Houston Texans 2021 Draft Profile

The 2021 NFL Draft begins on April 29, which means that The Game Haus will be writing draft profiles for every team. Each NFL team will be evaluated heading into this year’s draft, as our staff recaps their last season, highlights their needs and pinpoints their potential 2021 NFL Draft targets. 

The Houston Texans are the subject of today’s 2021 draft profile.

Summary

The Texans came off the heels of a successful 2019 season, which was headlined with a 10-6 record and a playoff appearance. The success of the 2019 season gave the Texans momentum going in the 2020 season. The momentum came with aspirations of making another playoff appearance. This was not the case, however, as theTexans had a miserable regular season. The Texans stumbled into the season winning one out of their first six games. Things didn’t get much better from there as the Texans won only three more games in 2020. Their final record came in at 4-12 by the end of the season.

The unsuccessful season consisted of a lack of production in the running game and a weak secondary that gave Houston issues all year. The struggles continued off the field as well with bad coaching and decision making from former Texans ead coach and GM Bill O’Brien. The Texans finished the season with interim head coach Romeo Crennel. There was a bright spot throughout the season as quarterback Deshaun Watson had a stellar year in 2020. He had well over 4,000 passing yards and 33 touchdown passes.

Unfortunately, the Texans situation gets worse as Watson does have an uncertain future that lies ahead of him. This is in regards to recent allegations of sexual assault and inappropriate behavior. This leaves Watson’s future in question as the investigation is still ongoing. If Watson is unavailable during the start of the regular season, then Houston does have some depth at the quarterback position. They signed Tyrod Taylor, which is a nice pick up for the Texans. Taylor has had success as an NFL starting quarterback recently and he’s a veteran.

This Houston Texans 2021 draft profile will delve deeper into the Texans team needs. This article will also provide insight on who they can draft in the early rounds of 2021 NFL Draft.

2021 NFL Picks

The Houston Texans will have one pick in the first three rounds of the 2021 NFL Draft. 

Third Round (one pick): No. 67

Team Needs

Wide Receiver: Will Fuller signed with the Dolphins, who was one of the Texans more productive receivers in 2020. The Texans depth at this position is a little thin right now. The most notable wide receivers the Texans have on the roster is veteran Randall Cobb and Brandon Cooks. The Texans need that X factor wide receiver that one can trust to make plays. Trading DeAndre Hopkins has turned out to be a pretty unfavorable deal for Houston.

Corner Back: The Texans did not fair well in the secondary this season. They were ranked 23rd in passing yards allowed in the 2020 season. The Texans have Bradly Roby and Vernon Hargraves III who have proven to be solid cornerbacks in the NFL. Roby was suspended for part of the season due to violating the NFL’s performance enhancing drug policy. The Texans signed two cornerbacks in Terrence Mitchell and Desmond King from free agency. This does not fix the Texans problems at this position as they need other possible starters for this positon.

Edge: The Texans will have a big hole to fill at edge with J.J. Watt moving on to the Cardinals. The Texans defensive edge depth chart includes Vincent Taylor, DeMarcus Walker and Charles Omenihu. Omenihu brought the most to the table in 2020 as he had 17 total tackles and four sacks. Houston will definitely need more at this position if they want to have a chance to compete.

2021 NFL Draft Targets

Pick No. 67: Rashad Weaver, Edge Rusher, Pitt

Rashad Weaver is one of the bigger edge rushers in the draft as he is 6-foot-5 and weighs 270 pounds. He played three seasons with the Panthers. In 2018, he had 31 solo tackles and 6.5 sacks, which put him on the map as a formidable edge rusher in the ACC. Weaver missed his 2019 season with a season ending injury with a torn ligament.

Even with that injury in 2019, Weaver still  had a great 2020 season at the University of Pittsburg. He had 22 solo tackles and had 7.5 sacks on the season, which is a season for him on the college level. Weaver is good at getting to the quarterback powering the line with his size and strength. The Pitt edge rusher also had three forced fumbles on the season, which demonstrates his ability to create turnovers. Weaver was named Consensus All American for his efforts in the 2020 season. This would give the Texans some more help at edge with J.J. Watt in Arizona. Weaver is projected to be a 3rd round pick in the draft and has a real possibility of being a solid NFL player.

This was the Texans 2021 Draft Profile.

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