The NFL Draft is upon us, and the experts believe Houston will use its first selection on a defensive player.
The Texans own nine picks overall in this year's Draft, but none in the first round. Instead, they're slated to start picking on Friday night at 42nd overall, and almost all mock drafts have them taking a defensive player.
There are many mock drafts on the web, and HoustonTexans.com pulled from the more notable ones. Of those, there are 21 that have recently included Houston's pick, and 20 of those mockers have the Texans adding defensive help at 42nd overall.
Michigan cornerback Mike Sainristill was mocked to the Texans by three different experts. Four other defensive players were mocked by two experts to Houston, with nine different players predicted by experts to be in Houston.
Defensive tackles Kris Jenkins of Michigan, Michael Hall, Jr. of Ohio State and Florida State's Braden Fiske were each mocked to the Texans by two experts apiece, with Iowa State corner T.J. Tampa also being tabbed as a Texan twice.
Houston dealt the 23rd overall pick and a seventh-rounder to Minnesota for the 42nd overall pick (a 2nd-rounder), a second-rounder next year, and the 188th overall selection this year.
A cornerback was the choice for Houston on nine (42.9%) mock drafts, with defensive tackle right behind on eight (38.1%) mocks. Two linebackers, a safety and an offensive lineman were the other four positions mocked to Houston in this final roundup.
| MOCK DRAFT | TEXANS SELECTION |
|---|---|
| THE ATHLETIC (DANE BRUGLER) | CB MIKE SAINRISTILL, MICHIGAN |
| ROTOWORLD (CONNOR RODGERS) | CB MIKE SAINRISTILL, MICHIGAN |
| PRO FOOTBALL FOCUS (SAM MONSON) | CB MIKE SAINRISTILL, MICHIGAN |
| HOUSTONTEXANS.COM/FOOTBALL TAKEOVER (JOHN HARRIS) | DT BRADEN FISKE, FLORIDA STATE |
| HOUSTOTEXANS.COM (JOHN MCCLAIN) | DT BRADEN FISKE, FLORIDA STATE |
| WALTER FOOTBALL (CHARLIE CAMPBELL) | DT MICHAEL HALL, JR., OHIO STATE |
| DRAFT COUNTDOWN (SHANE HALLAM) | DT MICHAEL HALL, JR., OHIO STATE |
| CBS SPORTS (JOSH EDWARDS) | DT KRIS JENKINS, MICHIGAN |
| ESPN (JORDAN REID) | DT KRIS JENKINS, MICHIGAN |
| HOUSTON CHRONICLE (JONATHAN ALEXANDER) | CB T.J. TAMPA, IOWA STATE |
| SPORTING NEWS (VINNIE IYER) | CB T.J. TAMPA, IOWA STATE |
| PRO FOOTBALL FOCUS (TREVOR SIKKEMA) | S JAVON BULLARD, GEORGIA |
| THE ATHLETIC (BRUCE FELDMAN) | LB EDGERRIN COOPER, TEXAS A&M |
| NFL.COM (CHAD REUTER) | CB CAM HART, NOTRE DAME |
| THE DRAFT NETWORK (RYAN FOWLER) | CB KAMARI LASSITER, GEORGIA |
| ATHLON SPORTS (LUKE EASTERLING) | CB KOOL-AID MCKINSTRY, ALABAMA |
| PRO FOOTBALL NETWORK (IAN CUMMINGS) | CB MAX MELTON, RUTGERS |
| FOX SPORTS (ROB RANG) | DT RUKE ORHORHORO, CLEMSON |
| YAHOO! SPORTS (NATE TICE) | DT MAASON SMITH, LSU |
| PRO FOOTBALL NETWORK (JOE BROBACK) | OL KINGSLEY SUAMATAIA, BYU |
| WALTER FOOTBALL (WALTER CHEREPINSKY) | LB PAYTON WILSON, NC STATE |
