Should the Houston Texans draft an offensive tackle in the NFL Draft?

While all the talk is on other positions of need such as CB, LB, or DT, one position that not too many people are talking about is Offensive Tackle. On paper, the Texans look like they're set at the position. They have two great tackles under contract in Laremy Tunsil and Tytus Howard, both did a tremendous job protecting CJ Stroud last year and opening up holes for the running backs. But let's take a deeper dive into it, who the team has met with, and why they should draft one.

The Texans have met with several prospects, as WalterFootball listed, including

Travis Glover, Georgia State (T30)
Roger Rosengarten, Washington (T30)
Jordan Morgan, Arizona (private)

Morgan, a 1st team All-Pac 12 winner, is projected to be a late 1st round or early 2nd round draft pick in less than two weeks. The Texans may opt for a tackle prospect that they can develop for a couple of years rather than somebody who can start day 1 as Morgan can. Nevertheless, Morgan is a tremendous prospect with a high upside that should find a transition to the NFL seamlessly.

Rosengarten is a very established tackle who has won many, many awards in college. Rosengarten didn't see any starting reps until 2022 at RT, his third year of college ball, but has established himself as one of the best tackles in this class. Rosengarten is projected to be drafted more in the Texans' round 2 range, making him a good candidate to be one of their two-round picks.

Glover, another one of their top-30 visits, played five collegiate seasons. A versatile lineman, Glover has stated that teams view him as a Guard, and others as a Tackle while speaking with The Draft Network. A late-round prospect, this may be where the Texans take their project player with their starters under contract and more pressing needs elsewhere.

Laremy Tunsil's contract

Tunsil has two years remaining on a three year/$75M contract and will become a free agent again when he's 33 years old. According to Spotrac, Tunsil has an out in his contract in 2026 that frees the team $21.3M in cap space. The Texans may utilize that as they start looking to free up money for a Stroud extension, and drafting one now will allow them time to get the rookie settled in. As Steoud's extension kicks in, the Texans will start to go younger and cheaper at a few spots, and Tunsil may be the player on the chopping block when that time comes.

Houston's depth behind Tunsil and Howard isn't bad, with Charlie Heck and David Sharpe next up. But the question is, can either of them step up in case of an injury, or when Tunsil starts to regress? These may be the questions Houston is asking themselves as they make their draft plans. This draft has some good tackles that can become good day 1 starters, or starters down the road, and the Texans need to capitalize on that.