Houston Texans 7 Round Mock Draft 2.0 – (Trades Included)

3rd Round – Pick #85

Jaylon Smith – LB – Notre Dame

6’2” – 225

Having picked up the extra 3rd round pick, the Texans now have some flexibility to swing for the fence on a player like Jaylon Smith.  The extra pick is like playing at the casino with house money, your overall risk is greatly reduced and you can look at it as a free pick so go for big reward.

Jaylon Smith will not play in 2016 due to a knee injury suffered late in Notre Dame’s bowl game early this year.  However, prior to that he was considered a lock to be a top 5 pick in this year’s draft.  While there is some risk that he may never play again, and the team doctor’s will certainly need to chime in, we feel it’s a worthwhile gamble at this point.

What Jaylon Smith would give the Texans however is Brian Cushing’s eventual replacement and ultimately pair with Benardrick McKinney at inside linebacker.  Smith is a tremendous athlete, runs down running backs with elite level sideline-to-sideline pursuit, as well as the ability to cover running backs and tight ends in pass coverage.

With Cushing still under contract, getting his eventual replacement this cheaply could mean Cushing plays 1-2 more years with Texans while Smith gets healthy this season and get acclimated to the NFL in 2017.  It’s a gamble but it’s a worthwhile lottery ticket.

Others on the board to consider:

TE Austin Hooper (Stanford), TE Nick Vannett (Ohio St.), C Nick Martin (Notre Dame)

3rd Round – Pick #88 (acquired from Green Bay)

Christian Westerman – OG/C – Arizona St.

6’4” – 305

With the extra pick acquired in the 1^st round trade back, the Texans go best player available with Christian Westerman.  Westerman is a stout guard out of Arizona State that led the combine this year with 34 reps on the bench press.  He is a people mover who excels in running blocking and is outstanding on the move and in space.

This is not a specific need for the Texans as the most immediate need on the offensive line is center, where the starter in 2016 is not certain.  However, Westerman is one of the top 3-4 interior offensive lineman in this draft and interior line is a place the Texans have struggled in recent years with both consistent quality play and depth.

Is Xavier Su’a-Filo ready to finally step up and live up to his draft position from two years ago?  Can either Tony Bergstrom or Greg Mancz fill the center position?  Can David Quessenberry make it all the way back to challenge at the guard position?

Adding Westerman adds a quality player to positional group that was one of the weakest position groups on the Texans last season.  If he can supplant Su’a-Filo, great!  Or Westerman could be asked to move to center as his movement skills would make that a fairly painless transition.  But either way he gives the Texans more competition and a player that could potentially start as a rookie.  To get that in the third round is a heck of a draft pick.

Others on the board to consider:

C Jack Allen (Michigan St.), OT Joe Haeg (North Dakota St.), C Max Tuerk (USC)

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