Houston Texans Rumors: Why Greg Little needs to be targeted in the 1st round

The Houston Texans need help along the offensive line. Let’s take a look at why the team needs to target Ole Miss OT Greg Little in the first round.

The Houston Texans had a very successful regular season and the team grew up as a whole. However, the season is over and now the front office is focused on improving the roster.

With no first or second round pick in last years draft, Brian Gaine showed why he was brought in to be the Texans new general manager. He was able to select several players who were immediate contributors and others who have the potential be so.

He did not do it alone but with his help the Texans finally HIT on a third-round pick and the Texans also drafted well in the later parts of the draft, building depth throughout the later parts of the draft. Justin Reid was the gem of the 2018 draft for the Texans and is one of the biggest steals from the entire draft.

Now looking back to this season, the Texans weakest position group by far was the offensive line, specifically, the offensive tackle position. Deshaun Watson was sacked a league-high 62 times. The Houston Texans wasted one potential franchise quarterback in David Carr because of a weak o-line and they shouldn’t do the same again.

Last year during the offseason, Gaine explained what the team is looking for in the draft and specifically the offensive lineman, stating “there was an emphasis on getting bigger, longer, and stronger, especially on the offensive line,”.

He continued about recently re-signed Seantrel Henderson saying, “Physically, he met the parameters of what we’re looking for (6-7, 330). He has the physical traits to be a starter.” Henderson, unfortunately, wasn’t able to help out this year as he got hurt for the season halfway through the first game though bringing him back could be the right move.

Currently looking at this year’s draft prospects, there is one prospect that meets that criteria and also has one of the highest ceilings in the draft. That prospect is former Ole Miss offensive tackle Greg Little.

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First of all, he meets the height, weight and speed criteria that the Texans front office is looking for, as Little is 6’6 and 325 lbs. Little is also an incredibly fluid athlete at offensive tackle, he has really good feet and also has that natural knee bend that you look for in your left tackle.

Little also has a lot of experience and success playing against high-level competition in the SEC, as he earned First Team All-SEC honors. He also has a tremendous pedigree as he was a five-star recruit and one of the best tackles out of high school.

At the moment, there are some concerns about Little’s strength because sometimes he was susceptible to being bull rushed. Even so if Little were drafted by the Houston Texans and he spent his offseason with the Texans strength and conditioning staff, he is bound to get stronger.

One of the last things the Houston Texans may need to really understand about Little is his work ethic. Many teams believe that Little did not always play up to his very high potential. That could be for a number of reasons but is still a little concerning nonetheless and could allow him to fall to the Texans range at 23rd overall.

The good thing is that the Houston Texans have up to April 25th to really understand Little and how he could fit in as a member of this team. But, with Little’s skill set and physical attributes, he is the best option for the Texans at the 23rd pick of the first round.

This is the first of many installments of taking a look at guys the Houston Texans should target in this year’s draft. Who would you like to see the team get? Let us know below!