Houston Texans: Mock Drafts vary in opinion everywhere

Being that it is mock draft season, there are varying opinions on who the Houston Texans should take in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Mock draft season is one of the more interesting times of the offseason because opinions vary in so many ways, which is why mock drafts are so much fun to read and write. Last week at the Toro Times, we had our first Texans mock draft with Houston selecting a pass rusher, which is a team need following the 2019 season.

On Monday in a mock draft at HoustonTexans.com, the voice of the Houston Texans Marc Vandermeer had the franchise selecting Trevon Diggs, a cornerback from Alabama, with their second-round pick. Remember, the Texans traded this year’s first-round pick (and other high picks) to the Miami Dolphins last offseason for Laremy Tunsil and Kenny Stills.

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Vandermeer wrote the following about Diggs in his mock draft article:

"“Good size, speed and a versatile skill set.”"

He didn’t go into too much detail as to why Diggs would be a good choice, except that he had the size and speed and that his brother played in the NFL. My opinion is it is very doubtful Diggs falls to the 57th overall selection in the second round as more than a few mock drafts have Diggs going late in the first round.

Lance Cartelli of 247Sports.com on their Cleveland Browns site, in a two-round mock draft, has the Texans selecting Clyde Edwards-Helaire, a running back from LSU.

This pick is interesting as well because the Texans could wait to select a running back in rounds three or four since they already have Duke Johnson in their backfield, and they could look into free agency or trade for another running back like they did last season when they traded for Carlos Hyde when Lamar Miller was injured in the preseason.

Edwards-Helaire is a solid running back, and he’ll be solid at the position in the NFL, but the Texans need to focus on defense in the second round, unless Edwards-Helaire is the best player available at 57th overall and they can’t pass on him.

In Daniel Jeremiah’s Top 50 draft prospects list at NFL.com, he moved Edwards-Helaire from 40th overall on his previous list to now 32nd overall, and that is before the NFL Combine even takes place.

It will be very interesting to see if Edwards-Helaire falls to 57th overall (which I don’t believe he will) and he’s sitting there for the Texans to select. Will they go offense and draft a running back, or try to improve their defense as they must go through a very tough Kansas City Chiefs team if they ever want to make the Super Bowl?

In a recent mock draft, Luke Easterling of DraftWire (a member of the USA Today Network) projects the Texans will select Shane Lemieux, an offensive lineman from Oregon, with the 57th overall pick.

This could be a selection that really improves the offensive line, added with the revamp of the unit last season when the Texans drafted Tytus Howard and Max Scharping, plus traded for Laremy Tunsil. Lemieux would provide more power on the offensive line, and even more so add to the rushing game of the Texans. In his draft profile by Kyle Crabbs of The Draft Network, the following is said about the lineman:

"“Raw strength and power serves him well to eat up power rushes and doesn’t typically get collapsed unless he’s late with his hands.”"

To be honest, the thought of selecting an offensive linemen in the second round this year was put on the back burner as the focus here has been mostly pass rush.

Again, like with Edwards-Helaire, if Lemieux is the best player available at 57th overall, or if the Texans really believe he can put the offensive line over the top, this pick would work, but for the ’20 season everything comes back to the pass rush because of how strong the AFC is going to be once again.

The great thing about mock drafts being different is the fact it give us all a chance to learn about different players we might not have known about or studied closely.

The Texans have some solid and tough choices ahead this offseason, and if they do things correctly they could build a very strong team. Only time will tell if these mock drafts are the way the Texans go with the 57th overall pick.