One of the best defenses in the NFL adds to its bag of riches along the defensive front.

It's no secret that pass protection ranks among the Texans' biggest weaknesses. A year after drafting left tackle Aireontae Ersery in the second round, Houston revisits its offensive line by taking Lomu with its first pick of the 2026 draft. The 6-6, 304-pound Utah product has some developing to do, but he should eventually serve as a quality bookend to Ersery and help bolster C.J. Stroud's line.

Spencer Fano is the Utah OT who gets the most attention, but he may not be the only one off the board by the end of the first round. Caleb Lomu isn't an incredible athlete (in the context of NFL OTs), but he's a coach's dream when it comes to technique and fundamentals. He'll be starting at RT in the NFL for 10 years.

The major concern was on that offensive line, which just underwent yet another makeover. Out went Tytus Howard and Juice Scruggs, in came Braden Smith, Wyatt Teller and Evan Brown. That's definitely an improvement, especially with left tackle Airontae Ersery now having a full year of experience under his belt, but is it enough? It's a crucial year for C.J. Stroud's future as he and the Texans approach extension talks, so making sure he has a firm pocket was, in my eyes, the No. 1 objective coming into the draft. And Keylan Rutledge is pro-ready with 43 career starts, and he amazingly allowed just two sacks over that entire time.

The pick I really liked came shortly after Round 2 began. The big, bad Texans defense got scarier. For all of Rutledge's experience, Kayden McDonald was the opposite. He didn't start until 2025, but you wouldn't know it from the tape. It was a big breakout campaign, with 67 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, 17 run stops and three sacks. He's a powerful 326-pounder, but he can move. Sheldon Rankins is occupying the middle, but there's room for McDonald to see meaningful snaps in the Texans' 4-3 defense.

The rest of the picks were a little confusing, at least in terms of value. I was shocked to hear Marlin Klein's name in Round 2. I didn't have him in the top 150, and he was the ninth-best tight end on my board (I split out halfbacks into a different position list, so he's even lower if you combine them). Klein caught 38 career passes, and he needs to work on his blocking. He's a good developmental prospect, but I didn't understand going this early on him when Oscar Delp, Justin Joly, Eli Raridon and Max Klare were all there (and other needs existed).

Not sexy. But good teams invest in the trenches, where the Texans took G Keyland Rutledge at the back of Round 1 and DT Kayden McDonald at the top of Round 2. Hard to shade reinforcements for the league's No. 1 defense in 2025 and a blocker who might add a charge to a perennially average (at best) running game that needs to do a lot more to support QB C.J. Stroud. (And, on that front, swapping a fourth-round pick as the primary currency in March's trade for RB David Montgomery seems eminently wise.)