It’s draft day for the Houston Texans, which means general manager Nick Caserio is open for business. The Texans’ general manager has a habit of making several trades to navigate his way through the draft as he's made 18 deals entering the 2025 NFL Draft.
The streak has helped Houston acquire four picks in the top 89 selections of the 2025 NFL Draft and it might have Texans fans wanting to keep close to their phones this weekend.
Even if fans have an eye on social media, the deals have already begun as Texans swung a draft day trade with the Cleveland Browns hours before the start of the draft.
Texans Swing Trade With Browns Ahead of 2025 NFL Draft
The Texans announced that they have made a trade with the Cleveland Browns ahead of the start of the draft on Thursday night. Houston will send a 2025 fifth-round pick (166th overall) and a 2027 fifth-round pick to the Browns in exchange for two 2025 sixth-round selections (179th and 216th overall) and a 2025 seventh-round selection (255th overall).
It’s starting early today 👀
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) April 24, 2025
Texans Trade:
🔴 2025 5th round pick (166 overall)
🔴 2027 5th round pick
Browns Trade:
🔴 2025 6th round pick (179 overall)
🔴 2025 6th round pick (216 overall)
🔴 2025 7th round pick (255 overall) pic.twitter.com/b7VeYpJUNt
The trade gives the Texans nine draft selections in this weekend’s draft but they have no selections in the fourth or fifth rounds. While the deal also affects their draft capital in 2027, it doesn’t seem like a significant deal until you assess what Houston could pull off on Thursday night.
The Ringer’s Todd McShay wrote in his final mock draft that the Texans are “aggressively” trying to move up from the 25th overall pick entering the draft and want to land one of the top offensive linemen in the class including Texas’s Kelvin Banks Jr. or North Dakota State’s Grey Zabel. The trade with the Browns could also be a preemptive strike to replenish draft capital in the event the Texans make a deal.
Regardless, Caserio isn’t afraid to make a deal. One year ago, he swung a trade with the Minnesota Vikings that helped land Stefon Diggs. If this move helps Houston land a top offensive lineman, a swap of late-round picks could be far from meaningless.