The Texans need everything, so that part was easy. What was hard was all the trades. Rather than try to keep up with the trades, we simply stuck with their original pre-trade picks, and chose the best players. That came with difficulties, such as the fact that Juice Scruggs was drafted earlier than I expected (by the Texans), which is me in this exercise. However, erring on the side of caution, I made him unavailable.
Pick 2: CJ Stroud, QB – Ohio State
YAS does not evaluate QBs, so YAS defers to the team whenever a QB is chosen.
Pick 12: Lukas Van Ness, DE – Iowa
Van Ness has a YAS score and begins the DL rebuild for Ryans, whose scheme requires long, dominant DL across the line. His college production is a question mark, but his athleticism bodes well when combined with Ryan’s coaching. .
Pick 33: Derick Hall, Edge – Auburn
The other consideration here was OT Matthew Bergeron (with Titus Howard on the last year of his deal). However, Howard is functional, and this defensive line is not. Hall received a starter-level YAS score and is appropriate value at this slot. Other considerations were Rashee Rice, John Michael Schmitz and Luke Schoonmaker.
Pick 65: Jalin Hyatt, WR – Tennessee
With the signing of Dalton Schultz and the TE already on the roster, I passed on the many TE here. Trenton Simpson was also a consideration. However, given the loss of Brandin Cooks and the need to get the ball out of Stroud’s hands so he does not die, I chose the only WR with a starter YAS in this range.
Pick 73: Trenton Simpson, LB – Clemson
He was one of the few draftable LBs with a starter-level YAS score, and his was a two-sigma. If LB was not a de-valued position, there would have been serious consideration for him at 33.
Pick 104: Adetomiwa Adebawore, DE/DT – Northwestern
We wrote about him before. Demeco Ryan’s defense likes strong, long DL that can take 1.5 gaps on their way to the QB. Adebawore is a freak, and could fill a myriad of spots for Ryans. Where Adebawore plays edge, this draft would have the Texans with 3 plus-athletic DL to pair with Hughes, Maliek Collins and Jonathan Greenard to run a poor-man’s version of that 49ers defense. There were really no other considerations.
Pick 106: Jonathan Gaines, OG – UCLA
I’m going to be honest, this was a panic pick. With Sidy Sow, and many other OG running immediately prior to this pick, I could not chance Gaines also going before me. Kenyon Green had an iffy year, and you cannot give Stroud the “Davis Mills” experience of having the middle of his line jammed into his face when he drops back to pass.
Pick 188: Luke Wypler, OC – Ohio State
This was another panic pick. The Texans badly need an OC, and I had already missed out on Juice Scruggs and Olusegun Oluwatimi. Wyper has a starter YAS grade, and should be a functional OC. This was a panic pick, so there were no other considerations.
Pick 201: Zack Kuntz, TE – Old Dominion
Yes, Dalton Schultz and Brevin Jordan are there. No, I cannot pass on a potentially game-changing TE athlete this late in the draft. Schultz is a pedestrian athlete on a short contract, that buys only enough time to develop Evans. Other considerations were RB Zach Evans and WR Andrei Iosivas.
Pick 203: Thomas Incoom, DE – Central Michigan
It is late in the draft, and Incoom has a starter-level YAS athletic score at a premium position integral to the new head coach’s scheme. Hall is by no means a guarantee, so resources will be invested to ensure that the scheme is well staffed.
Pick 230: Bryce Ford-Wheaton, WR – West Virginia
This team has time before anyone expects it to compete. Time, plus multiple late round picks, should be used on lottery tickets. Ford-Wheaton is the very definition of a lottery ticket.
Pick 259: John Ojukwu, OT – Boise State
We spoke earlier about Titus Howard, and how a succession plan should be put in place. In all honesty, Trevor Reid has a higher YAS OT score, but Ojukwu is rated as “draftable” by several publications, so we married the scouting with the YAS on this pick.
Our UDFA list is the same as the ghost draft for the Dallas Cowboys.