After months of waiting, the 2026 NFL draft is only days away and has the potential to change the outlook for the Houston Texans' 2026-27 season. As it currently stands, the Texans will pick in the twenties for only the second time since 2016. Picking later for the Texans has been few and far between due to poor results and plenty of trades, but when they have, the team has brought in impact players.
In the 2016 NFL draft, the Texans used the 21st overall pick to draft wide receiver Will Fuller V out of Notre Dame. Three years later, the team used the 23rd overall pick to select offensive lineman Tytus Howard from Alabama State. Both players spent at least five seasons with the team but did not get to ride off into the sunset in Houston.
The Speedster Will Fuller V
When Will Fuller V was drafted in 2016, he was brought in to be the number two to DeAndre Hopkins. The season before Fuller V was drafted, Hopkins had just made his first Pro Bowl appearance and was also named second-team All-Pro. The plan behind adding Fuller V was to compliment Hopkins for years to come.
Fuller V was a fast receiver who was going to use his speed to beat defensive backs down the field and help stretch the field. Coming out of college, Fuller V was also considered a solid route runner and could serve as a threat in the middle of the field as well. This was a different playstyle from Hopkins, who was an excellent contested catcher with elite hands. With these two on the roster, it seemed that the Texans had their wide receiver room set for the future.
Fuller V hit the ground running his rookie season, recording back-to-back 100-yard games to start the season. Fuller's performance helped the Texans start off the season with wins over the Chicago Bears and Kansas City Chiefs. Two games later, Fuller V continued to impress with 80 receiving yards, a receiving touchdown, and a punt return touchdown. Unfortunately, this was the peak of Fuller V's season. After a promising start, he was held under 60 receiving yards in all but one game and did not find the endzone again.
Due to a broken collarbone, Fuller V then proceeded to miss the start of the 2017-18 season. Fuller V also missed another three games due to cracked ribs and only appeared in 10 games for the Texans. Fuller V's best game came against the Seattle Seahawks in week eight, where he posted five receptions, 125 yards, and two touchdowns. His second season in the league was underwhelming in a lot of ways, but he did finish the season with five more touchdowns than he did the year before.
In 2018, Fuller V continued to battle injuries and only appeared in 7 games in large part due to a torn ACL. When Fuller V was in the lineup, he was playing some of his best football, which included three games with over 100 yards, and he finished the season with four touchdowns. However, in three of the other four games, he was held under 50 yards, which demonstrated inconsistent play. Due to that and the swarm of injuries, hope for FullerV becoming a high-end wide receiver two was dwindling.
Despite all the adversity Fuller V had faced, the Texans opted to pick up his fifth-year option ahead of the 2019-20 season. By the time week one had rolled around, Fuller V returned to the field for the Texans but missed five games later in the season due to injury. Along with injuries, Fuller V's play remained up and down. He had a 217-yard and three-touchdown game against the Atlanta Falcons but was largely disappointing outside of that. Not including his game against the Falcons, Fuller V only had 453 yards in 10 games and did not have a single touchdown.
Fuller V came back for the 2020-21 season, where he had his best season with the team. Fuller recorded 53 receptions, 879 yards, and nine touchdowns, which were all career highs. For the first time in his career too, Fuller V had not missed a game due to injury, and it finally seemed they were getting a return on their investment. However, his season came to an abrupt end when he was suspended for the final six games of the season due to PED usage.
This marked the end of Fuller V's time with the Texans, and he went on to play one more season in the NFL. Fuller V spent the 2021-22 season with the Miami Dolphins but only appeared in two games for the team. That was the last time Fuller V played in the league, and despite showing flashes, his career never took off. Fuller V had the makings to be a strong complementary receiver, but pairing inconsistent play with injuries cut his career short.
The Steady Tackle Tytus Howard
Similar to Will Fuller V, Tytus Howard was brought in to help complete a position group. The Texans drafted Howard to provide Deshaun Watson with bookend tackles. The team had traded for Laremy Tunsil that offseason and wanted to protect their second-year quarterback. While Howard took snaps at left guard, he primarily played right tackle in eight games in his rookie season. According to PFF, he only gave up two sacks and looked like a solid pass blocker who needed to improve in the run game. Howard was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team and looked like a rising star.
Over the next few seasons, Howard proved to be a solid player for the Texans, and from 2020 to 2023, he never had a season where he gave up more than three sacks via PFF. While he wasn't the elite offensive lineman that Tunsil was, Houston had successfully found two offensive tackles who kept their quarterback clean. While he never became a dominant run blocker, he heavily relied on outleveraging defensive linemen to get the job done.
Tytus Howard played out the entirety of his rookie deal with the Texans, who picked up his fifth-year option ahead of the 2022-23 season. The next offseason, the Texans extended Howard on a three-year deal worth $56 million. Howard then only appeared in seven games that season due to a variety of injuries. When Howard returned for the 2024-25 season, he had the worst season of his career, where he gave up six sacks via PFF.
The next season, Howard followed up his worst season with one of his best. In 16 games last season, Howard did not allow a single sack, the only time in his career that he has done that. On top of that, PFF only credited him with his man hitting the quarterback once. Despite the impressive season, general manager Nick Caserio thought it was time to move on. This offseason, Howard was traded to the Cleveland Browns for a fifth-round pick in this year's draft.
The Browns rewarded Howard's strong season with a two-year contract extension worth $45 million. To replace Howard, the Texans brought in Braden Smith in free agency from the Indianapolis Colts. While Smith is a similar caliber pass blocker, he is a clear upgrade in the run game for the Texans. This was likely the driving reason why Houston moved on from their first-round pick after seven seasons.
Both these players are examples of what a late first-round pick could become. Will Fuller V showed flashes each season while with the Texans but could not shake the injury bug and failed to show up on a weekly basis. Tytus Howard delivered solid play for a number of seasons but never developed into a game-changing player. With the 28th overall pick this year, it is more likely whoever they draft has a career arc closer to Fuller V's or Howard's than one of a superstar player.
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