Houston Texans draft prospect: Should Kyle Hamilton be 3rd overall pick?

Will the Houston Texans draft a safety in the first round of the ’22 NFL Draft?

With so much going on for the Houston Texans other than the head coach hire, the 2022 NFL Draft is something that all Texans fans are excited about, maybe that is because the team could be drafting Notre Dame safety Kyle Hamilton with the third overall pick.

The Texans have many roster holes to fill, let alone making a final decision on Deshaun Watson, but two defensive studs that the Texans potentially have eyes on could arguably be drafted with the first two picks in the draft as they are Oregon’s Kayvon Thibodeaux and Michigan’s Aidan Hutchinson.

If this stands who potentially is the next best available player?

A lot of people are thinking Alabama offensive tackle Evan Neal is the next best available player the Texans could draft. It is very important to note in an interview with Sean Pendergast and Seth Payne of SportsRadio 610, Texans general manager Nick Caserio mentioned something very interesting.

Caserio said the following about Laremy Tunsil, the current left tackle of the Texans:

"“We have forty-five, forty-six players on contract for next year… We’ll talk about everybody; we’ll go through our team whenever we do get the head coach in place… I would say Laremy falls under that category just like everybody else.”"

Houston Texans: Will Nick Caserio trade Laremy Tunsil this offseason?

It sounds like for the right price Caserio is willing to make a trade, which makes sense why the thought player who could be drafted third might be Neal. However, with only two more years on his contract that might be too high of a price for other teams.

Someone the Texans should have a good look at for the ’22 NFL Draft is Notre Dame safety Kyle Hamilton. With Justin Reid, the best defensive player on the team, looking to test free agency that leaves a huge void in the defense. Kyle Hamilton could immediately step in and be a playmaker.

In his career Hamilton had 138 tackles, 24 passes defended, and eight interceptions. Hamilton is a hybrid playmaking safety who reminds me of Isaiah Simmons of the Arizona Cardinals, but better. While Hamilton only played seven games in 2021 his PFF rank is third and ranked first among all safeties.  So how is a guy that only played seven games in ’21 ranked so high? Here’s how.

Positives 

• Great open field tackler
• Excellent awareness, closing speed
• Has great range and attacks the ball
• Has great size

Negatives

• Block shedding needs improvement
• Inconsistent tackling technique
• Recognizing and locating runs at line of scrimmage

Hamilton can move all around on the defensive which would help the Houston Texans defense a lot. He’s a player you have to game plan for opening up some pretty cool scheming. If Hamilton is available when it is time to use the third overall pick the Texans can’t pass on him.