The Houston Texans were well represented at the University of Texas Pro Day on Wednesday.
Six members of the team — including general manager Nick Caserio and head coach DeMeco Ryans — made the three-hour journey from Houston to Austin to watch some of the Longhorns’ top players work out ahead of the 2024 NFL draft in April. Offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik, defensive coordinator Matt Burke, newly promoted defensive line coach Rod Wright (who’s also an alum of Texas) and wide receivers coach Ben McDaniels were also in attendance.
Texas boasts a long list of potential fits for the Texans, including wide receiver and defensive line.
First, let’s start with the wideouts: Xavier Worthy — who broke the NFL combine 40-yard dash record —and Adonai Mitchell. Worthy is more of the take-the-top-off burner wide receiver, while Mitchell is often compared to the pass-catchers like Cincinnati Bengals receiver Tee Higgins. Worthy’s speed is a very interesting aspect of his game, while Mitchell feels like the more natural fit for the Texans given his versatility to play in the slot and on the boundary.
The need for a slot wide receiver is obvious for the Texans, but neither Worthy nor Mitchell could be on the board when Houston picks in the second round after Caserio traded away the No. 23 overall pick to move back to No. 42.
Another area of concern is interior defensive line. Texas has two quality prospects at that position, too: Byron Murphy II and T’vondre Sweat. This duo amassed seven sacks in 2023 and have quickly grabbed the attention of football fans after whose team lacks the talent in their defensive front.
While each player offers a very different skill set, there is no doubt the Texans could benefit from their services after the departure of three of the four starting defensive line members from the 2023 season.
Murphy on paper feels like the more natural fit for the Texans defense, as Ryans tends to keep his front within a certain set of parameters when it comes to physical make up. Murphy is 6-foot-1 and 297 pounds — a similar build to what the other defensive tackles look like on the Texans.
This is an interesting DL build for the #Texans pic.twitter.com/555IzTpFs5
— TexansCap (@TexansCap) March 20, 2024
Murphy could be gone before the Texans make a selection, though. Sweat, meanwhile, could be a very real possibility in the second round. Caserio appeared to watch Sweat’s workout intently, and defensive line coach Rod Wright, who played defensive tackle for the Longhorns, spoke with Sweat after his workout.
Texans GM Nick Caserio was locked in while watching T’Vondre Sweat and Byron Murphy
Houston recently traded their 1st Rd pick to the Vikings
Their first pick won’t be until #42 in the second round#WeAreTexans | #HookEm pic.twitter.com/f82QFviNKV
— Cory Mose (@Cory_Mose) March 20, 2024
Sending this type of contingent of staff to a Pro Day doesn’t necessarily mean anything, especially given the short travel time to Austin. However, Texas has a lot of good players at positions of need for Houston.
The trip was warranted, but where the Texans go in the draft is anyone’s guess at this point.