It’s the first edition of the 2025 NFL Mock Draft Season and starts off with the big boys up front.
One would think that a division winning team with a star QB and 19 returning starters would be humming with enthusiasm, but that’s not how the Houston Texans enter the 2025 offseason.
With only $5M in salary cap before the offseason fully kicks off, Houston will rely on the NFL Draft to fill several of the gaping holes.
Personally, the first round pick should always go to the best player available and the second and third rounds to filling positions of need. This strategy adds the best talent possible while also finding solution to immediate problems. In the Houston Texans case, the offensive line is such a dumpster fire that nothing else matters until it’s put out. If the front office didn’t need any more emphasis, the eight sacks let up against the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Divisional Round was one short of the NFL record nine…..
In this first mock draft of the season, I project Nick Caserio to douse the fire that is the Texans offense.
Round 1, Pick 25: Josh Conerly Jr. OT – Oregon
The Houston Texans need the best offensive lineman on the board regardless of position. Additionally, Houston must prepare for the eventuality when both Laremy Tunsil and Tytus Howard are free agents in 2026.
Conerly played two seasons as the Ducks’ starting left tackle. The transition from PAC 12 to BIG 10 didn’t phase the Seattle native this season. He only allowed one sack all season and six QB pressures.
Conerly is still developing; he’s only 21 years old but is an elite, elite athlete with a basketball background and footwork to match. His frame can support more strength which will be necessary to reach his potential.
Conerly is a tad undersized for the left tackle position at 6’4, but is 47th percentile for a guard. Houston would shift Conerly to left guard to start his career with the goal of shifting him to left tackle when Tunsil is a free agent.
Round 2, Pick 57: Jayden Higgins, WR – Iowa State
Higgins has four years of production between Eastern Kentucky and Iowa State. He’s an extremely large athlete at 6’4 with has fantastic footwork and release skill. His nine touchdowns his senior year at Iowa State demonstrated his comfort in high leverage situations, including seven catches for 115 yards in the Big 12 Championship game.
His main area of weakness is lateral agility which is expected out of a bigger, denser wide receiver. He tends to body catch passes when he knows he isn’t in tight coverage. Higgins won’t blow you away with vertical speed that hinders his top-end play making ability, but if Houston needs a guy in the late second round to come in and snag catches until Tank Dell and/or Stefon Diggs comes back, Higgins is a fantastic option. Higgins is similar to the Nico Collins and Xavier Hutchinson mold than the Diggs and Dell role, which may make him less of a fit for the team’s needs at this moment.
Round 3, Pick 89: J.J. Pegues, DT – Ole Miss
It’s tough to not double-down on the interior offensive line, but Nick Caserio’s draft strategy necessitates a balanced approach to draft classes.
It’s always difficult to tell how great a player is when their counterpart is a perennial first rounder. Walter Nolen is slated to go in the first round and absorbed much of the notoriety up front. Pegues was the thunder to Nolen’s lightning and made for one of the best defensive duos in the nation.
At 6’2, 325 pounds, Peagues can play all over the defensive line. His athleticism, grittiness, and contact balance gives opposing lineman fits. He is more of a grappler than swift and is a brute to move off the line of scrimmage.
Peagues moonlighted as a running back on goalie situations notching SEVEN touchdowns this past season… all while playing defensive tackle. Pegues is a fantastic athlete, personality, and weapon to add to the Texans defensive line rotation.
Houston excelled when its interior defensive line finally became healthy and head depth. The constant rotation inside is imperative to DeMeco Ryans’ defense, and adding Pegues to restore some youth to a veteran group will bring some much needed juice to the interior front.