The Houston Texans were rumored throughout Thursday night to be calling teams interested in moving down in the draft. The question most Texans have after seeing the back-to-back AFC South champions move out of the first round altogether was for whom?
Was it an offensive tackle? How about a guard like Tyler Booker, who landed with the Dallas Cowboys, but not before it was rumored that the Texans wanted him first before the asking price was revealed. Grey Zabel also remained on the board before landing with the Seattle Seahawks at No. 18.
So, who was it? According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, during his interview on The Dan Patrick Show, he thinks the Texans tried to trade up for Ohio State receiver Emeka Egbuka before he went to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at No. 19.
“My understanding was that there were two teams both trying to trade up: It was the Texans and the Rams,” Pelissero said. “And the moment the Bucs surprised everybody by taking Emeka Egbuka, the receiver from Ohio State, the calls stopped. Those teams were calling all the teams above them and all of a sudden the calls stopped. So that’s the belief that Egbuka was the guy.”
While it’s speculation on Pelissero’s part, the assumption makes sense when given Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud’s relationship with Egubka from their time together in Columbus. Houston also hired former Rams passing-game coordinator Nick Caley, so it also adds up that his style of offense would correlate with Sean McVay’s personnel regarding a need for a smooth route-running No. 2 threat with a willingness to block.
Now that the Texans have the No. 34 pick following their trade with the New York Giants, options are endless to begin Day 2. While there’s a need for an offensive tackle, Missouri’s Luther Burden or Iowa State‘s Jayden Higgins could be an enticing option to kick start the second rouns.
Burden was a consensus first-round pick entering the 2024 college season and was expected to be in play for Houston. Perhaps he still is since general manager Nick Caserio mentioned on Thursday night that a player the Texans would have considered at No. 25 was wating to hear his name called.
“Whether or not we actually pick the player, we’ll see if that actually happens,” Caserio said.
Entering OTAs, the Texans’ receiver room currently consists of Nico Collins, Christian Kirk. John Metchie III, Xavier Hutchinson, Braxton Berrios and Justin Watson. The Texans own five picks in the second and third round.
This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: NFL Draft: Texans potentially tried to trade up for WR Emeka Egbuka
The Houston Texans were rumored throughout Thursday night to be calling teams interested in moving down in the draft. The question most Texans have after seeing the back-to-back AFC South champions move out of the first round altogether was for whom?
Was it an offensive tackle? How about a guard like Tyler Booker, who landed with the Dallas Cowboys, but not before it was rumored that the Texans wanted him first before the asking price was revealed. Grey Zabel also remained on the board before landing with the Seattle Seahawks at No. 18.
So, who was it? According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, during his interview on The Dan Patrick Show, he thinks the Texans tried to trade up for Ohio State receiver Emeka Egbuka before he went to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at No. 19.
“My understanding was that there were two teams both trying to trade up: It was the Texans and the Rams,” Pelissero said. “And the moment the Bucs surprised everybody by taking Emeka Egbuka, the receiver from Ohio State, the calls stopped. Those teams were calling all the teams above them and all of a sudden the calls stopped. So that’s the belief that Egbuka was the guy.”
While it’s speculation on Pelissero’s part, the assumption makes sense when given Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud’s relationship with Egubka from their time together in Columbus. Houston also hired former Rams passing-game coordinator Nick Caley, so it also adds up that his style of offense would correlate with Sean McVay’s personnel regarding a need for a smooth route-running No. 2 threat with a willingness to block.
Now that the Texans have the No. 34 pick following their trade with the New York Giants, options are endless to begin Day 2. While there’s a need for an offensive tackle, Missouri’s Luther Burden or Iowa State‘s Jayden Higgins could be an enticing option to kick start the second rouns.
Burden was a consensus first-round pick entering the 2024 college season and was expected to be in play for Houston. Perhaps he still is since general manager Nick Caserio mentioned on Thursday night that a player the Texans would have considered at No. 25 was wating to hear his name called.
“Whether or not we actually pick the player, we’ll see if that actually happens,” Caserio said.
Entering OTAs, the Texans’ receiver room currently consists of Nico Collins, Christian Kirk. John Metchie III, Xavier Hutchinson, Braxton Berrios and Justin Watson. The Texans own five picks in the second and third round.
This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: NFL Draft: Texans potentially tried to trade up for WR Emeka Egbuka
