The 2019 NFL Draft is this month, which means that The Game Haus will be doing draft profiles for every team. Each NFL team will be looked at heading into this year’s draft including what their needs are and who they could be targeting. The Houston Texans will be the 22nd team evaluated.

Summary

With J.J. Watt and Deshaun Watson healthy, the Texans were able to make the playoffs, but were knocked out in the Wild Card Round by their divisional foe, the Indianapolis Colts. It was a successful regular season for the Texans though, as they finished with an 11-5 record.

They had the 11th ranked offense in the NFL last season, which scored 25.1 points per game. Houston ranked 17th in passing offense, averaging 236.3 passing yards per game. Watson had a good second season in the NFL to lead the passing attack and finished with 4,165 passing yards. He had the help of one of the best receivers in football, DeAndre Hopkins, who totaled 1,572 receiving yards. They rushed for 126.3 yards per game, ranking eighth in the league. Lamar Miller led the team in rushing yards with 973. The offensive line was not great and needs to get better to help keep Watson healthy. Matt Kalil was signed to play tackle, but the rest of the offense hasn’t changed much this offseason.

The Texans tied for the fourth best defense in the league, allowing 19.8 points per game. The defensive line in their 3-4 defense is led by Watt, but he didn’t have the best players around him. He did get help from the outside linebacker position as Ja’Deveon Clowney and Whitney Mercilus were great. Houston also had good play from their inside linebackers in Zach Cunningham and Benardrick McKinney. Jonathan Joseph, Kareem Jackson and Kevin Johnson were ok corners, but they could’ve played better. At safety, Justin Reid had a solid rookie season, why Andre Hal was a good support player. Cornerback Bradley Robey and safety Tashaun Gipson were signed to bolster the secondary heading into next season.

2019 NFL Draft Picks

Houston has seven picks in the 2019 NFL Draft.

First Round (one pick): No. 23

Second Round (two picks): No. 54, No. 55

Third Round (one pick): No. 86

Fifth Round (one pick): No. 161

Sixth Round (one pick): No. 195

Seventh Round (one pick): No. 220

Team Needs

Offensive Tackle- Kalil being signed helps a little, but they still need a right tackle and a left tackle for the future.

Offensive Guard- Zach Fulton was a good signing, but he hasn’t played up to his potential. The Texans need another guard anyway.

Running Back- Miller is aging and D’onta Foreman wasn’t healthy last year. Adding another running back to the backfield would make the offense better.

Wide Receiver- Hopkins and Will Fuller are a good tandem, but they don’t have many good receivers outside of them.

Cornerback- Robey will help, but they need to get a few corners, as Joseph is aging.

Defensive Line- Getting good players around Watt on the defensive line could make the defense even better.

2019 NFL Draft Targets

First Round:

Pick No. 23: Greg Little, Offensive Tackle, Ole Miss

The offensive line has to be addressed or Watson won’t last very long. Little is not favored by many media analysts as a top tackle, but his athleticism will be something that a lot of NFL coaches will want to work with. He can start at right tackle to start his career, then move to left tackle after Kalil is gone.

Second Round: 

Pick No. 54: Julian Love, Cornerback, Notre Dame

With Joseph aging, the Texans have to address the cornerback position now. Love can learn behind Joseph and play in nickel and dime packages. At Notre Dame, Love showed great ball skills and has the school record for pass breakups.

Pick No. 55: Elgton Jenkins, Offensive Guard/Center, Mississippi State

The Texans should get a few offensive linemen in this draft if they care about the future of their team. Jenkins can play either guard or center, but for the Texans, can slide in at guard so they can keep Nick Martin at center.

Third Round:

Pick No. 86: Mike Weber, Running Back, Ohio State

Weber split carries in his time at Ohio State with J.K. Dobbins, so he is relatively fresh. He has some power and agility, which makes him an intriguing prospect for a team selecting in the third round. The Texans can put him in the backfield with Miller and Foreman if he is healthy.

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