Texans 4-Round Mock Draft: Trades, pass rushers, and more

The Houston Texans have seven picks in the first four rounds of the ’22 NFL Draft.

For the Houston Texans, the 2022 NFL Draft is another step of three in the rebuild when they hired general manager Nick Caserio. Since then, there have been multiple changes in head coaches, coordinators and even quarterbacks.

Houston has also made trades that have put them into the position they need to be in as the draft inches even closer, and this is where this four-round mock draft for the Texans comes into play for this franchise.

The Texans have picks No. 3, No. 13, No. 37, No. 68, No. 80, No. 107 and No. 108 in the first four rounds of the ’22 draft, with that meaning they have two first-round picks, a second-round pick and two picks in both the third and fourth rounds.

That’s an amazing amount of draft capital for the Texans to have, but who will the Texans draft with those selections?

Next is a mock draft for the first four rounds of the draft involving seven of the total 11 picks for the Texans, but let’s make things interesting and start this mock draft off with some excitement.

TRADE ALERT!

This mock draft will see the Texans trade the third overall pick of the ’22 NFL draft to the Carolina Panthers for the No. 6 overall pick and a first-round pick for the ’23 draft, which gives the Texans three first-round picks in ’23 as they have their own pick, the Browns’ ’23 first-rounder (from the Deshaun Watson trade) and with this fictitious trade the first-round pick of the Panthers as offered on the PFN Mock Draft Simulator.

If this trade were to ever happen, you can thank me later. Anyway, let’s start making some mock draft picks, with the Texans now drafting sixth overall.

The more thought that goes into the Texans’ first early first-round pick (whether it be third overall or a little down if a trade is made), the stronger the feeling is the Texans need to add Sauce Gardner to their secondary.

The player was amazing at the collegiate level, and if he plays up to his potential and the Texans don’t select him, Nick Caserio could regret not selecting him, especially if Gardner is a player who doesn’t forget who passed on him in the draft.

Houston needs to work on their secondary, especially at cornerback and for this to happen, picking Gardner in the first round is the way to go. He’s a player who can “stay connected to the route,” according to Lance Zierlein of NFL.com, and he also put in his draft report that Gardner “recognizes play development and alters assignment accordingly.”

Those are traits that will not only change the Texans defense moving forward, but traits that can turn tough games into wins if the opposing quarterback challenges him. Though there will be plenty of talented players on the board at this point, Gardner is the player the Texans need to draft … at least at this point in April.