Houston Texans Rumors: 3 players and mistakes to avoid in the NFL Draft

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Potential Houston Texans draft target Noah Fant (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Noah Fant, TE, Iowa

Noah Fant is an outstanding football player, let’s start there. He has great size at 6’4″ an 250 lbs and is one of the best athletes in this draft class. At the Combine, the vast majority of his testing was either the top result or in the top five.

Pair his size and athleticism to his tape and you have a great case for Fant being the top tight end in the class with his competition being his college teammate T.J. Hockenson. Fant is what the NFL wants in a slot, receiving-type tight end. He is fast and big and can catch the ball with ease.

Fant was and still is to some extent a favorite choice for mock drafters selecting for the Houston Texans. The Texans selected Jordan Akins in the third round of the 2018 draft to be their tight end of the future but he had a rough rookie year and was outplayed by fellow rookie and sixth rounder Jordan Thomas at times.

Neither of those guys truly inspire confidence yet, though, both have solid potential. Adding weapons and assets for Watson is also a priority for the Houston Texans so, adding Fant fits that mold. However, selecting him in the first round would be a mistake for the franchise.

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Weapons for Watson and tight ends are important in today’s NFL. Fortunately, the receiver stable is fairly stacked if it can stay healthy, especially since it is led by DeAndre Hopkins. Adding Fant to that would be wonderful but in this year’s draft, the Texans can’t afford to add luxury. They’re going to have to target need and try to pair it with value as best as possible.

The Texans biggest needs, offensive line (really offensive tackle) should be able to be addressed in the first round. The goal is to add a starting left tackle in the first round but, if they can’t do that then any offensive lineman would do because at this point no one is a lock for a starting job, in my opinion.

If, for some reason, there is an insane run on offensive linemen in the first round and need far supersedes the value at 23rd overall then there are other spots the team can and should address before tight end. Primarily speaking, this should be a spot for a cornerback if offensive line doesn’t work out.

So, while Fant is a very good player and giving him to Watson to use as he will would be incredible, drafting him over other needs, where there should still be value at 23, would be a mistake the team cannot afford to make heading into Watson’s third season.

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Are there other moves that you believe would be mistakes for the Houston Texans besides these three? If so, drop a comment below and let us know!

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