Texans’ 2021 draft class ranks No. 27 according to NFL.com
The Houston Texans had a five-man draft class with their first selection coming at No. 67 overall in Round 3. The odds were never in their favor to have a strong class unless 31 other NFL teams’ scouting departments collectively dropped the ball.
According to Dan Parr of NFL.com, the Texans’ draft class of QB Davis Mills (Round 3, No. 67 overall), WR Nico Collins (Round 3, No. 89 overall), TE Brevin Jordan (Round 5, No. 147 overall), LB Garret Wallow (Round 5, No. 170 overall), and DT Roy Lopez (Round 6, No. 195) ranks as the 27th-best class to come out of the 2021 NFL draft.
Nick Caserio came away with a respectable, albeit small, class in his first draft as general manager. Houston was without a pick in the first two rounds (former head coach/GM Bill O’Brien sent those selections to Miami in the Laremy Tunsil trade), so Caserio was working with very limited capital. He added further insurance behind Deshaun Watson, whose future remains murky, with his first pick. Mills has just 11 collegiate starts under his belt after injuries plagued him during his Stanford career, so there’s some significant risk here. His ceiling is as high as any quarterback picked outside the first round this year, though. The Texans filled one of their biggest needs by trading up for Collins, who gives the team the size (6-foot-4) it lacked at the position, and Jordan was a great value in Round 5. The former Hurricanes tight end isn’t going to wow anyone with his athletic testing, but that’s not going to stop him from becoming a trusted target for whoever is under center. There were some needs Caserio never addressed, but that’s not a surprising result given the circumstances he inherited.
NFL.com did give the Texans a B-minus grade for their draft, which is also a good grade considering what the Texans had to work with thanks to bad decisions from the previous regime.
