Some very talented players are left on the board following the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft, which sets up perfectly for the Houston Texans draft.
The Houston Texans draft decision makers have a nice view ahead of them when Day 2 of the 2020 NFL Draft begins on Friday night. The Texans have the eighth pick in the second round — the 40th overall selection — meaning there are a variety of directions they can travel.
There are some very talented cornerbacks and safeties available following the first round, some really good defensive tackles available, pass rushers with high grades are still waiting to join a team, and if the Texans really think outside the box there are some quality running backs on the board as well.
Maybe the Texans draft will include a wide receiver in the second round as they try to replace DeAndre Hopkins with Denzel Mims and others is still available. Maybe Bill O’Brien makes a trade and either jumps up in the second round to select the player he wants the most, or moves down to get more draft capital and gamble on the player the Texans are targeting will fall to them.
Next are five players still left on the board in the 2020 NFL Draft the Texans can target in the second round.
5. Texans Draft: Xavier McKinney, S, Alabama
Seeing a player with the ability of Xavier McKinney still available at the start of Day 2 shows how deep the 2020 NFL Draft class is. There is still a good chance to have McKinney if the Texans want to work on their secondary at safety in the second round, but probably not from 40th overall.
Projected as a first round selection by many draft experts, it is a surprise that McKinney is still available at the start of the second round. The junior season of McKinney — which was his final collegiate season — saw the Crimson Tide safety collect a total of 95 tackles (59 solo) with five passes defensed, three sacks, four forced fumbles and three interceptions (including one touchdown).
McKinney is projected as a starter within his first two seasons in the league, but lets be honest, any team that takes the safety will have McKinney on the field in a great amount of plays his rookie season. The Texans currently have Tashaun Gipson and A.J. Moore at strong safety, and at free safety are Justin Reid and Eric Murray as the four top safety options.
Though there is improvement that could be added to the safety, is that the main focus point of making the defense better in Round 2?
4. Texans Draft: Tee Higgins, WR, Clemson
Maybe this is how the Houston Texans draft decision makers replace DeAndre Hopkins at wide receiver … by drafting another wide receiver from Clemson in Tee Higgins.
Higgins was a projected second round pick by Lance Zierlein of NFL.com, as the NFL comparison for Higgins is current Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green. Though the Texans currently have Will Fuller, Brandin Cooks, Kenny Stills, and Randall Cobb as their top four receivers on the roster, Higgins would give that group an instant boost in production in the early stages of his career.
Higgins can play at any wide receiver spot on the field, and at 6’4″ and 216 pounds, that would make a tall target for quarterback Deshaun Watson to pass the football to in big-game moments.
When the Texans traded Hopkins they not only traded an All-Pro receiver, but a player who was always on the field with, Hopkins missing just two games in his career. As for the current group of Texans receivers, that statement can’t be repeated.
Fuller has not yet been healthy for an entire season as he is penciled in as the No. 1 option at the position, and Cooks last season had concussion issues while with the Los Angeles Rams that cost him some games.
The Texans are in an interesting spot at 40th overall as Higgins might be on the board when that pick is on the clock. Would the Texans possibly pass on solid defensive player if they had the chance to take Higgins?
3. Texans Draft: A.J. Epenesa, DE, Iowa
Now this would be a very exciting selection with the 40th overall pick in the Houston Texans draft if A.J. Epenesa would still be sitting available to select. To be quite honest, Epenesa had all the makings to be a first round pick, but luckily for the Texans he can still be had in the second round.
Having an NFL comparison to Carlos Dunlap (Cincinnati Bengals) isn’t such a bad thing. For the Texans what is great about possibly getting a pass rusher named Epenesa is he can play in both a 3-4 or 4-3 defense, which that ability of being able to have versatility is attention-catching for sure.
While at Iowa, Epenesa played in 37 games, including 13 games this past year. Epenesa collected 32 solo tackles this past season, and to go with that there were 14 tackles for loss, 49 total tackles, four forced fumbles, 1.5 sacks, three passes defensed.
By some football miracle if Epenesa is still on the board at 40th overall, the Texans will have quite the decision to make. The defensive end could not only produce now and learn under the great J.J. Watt (who is entering his 10th season), but he could be built up to eventually one day be the main focal point of the Texans’ defense.
2. Texans Draft: Trevon Diggs, CB, Alabama
Sticking with the concept and focus on the defensive side of the field, the Houston Texans draft might need a cornerback added to this list, and look no further than Trevon Diggs of Alabama.
The Texans at 40th overall are in an excellent position because there are players that aren’t even going to be on this list that will be high-quality additions to the roster. The Texans must realize that with the aforementioned eighth pick of the second round they can make their defense better which is where Diggs comes to mind.
Diggs at cornerback for the Crimson Tide is coming off a final collegiate season where in 12 games played he had three interceptions and eight passes defensed. There was also the one touchdown on one of the interceptions, plus a fumble recovery for a touchdown. Diggs also collected 20 solo tackles.
In his four years at Alabama, Diggs finished with four interceptions and 17 passes defensed, plus he had the chance to play in the SEC which isn’t the easiest conference to play in for four seasons either.
Being compared to Aqib Talib isn’t that bad of a thing, so if the Texans have the need to add a cornerback to the roster this is a great opportunity to do so. Houston’s current cornerbacks are Lonnie Johnson Jr., Vernon Hargreaves and Keion Crossen at left cornerback, plus Bradley Roby and Gareon Conley at right cornerback. After the 40th overall pick is made we’ll all know how much confidence Bill O’Brien has in his current cornerback depth chart.
1. Texans Draft: Ross Blacklock, DT, TCU
Ross Blacklock of TCU is a player that some felt would be drafted at the end of the first round and for good reason, as he is maybe the best defensive tackle in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Houston needs to find a player to replace nose tackle D.J. Reader who joined the Cincinnati Bengals as the highest-paid nose tackle in league history this offseason. As great as that was for the former fifth round pick, when Reader left in free agency, it also left the Texans in a bind at the position.
Houston did sign Tim Jernigan in free agency, but he’s entering his seventh season, and not only that the Texans need to add more depth at the position. Blacklock is that player, and the Texans wouldn’t regret selecting him in the second round at 40th overall.
With Blacklock even being available in the second round, maybe it is a sign that this offseason for the Texans is more than just wild trades by O’Brien, and finally something worth celebrating will happen. Blacklock in 2019 had nine tackles for loss with 4.5 of those tackles coming against Kansas and Kansas State combined.
Blacklock also had 1.5 tackles for loss against Baylor, plus one each vs. Purdue and Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Rounding out his TFL stats, Blacklock had a half-TFL against both Texas and Oklahoma State.
Blacklock is a big man who can take up space on the defensive line (6’4″ and 305 pounds) all the while making teammates better. If Blacklock is sitting on the Texans draft board at 40th overall it will be interesting to see the decision the franchise makes Friday night. The correct decision would be to draft the big tackle from TCU.