Gil Brandt lists Houston Texans as a team that needs to ‘ace their picks’

The Houston Texans can’t afford to be wrong in the 2022 NFL Draft.

NFL legend and Hall of Fame member Gil Brandt says the Houston Texans must ‘ace their picks’ in the 2022 NFL Draft, and that’s a true statement for sure as they have two picks in the first round, plus two picks in the third and fourth rounds.

The Texans have 11 picks overall in the draft, and with many of the higher choices they must be right on the money, With the two first rounds choices it is exciting to think about where the team will go with those choices.

As for acing their draft, Gil Brandt on NFL.com listed 10 teams that “need to ace their picks,” and coming in as the 10th team was your Houston Texans.

The Hall of Fame NFL legend Brandt wrote about recent draft history for the Texans, and how they traded first round picks in the past for left tackle Laremy Tunsil. Brandt had this to say about the Texans:

"“The Texans’ placement here is less about immediate pressure to win and more about the significance of their first two picks.”"

Brandt also said this when writing about the Texans:

"“Snagging two premier talents within the top 13 picks would really help secure a needed boost for this franchise.”"

Though they aren’t the most detailed statements, they ring true to the fact that the Texans can not mess these choices up, and they need to hit the jackpot on both first round choices because of the fact they are so important.

Houston Texans recent first round history doesn’t include many picks

Since 2016 the Houston Texans have made three picks in the first round of those six drafts and only one of those players are even still with the franchise. Those players are Will Fuller (2016), Deshaun Watson (2017), and Tytus Howard (2019) as Howard is still with the franchise that drafted him as a right tackle.

The Texans traded away first round picks in 2018, 2020 and 2021 with the ’20 and ’21 picks going to the Miami Dolphins for Laremy Tunsil, the current franchise left tackle in Houston. The ’18 first round pick for the Texans was in a trade with the Cleveland Browns to move up in the ’17 draft to pick Watson.

This year the Texans are making up for the lack of excitement of past draft weekends with five picks in the first 80 selections as they currently have 11 overall picks. Though not every player will be a difference maker when selected, the Texans have an excellent chance to really give their roster a boost with the two first round choices, and build solid depth with many of the draft picks.

Brandt didn’t become a Hall of Famer for nothing. He was one of the first NFL executives to really make a splash in the draft with the way he scouted players and how he used technology. The way he was a GM helped build Super Bowl winning teams in his day.

If Brandt puts the Texans on a list to “ace their picks” then we all should take note of what he’s saying and realize the Texans have a chance to make their roster much improved over the recent consecutive four-win seasons.

This draft is a huge way for the Houston Texans to better their franchise, and if they do things correctly with the 11 overall picks, there won’t be any more four-win seasons in the future.