Texans trade 3rd overall pick in 3-round mock draft

If Lewis Cine is still available with the No. 37 overall pick, Houston would be very smart to select the safety as it fills a need and gives the Texans a player who is good at his position. Cine has the talent to be a first-round pick, but just in case he falls to the Texans — at least he does in this mock draft — Houston would be a player who totaled 95 solo tackles in three seasons at Georgia, plus 14 passes defensed in that same three-year span.

The Texans need more help at safety for the ’22 season, and why not add Cine to a Lovie Smith-coached defense, as he would get excellent coaching, learn on a team that is rebuilding, and if the Texans select Booth in the first round, imagine the secondary the Texans could build for future seasons.

One player that many should have a radar on is defensive tackle Travis Jones, and if he’s on the board early in Round 3, the Texans need to act like they are Arian Foster and race as fast as possible to make this pick.

Jones has the ability to become a very good player in the NFL as he’s being projected as a “nose tackle with size and power that fuels his rumbling playing style.” In ’21 Jones while at UConn had 7.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks.

The Texans need to stop the run much better in ’22 than they did in ’21, so using the 68th overall pick here isn’t such a bad idea, right?

If the Texans decide to draft a running back within the first three rounds, their final chance is with the 80th overall pick and Rachaad  White could be that running back to pair with the recently signed free agent Marlon Mack.

White is coming off a ’21 season with Arizona State that included a total of 182 carries for 1,000 yards rushing with 15 rushing touchdowns. White averaged 5.5 yards per carry, and he can catch passes too, finishing ’21 with 43 receptions for 456 yards with one touchdown.

White ran a 4.48 40-yard dash this offseason, and NFL.com has him as a player who can be “an average backup or special teamer.”

That is still to be decided, but the Texans could use a running back to complement Mack, and The Pro Football Network says this about White:

"“He possesses a tremendous amount of upside potential and will be a steal in the middle rounds.”"

This could be a player the Texans could turn into a better player than some believe he can be, and he could also be a player that brings solid depth at the running back position as well.