2025 NFL Draft Grades: Houston Texans

Best Pick: Second-round receiver Jayden Higgins is a good player and will help at a position of major need. Taking him made a lot of sense with Tank Dell coming off injury.

Worst Pick: Trading out of the first round with a chance to help the offensive line is a questionable decision. They did address the line in the second round by taking Aireontae Ersery, but they had a chance to get another in the first.

The Skinny: They did a lot of moving around and added two receivers, a guard-tackle, a corner and basically with their first five picks. It didn't really do a lot for me, even if I do like Higgins. They must really like running back Woody Marks since they traded up to get him in the fourth. Seventh-round defensive tackle Kyonte Hamilton is a sleeper.

Top needs entering the draft: Wide receiver, offensive tackle and guard

Quarterback C.J. Stroud took a step back last season, which is why the theme of Houston's draft always had to be getting him more support. His top three receivers -- Nico Collins (eight games), Stefon Diggs (10) and Tank Dell (three) -- all missed time because of injuries in 2024. Dell's return timeline from a significant knee injury is uncertain, and Diggs is now in New England. Stroud was also sacked 52 times, second most in the NFL, behind a poor offensive line. Houston retooled the unit in free agency, but I'm not sure anyone would say it absolutely improved it. The Texans swapped out Laremy Tunsil, Kenyon Green and Shaq Mason for Cam Robinson, Ed Ingram and Laken Tomlinson.

You get the point, and it's the reason my top needs for Houston all came on offense. This front office can't let Stroud's rookie contract slip away, especially in a winnable AFC South. But rather than attack the holes with its early picks, Houston kept trading back for more draft capital, including selections in future years. The Texans entered Thursday with seven picks but ended up making nine. In all, they made seven trades in the draft.

The Texans dealt their first-rounder in one of those moves, but they made four Day 2 selections. Two of them were Iowa State receivers. Jayden Higgins brings 6-foot-4 size and explosion outside; Jaylin Noel brings speed and after-the-catch burst to the slot. They were both top-seven receivers on my board. As for the offensive line, Aireontae Ersery is 6-foot-6, 331 pounds and can handle speed or power off the edge. He might not step into a starting role right away, but he could develop into a starting left tackle in time.

The Texans took Jaylin Smith -- my CB25 -- at the end of the third round, but there's upside in his game. They traded a future third-rounder to move up from No. 179 to No. 116 to take my RB17 early in Round 4. (I like Woody Marks, though -- he squirts through traffic to break free.) The two picks in the seventh round are interesting fliers. I moved defensive tackle Kyonte Hamilton up my board late in the process, and tight end Luke Lachey has some strong blocking traits.

No guard here, but Houston did the most important thing for its draft: improve the offense around Stroud.

I liked that the Texans looked to bolster their pass-catching group in this draft, adding more playmaking talent around quarterback C.J. Stroud. Houston grabbed a pair of Iowa State pass catchers, taking Jayden Higgins in the second round and Jaylin Noel in the third. Higgins combines excellent size with ball-winning skills and perfectly complements Nico Collins as a Z-receiver who can move around the formation. Noel, meanwhile, is an excellent long-term slot option, offering blazing speed to create big plays up the seams. Houston boosted its offensive line as well, grabbing a gargantuan tackle in Minnesota's Aierontae Ersery. He could compete for the starting right tackle job from the get-go. The team's number one goal should be to help Stroud get back on track after a down sophomore campaign—and I liked what they did to address that need.

Sure, it was frustrating for Texans fans to watch the first day of the draft come and go without a pick being made, but GM Nick Caserio's patience will be rewarded next year with Houston now owning two first-round selections in a class expected to be much richer than this one. And let's be real — that 2026 New York Giants pick could be a high one.

Even better, Caserio put together an intriguing class this year, filling the need for an athletic tackle with the Big Ten's blocker of the year in Aireontae Ersery and adding former Iowa State teammates Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel in the second and third rounds, respectively. Polar opposites in style, the duo offer size, speed and reliable hands, greatly improving Houston's depth at receiver. The Texans added another duo of college teammates in cornerback Jaylin Smith and Woody Marks (both from USC), with the latter arguably the best receiving back of this class.

Here's why: The Texans needed pass catchers and another offensive lineman, and that's exactly what they attacked on Day 2 of the draft after moving out of the first round. Analysts were split on who they preferred out of Iowa State's two WR prospects, so the Texans ended up taking both. Jayden Higgins can be an outside running mate for Nico Collins, and Jaylin Noel is a dynamic slot player who can return punts and is a feisty blocker. Both complement Collins well. Cornerback Jaylin Smith, who played outside and in the slot at USC, is willing to tackle and has speed. The Texans don't need an outside corner and have Jalen Pitre in the slot, so I'm curious how Smith ends up being deployed.

Most interesting pick: Aireontae Ersery, OT, Minnesota

He's a big athlete with plenty of starts under his belt. Ersery is an easy mover who still needs work on playing with consistent technique and adding to his strength. But he's big, and can recover with quick feet and flash some really nice blocks on the backside of runs. The Texans need a blindside protector for the future after trading away Laremy Tunsil, and Ersery might be able to beat out the recently signed stopgap Cam Robinson in training camp anyway. As the Texans try to figure out their best starting five, Ersery gives them a potential long-term answer at left tackle.

Already set up nicely in 2026 with extra picks in Rounds 2, 3 and 4 — two courtesy of the Laremy Tunsil trade to Washington — GM Nick Caserio did a nice job working the board this year, too. And the focus was helping QB C.J. Stroud after a slight sophomore slump largely beyond his control. Moving forward, he'll operate behind a promising blocker — second-rounder Aireontae Ersery — on a new-look line and will be throwing to talented former Iowa State WRs Jayden Higgins (Round 2) and Jaylin Noel (Round 3), who round out a receiver group that was wiped out at times in 2024.

Houston traded out of the first round before nabbing a pair of Iowa State wideouts in Higgins and Noel on Day 2. The Texans also took Ersery in the second round, adding him to an offensive line in desperate need of help. The questions here aren't so much about the players selected but the positional need. Houston had to find some receiver help, but two in the top 80 picks is aggressive. The offensive line, even with Ersery, remains a massive concern.

Getting both Iowa State wide receivers will certainly help C.J. Stroud. Hopefully Aireontae Ersery will step on and be a productive offensive lineman immediately to give Stroud more time, but time will tell.