Houston Texans Rumors: How to trade up to get a tackle in the draft

There aren’t many great offensive tackles in this year’s NFL draft. Let’s take a look at how the Houston Texans can trade up to go get their guy.

Let’s yada-yada through the “Houston Texansdesperately need offensive line help” talk. If you’re here, you likely already know this. You likely already know thatDeshaun Watsonwas sacked a league-high 62 times and hit an additional 133 times last season.

That’s simply unacceptable. It’s a problem that theTexansknow they need to fix. They have begun to take steps in order to fix it but they need to do more to protect Watson and to take the next step as a team to become a true contender.

So far this offseason, theTexanshave re-signedSeantrel Hendersonto retake the right tackle job after he was hurt half a game into the 2018 season. The team also went out and signed former Viking and Panther tackleMatt Kalilto compete with Julien Davenport for the left tackle job.

So, Henderson and Kalil join Davenport,Martinas Rankin,Nick Martin,Senio Kelemete, andZach Fultonto try to protect Watson better in 2019 than 2018. However, theHouston Texansstill need to try to do more to keep their franchise quarterback upright.

There are plenty of offensive line prospects theTexanscould target in the draft in just three short weeks. There are guys likeCody Forda tweener guard-tackle prospect from Oklahoma andGarrett Bradburya stud interior lineman could play either guard spot or at center.

However, theHouston Texansshould really look to target a bonafide tackle who could be a plug and play guy right out of the draft. There are really only three prospects that scream that profile and it’s looking increasingly unlikely that any of the three may fall to theTexansat 23 overall.

Those three guys areJawaan Taylor,Jonah Williams, andAndre Dillard. Taylor is pretty much widely viewed as the top tackle on most draft boards and is a virtual lock to be a top 10 selection. The jury is split between Williams and Dillard on where they will go but the majority of them have both guys off the board before theTexanspick.

Of course, there is a chance that if theTexanssit pat at 23 that one of these guys will fall to them and they can bolster their tackle depth chart at 23. But, I don’t think that’s a realistic possibility and the team may very well have to trade up in order to ensure they get their guy at tackle.

Taylor will probably be out of theHouston Texansdraft range and trade up range. So, that leaves Williams and Dillard who could both probably slide into either range but in order to ensure that the team lands one of them they’ll need to trade up.

TheTexanswill probably have to move up to the mid-teens in order to ensure that they can get their guy. There are two teams in the mid-to-late teens that could take a tackle so they’ll need to be jumped. Those two teams are the Panthers at 16 and the Vikings at 18.

Obviously, theTexanswould have to give up their first-round pick this year to trade up. So, coupling that first round pick, which has a value of 760, according to both theWalterFootball trade value chartand theDraftTek trade value chart.

The range that theTexanswill be looking to get to are picks 13-15 who are owned by the Dolphins, Falcons, and Redskins, respectively. The Dolphins are rebuilding and could look to move back to acquire more assets. The Falcons are in a retooling so the case is the same.

More fromHouse of Houston

• Are you the 2021 FanSided Sports Fan of the Year?
• Houston Texans: 4 reasons Romeo Crennel is right coach right now
• Astros-Twins Wild Card Series: 5 things to know as MLB postseason begins
• Houston Texans: The Most Underrated Sports Drought Ever
• Houston Texans: J.J. Watt’s early case for NFL Hall of Fame

The Redskins are a bit of an enigma. They are indeed of a quarterback but they may not be able to get good value at 15. They also may be interested in trading forJosh Rosenif the Cardinals draftKyler Murrayand if that’s the case they may want to recoup the pick(s) they lost in acquiring Rosen.

Pick 13 has an assigned value of 1,150, 14 at 1,100, and 15 at 1,050. So if theTexanspaired their first round selection alongside either the 54th or 55th overall picks values of 360 and 350, that should theoretically be enough to get either 14 or 15. To get 13, theTexanswould likely have to add a late round pick, a 5th rounder could add enough value but they may have to tap into a 2020 4th rounder to get the deal done.

Regardless of which spot they may pursue, it is very possible for theHouston Texansto go up and get their guy at offensive tackle. Knowing this, all there is left to do is hope theTexansfall in love with either Dillard or Williams and pull the trigger to go him. Both guys would be vast improvements on the line to keep Watson upright.

The price isn’t high either, according to those charts. TheTexanswould only have 5-6 picks in the draft but they would still have one in each of the first three rounds so the team should be able to get a massive upgrade at tackle and still add a couple of other immediate difference makers.

What would you think of theHouston Texansusing a pick or two to go and get either of Dillard or Williams? Would either guy be worth it? One more than the other? Drop your thoughts in the comments below!

Add us as a preferred source onGoogle

Follow