As we finish up the divisional round, many Houston Texans fans will be constantly checking their phones to see which coaches get fired and who are available. I truly thought Smith was the perfect coach. The Texans needed a defensive-minded coach with good discipline and leadership. But it sadly didn’t work out.
Texans out of playoffs looking to focus on upgrades in free agency and draft
With that being said, however, we did see a lot of bright spots this season, we saw the development of young stars in Dameon Pierce, Jalen Pitre, Derek Stingley, and Johnathon Owens. Now even though Smith lost a lot of games he did bring a lot of hope for the future of the Texans with a lot of good development of young guys and good drafting such as stealing Pitre in the second round and Pierce in the fourth. With that being said, here is one guy that should be a main target by the Texans
Michael Mayer is exactly the kind of explosive athlete the Houston Texans need
One big thing the Houston Texans did last offseason was fleece the Browns in giving away Deshaun Watson, as the Texans have two top 15 picks in the draft. With the second pick, it’s obvious the Texans will select a quarterback but then comes the question of who should be picked at 12.
The answer is tight end Michael Mayer out of Notre Dame. At 6’4 249, the 2022 Consensus All-American is ranked the #1 tight end in this year’s draft by Mel Kiper and is considered a generational talent. In three seasons with the Fighting Irish, he recorded 2,099 yards with 18 receiving touchdowns and an average of 11.7 yards per catch.
Now, I know the 12th spot is early for a tight end, but I think it works out perfectly for the Texans. In this evolving league, you need a tight end who can be a threat in the passing game, as Mayer has shown in his last two seasons. From 2021-2022, he put up 1,649 yards receiving, 16 touchdowns, and 11.95 yards per catch on 138 receptions.
There’s one thing that might turn most fans away from him and that’s his blocking ability. He may be a liability in the run game especially when it comes to team he looks like they love to give the ball to Pierce when trying keep momentum and the need to take pressure off guys like Nico Collins and Brandin Cooks.
My favorite thing about Mayer is his ability to go up and get the ball and YAC (Yards After Catch) he’s not afraid to put his head down and grind for an extra few yards. Picking Mayer at 12 would bring another weapon on the offense open up more opportunities for Cooks and Pierce to make big plays.