The 2025 Draft is over. One last revisit before we move forward in the NFL year.
The Day After the Day After…when the raw, immediate emotions from the aftermath of a game diminish into the realm of clarity and the proverbial (or literal) hangover no longer haunts the mind. With that, a review of the 2025 NFL Draft
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The “Patriots Way” draft strategy, or massive Texans scrambling?: Seeing the Texans trade out of the 1st round doesn’t seem all that radical on the surface. Caserio effectively did that last year before the draft and when under the Kraft/Belichick regime, he saw a lot trading out of the 1st, especially given that the difference between a late 1st/early 2nd is negligible in draft value and the cap prefers the cheaper 2nd rounder. However, reports indicate that Houston eyed some 1st round talent. Key among them, OL Kelvin Banks. At one point, Caserio tried to trade up to the #12 slot, but Dallas didn’t bite. Just as well, as Banks went to the Saints at #9. Other interior prospects went well before Houston’s #25 slot. One could argue that WR Matthew Golden was the one, especially as Houston executed its trade with the Giants right after Green Bay snagged him. We may never know for sure.
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Iowa State, WR-U: When you think of “WR-U”, perhaps the Hairless Nuts of Ohio State come to mind. Maybe some of the other blue-chip programs, like Alabama, Georgia, Texas, etc…that take multi-star recruits and turn them into All-Pro prospects. Yet, you probably didn’t figure that Iowa State was up there. Perhaps that is not a commonly-held opinion, but Houston clearly saw something in the ISU receiving room. Of their four Day Two picks, two went to ISU receivers (Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel). Taken by themselves, they were not bad picks. Higgins was high on many team’s draft boards, as both the Titans and Raiders (right behind Houston in the 2nd round) traded out of their picks when he went off the board. Noel likely replaces Tank Dell, who is not assured of returning in 2025.
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Stock Up: current IOLs, Stock Down: incumbent WRs: Going into the draft, the thought was that Houston would get as many O-lineman as possible. Yet, they did not use their 1st round pick on a lineman, and took only one OL prospect all draft. Perhaps Houston got pre-empted on certain players or their staff saw something that us outsiders didn’t, but the expected flood of new lineman never materialized. This indicates Houston thinks players like Scruggs and Patterson can still evolve, that Howard can lock down a guard spot and that Robinson and Fisher can hold down the tackle spots, and that their various depth signing in free agency, along with new coaching, will improve the offensive line.
Yet, the drafting of the ISU WR room indicates that Metchie and Hutchinson (another ISU alum) are on borrowed time. Most think well of Metchie the man, but he was a 2nd round pick, and he’s never lived up to that billing. Hutchinson didn’t have the same pressures as Metchie, but he also didn’t up his game when the chance presented itself. Likely one or both may start the 2025 regular season on different rosters.
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The Salary Cap and 2026: While draft day dealing is a Caserio hallmark, one cannot discount a financial motivation for the trades this season. Houston’s salary cap got tight this offseason, and that doesn’t look to change much in the years ahead. The cap next year gets extremely complicated. Figure on anywhere between $80M and $100M of future annual cap space going towards the extensions for DE Will Anderson, Jr and QB CJ Stroud. Factor the extension for Stingley signed this past offseason, as well as other free agents and extensions for other evolving players, and Houston must depend on cheaper talent to fill out the roster. Enter the draft. Four picks between Day 1 and Day 2 in 2026 should yield some starting-caliber players. Future roster building for Houston depends on those draft picks.
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FUN WITH NUMBERS:
6, 13, 14: Number of Trades/Picks Dealt/Picks Received by the Houston Texans in the 2025 Draft: If it seemed like Houston led off a lot of trade updates, well, it was because they did a lot of trading. These numbers don’t include the trade of Tunsil to the Commanders at the start of free agency. Still, Caserio’s tenue as Texans’ GM is defined by extensive draft day trades. More often than not, they’ve worked out fairly well for Houston. Still, you are only as good as your last draft. How 2025 pans out? TBD.
GAME BALLS:
ISU WR Coach Noah Pauley: With two WRs drafted in the 1st three rounds by Houston, imagine the recruiting pitch the WR staff can levy in their recruiting efforts? “We want you to play for us. You play for us, we can get you to the NFL. [KITTEN], we might get you all to go to the same team!” No doubt Matt Campbell and the Cyclone NIL collectives are just ecstatic about that. If those guys end up balling out…the Q-rating for Pauley will go through the roof.
West Columbia High School Football: Not too far from my hometown, West Columbia just got a major PR boost with the drafting of Cam Ward. Ok, he went to the vile BE-SFs, but still, he’s the #1 overall pick from little ol’ West Columbia, and that after playing his high school ball in a Wing-T Offense. Now, when Roughneck QBs complain about not throwing the ball, the coaches can say “Cam Ward”, invalidating all whining.
NBA Playoffs: Not only are the Rockets back in the playoffs for the first since 2020, but so are the Knicks. This is important, as it spared us wall-to-wall coverage of the smartest dumb[KITTEN] in sports, Stephen A. Smith, bloviating during the Draft coverage. ESPN has more than enough of that (see later).
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SHOULD BE FORCED TO CLEAN UP ALL THE SPILLED BEER AND RANCID CHEESE REMAINS WHILE LISTENING TO A MIXED TAPE OF STEPHEN A. SMITH AND MEL KIPER, JR. ON AUTOREPEAT AFTER THE DRAFT:
The Sanders Empire: Not that Houston was going to draft him, but talk about a major kick-in-the-groin-egowise for Shedeur Sanders and the Sanders family? How bad did the interview process go for that young man? Teams always need QBs, but the intangibles must be among the worst in history to take what some thought might be a #1 overall pick to being skunked on the 1st two days of the draft, falling to the 5th round. Sure, you can point to the two best QBs in history and see that Johnny Unitas was a 9th rounder and Tom Brady was a 6th rounder. Still, this was a horrid outcome for the Sanders family.
Jax Ulbrich: Whatever you think of the Sanders family, that prank call…major foul…and the dumb[KITTEN] tweeted himself doing this?! Also, for his father, Jeff Ulbrich, aka the Defensive Coordinator for the Falcons, well, maybe he won’t face external discipline from the league, but will anyone ever trust him with sensitive information like a prospect’s private phone? Jax, the internet is forever. Good luck explaining that in all of your future job interviews.
Mel Kiper Jr.: Kiper’s salivating about Shedeur Sanders was so over the top that it drove many, like this commentator, away from ESPN for the entirety of the draft. Was the NFL Network perfect? No, but compared to ESPN…Sure, ESPN got their ratings, but the sooner Kiper disappears from the draft, the better.
Texans’ Fans Trying to Predict this Draft: So many Texans’ fans did their mock drafts, all with good analytic techniques and genuine hope and concern for the team, especially to reinforce the interior of the O-line. To that, the Houston Texans said: “[KITTEN] your mock drafts!” True, one cannot always listen to the fans, but you hope that the Texans’ brain trust proves more right than the fans.
With the draft concluded, we now all await the next big moment on the NFL calendar: The schedule release. Come May 14th, we’ll learn when Houston faces off against its foes in the quest to finally deliver a Super Bowl. See you then.