When should Houston Texans fans be really excited for the 2022 NFL Draft?
Mock drafts are all over the internet, and the 2022 NFL Draft is especially important for the Houston Texans. One of the best overall first round mock drafts comes from Brad Weiss of FanSided this week.
The full first round mock draft by Weiss has the Texans keeping their third overall selection, and with the Jacksonville Jaguars picking offensive tackle Evan Neal at No. 1 overall and the Detroit Lions taking EDGE rusher Adian Hutchinson with the second choice, that left the Texans in a prime spot with their pick.
Houston gained possession of the third overall pick after finishing the 2021 season with a 4-13 record, and since then Lovie Smith has been promoted to head coach (and he’ll still run the defense), while Pep Hamilton is the new offensive coordinator.
With those two leading the on-the-field product, the first Texans choice of ’22 could go either way depending on what they each suggest, and who general manager Nick Caserio wants the pick to be.
Texans draft: Who will be the choice when the third pick is on the board?
As for the FanSided mock draft for this week it had the Texans selecting EDGE rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux of Oregon with the third pick of the draft, instantly giving the defensive pass rush more creditability than they had a season ago.
Here is some of what Weiss wrote about Thibodeaux being selected by the Houston Texans in this latest mock draft from FanSided:
"“The Texans decide to bolster their defensive line, selecting Oregon star Kayvon Thibodeaux, who could end up being the top overall selection in April. Thibodeaux fixes an issue along the defensive line that has hurt them since JJ Watt left, and to compete in the AFC South, you need to be able to get after the quarterback.”"
Like we’ve said many times on the pages of the Toro Times, Thibodeaux would change the defense of the Houston Texans as soon as they make the selection.
At Oregon he totaled 19 sacks in three seasons, and in ’21 his numbers included 35 solo tackles, seven sacks and two forced fumbles.
At the NFL Combine this month the 21-year old Thibodeaux — who is 6’4″ and weighs 254 pounds — had a 4.58 40-yard dash and did 27 reps on the 225-pound bench press.
The Texans still haven’t filled the void that was left by J.J. Watt, who left last year via free agency. Though it will be tough for any player moving forward to be the player Watt was with the Texans, if Thibodeaux could get near that, well the Texans would have one heck of a player on their defense starting with the ’22 season, and that would help the offense out as well.
This pick could actually happen where the Texans land of of the top EDGE rushers, and the first three picks of the ’22 NFL Draft could turn out this way to be honest.
With Caserio and the rest of the decision makers of the Houston Texans franchise nothing is certain, and no pick is safe from being trade to add more draft capital in this draft, and future drafts of the Texans. The ultimate goal is to make the Texans competitive again, and picking Thibodeaux would be a great start in doing that.