The Houston Texans dedicated considerable time to finding weapons for quarterback C.J. Stroud in the NFL Draft, landing Iowa State wide receivers Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel on Day 2.
Not only that, but the Texans also bagged USC running back Woody Marks—known for his prowess as a pass-catcher out of the backfield—and Iowa tight end Luke Lachey on Saturday.
Well, Houston apparently isn't done finding weapons for Stroud, as the Texans also added Minnesota receiver Daniel Jackson as an undrafted free agent.
Jackson definitely had a productive collegiate career which spanned five seasons for the Golden Gophers. He is coming off of a 2024 campaign in which he hauled in 75 receptions for 863 yards and four touchdowns.
Actually, Jackson's most impressive year at Minnesota may have come in 2023, when he caught 59 passes for 831 yards and eight scores, averaging a robust 14.1 yards per catch.
The six-foot wide out isn't particularly athletic, as he runs a 4.62-second 40-yard dash and posted a pedestrian 61 overall athleticism score at the Scouting Combine.
However, Jackson's output cannot be ignored, and given that he did play some snaps in the slot for the Gophers, he could very well develop into a dependable slot weapon for the Texans.
Houston definitely needed to add some playmakers this offseason after losing Stefon Diggs to free agency and with Tank Dell likely being out for all of 2025 while he recovers from a knee injury.
The Texans certainly made sure to do that in the NFL Draft, and they then doubled down by acquiring Jackson, as well.
DeMeco Ryans Shares Thoughts on Texans' Draft Class
The 2025 NFL Draft is finally wrapped up after three days of action in Green Bay, and with it, the Houston Texans picked up nine new rookies onto the roster.
All in all, the Texans picked up six new offensive pieces and three defensive, headlined by the pickups of Iowa State receivers Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel, tackle Aireontae Ersery, and defensive back Jaylin Smith through their first two days.
It's not a star-studded draft from Houston, nor is it one that included a first-rounder, thanks to their trade down with the New York Giants to acquire Jaxson Dart. But, in the eyes of Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans, it's a draft class that the team feels pretty confident in.
"We feel really good about this draft class. Put a lot of work in," Ryans said. "Starts with our scouts, our coaches; guys put a lot of work in and did a great job evaluating talented guys. Not only about the talent, but also the people. We brought in a ton of great people, also great players, and that's the formula that we like. It's worked well for us, and we think these guys can come in, contribute, and help our team get better."
Perhaps one of the biggest driving factors in the Texans' scouting process was finding players with an ambitious mindset; a critical component in the eyes of Ryans for the team's culture.
"The mindset is definitely everything," Ryans said. "If you have the mindset to work, the mindset is you really enjoy and love playing football, that fits our building. That works for us. That works with the guys that we already have here. We have a ton of guys in our locker room already who love football. I just believe that when you love the game of football, we're going to get your best."
The Texans had two big needs entering this year's draft: wide receiver and offensive tackle. On day two, Houston was able to land a pair of Iowa State pass catchers with a diverse skillset to plug that receiver need, and Ersery can be the aspired developmental tackle the team can place in front of C.J. Stroud for the foreseeable future.
For the surrounding division in the AFC South, it was a splashy outcome: the Tennessee Titans landed their franchise quarterback in Cam Ward, the Jacksonville Jaguars moved up for a generational talent in Travis Hunter, and the Indianapolis Colts could've lucked into the best tight end in the class with Tyler Warren.
Still, Ryans, Nick Caserio, and the rest of the Texans brass were able to capitalize on value down the board and plug the necessary holes en route to their hopeful third-straight division win in 2025.
Time will tell how the results of this year's group of Texans rookies will pan out, but in the mind of Ryans and the Houston brass, it was an overall success in Green Bay.
