Grading each of the Texans' 5 picks from the 2021 NFL draft

The Houston Texans had a five-man draft class for the second consecutive season, which must be one of the side effects from trading your first and second-round picks for a Pro Bowl left tackle.To buy more Houston Texans Jersey with cheap price, you can visit texans365 official website.


Nevertheless, the Texans tried to target specific players who could be a part of their culture and bring discipline and determination to the locker room. Houston didn’t have as many selections as a rebuilding team might need, but general manager Nick Caserio was looking for players who could help amplify the message of competition and improvement around NRG Stadium.It makes sense why the Texans went with Mills. He had a connection with Pep Hamilton thanks to David Shaw having been on the Stanford staff back in the early 2010s when they both worked together. Was Mills really that much of a can’t-miss prospect that they had to spend their first and presumptively only top-100 selection on him? Probably not. The move also signals the end of the Deshaun Watson era in Houston. Why else would you make that high of a pick? Given quarterback is going to be a problem for 2021, it would make made sense to take a different position than signal caller.


Again, another connection to Pep Hamilton, the Texans’ quarterbacks coach, Collins is a decent pick for the third round. The questions surrounding him relate to his consistency and whether the 2020 opt-out will hurt him as he seeks to take the next step at the pro level. Hamilton also worked with Ben McDaniels at Michigan, and McDaniels is now an offensive assistant with the Texans. Collins will have an expectation for what type of player the coaches are looking for. The only issue is Houston had to spend their draft resources to move up to get him.


This pick was probably even more of a head-scratcher than the Mills selection. Houston has a competent starter in Jordan Akins, a developmental project from the third round of 2019 in Kahale Warring, a budding contributor in Pharaoh Brown, and three other bodies in Paul Quessenberry, Ryan Izzo, and Antony Auclair. At 6-3, 245 pounds, Jordan could be a decent threat down the seams. Nevertheless, given the value and the positions Houston needed to address, it was a reach.


Aside from Zach Cunningham, the Texans’ linebacking corps consists of veterans on one and two-year deals, such as Christian Kirksey and Jordan Jenkins. They are merely hold-down-the-fort guys, and the next commander they’re waiting on is someone like Wallow. This may have been the only pick Houston made where they reloaded a veteran-rich unit with younger talent that can take over as a starter.