address the defense and allow Houston to fix the offense with their 2022 picks, when they may be of higher value and also abundant.
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