The Houston Texans are preparing to make their selection with the 25th overall pick in the NFL Draft next week, and at this point, just about everyone is expecting them to take an offensive lineman.
Recent reports have revealed that the Texans have narrowed down their chances for their first-round pick, and each player named as a potential candidate has been an offensive lineman, with Texas Longhorns tackle Kelvin Banks and Alabama Crimson Tide guard Tyler Booker seeming to represent the most likely targets. Oregon Ducks tackle Josh Conerly has been mentioned, too.
It makes plenty of sense considering that Houston had a horrific offensive line this past season, one that allowed C.J. Stroud to be sacked 52 times.
However, Texans general manager Nick Caserio just made some rather interesting comments regarding Houston's direction in the draft.
"We've never drafted for need around here. Never going to. We're going to pick the best player we feel fits our program regardless of the position," Caserio told reporters. "I would say other than quarterback, pretty much any position is on the table, like it always is. Try to stay true to the board. That's the reason we created the players. We put the players on the board, we grade them accordingly to what we think the role is going to be, then we take them off the board as we see fit. That's not going to change."
When executives say this, it typically always sounds like classic GM speak. It's not a coincidence that the Texans seem to be leaning toward an offensive lineman, which indicates that Houston is, in fact, probably going to draft for need.
Perhaps the Texans will pull a fast one on all of us and pursue an entirely different path next Thursday, but the most likely scenario appears to be Houston addressing its problem in the trenches. That doesn't necessarily mean the Texans will be taking the best talent on the board.
