After a playoff flameout, the Houston Texans have key players they need to re-sign. And they need to add free-agent pieces. Also, as draft season ramps up, here is the Texans’ 2026 NFL Mock Draft roundup following the Super Bowl.
After a 12-5 regular season and a playoff win over the Steelers, the Texans watched quarterback CJ Stroud suffer a meltdown against the Patriots in the Divisional Round.
So what direction will DeMeco Ryans and the Texans take in the draft with the No. 28 overall selection?
Caleb Lomu, OT, Utah
Yes, spot on. The Texans must improve that offensive line. They don’t want Stroud’s bad playoff game turn into a 2026 regression. And the best prevention is a better offensive line.
“Bringing in Caleb Lomu allows the team to shuffle the players they have around and likely cut ties with free agent Trent Brown,” Crean wrote. “Lomu is still a little raw, but he has a lot of upside and could create an excellent bookend situation with Aireontae Ersery.”
Blake Miller, OT, Clemson
Cynthia Frelund, NFL.com; Joel Klatt, CBS Sports; Todd McShay, McShay Report
Yes, a tackle. But which one? The Clemson product offers an interesting possibility. Frelund said he ascends above Lomu.
“My model really likes Miller, who projects as a right tackle at the next level,” Frelund wrote. “The math favored him even more than Caleb Lomu when evaluating through a position-agnostic lens. His waist-bender projections are second-lowest in the class among both tackles and guards.”
Klatt said the Texans must address their biggest need.
“Houston's defense is elite, so it needs to keep building on the offensive side of the ball,” Klatt wrote. “The Texans' offensive line was better this past season, but it can still improve. Miller started all 54 games in his career and is reliable.”
McShay said he likes Miller’s physical makeup.
“I could see Miller, who’s big and long and has plus mobility for a right tackle, being the pick,” McShay wrote. “He’s a highly intelligent offensive lineman with great experience (54 starts). He’s known as Mr. Reliable at Clemson, and he’s a force multiplier in the OL room. It’s exactly the makeup that Nick Caserio and DeMeco Ryans are looking for.”
Monroe Freeling, OT, Georgia
Daniel Jeremiah, NFL.com
Are you seeing the issue here? Yes, an offensive tackle is the right call for the Texans. But when there is no consensus, there’s a chance of whiffing on this pick. All of these guys are unlikely to hit as a rookie. Maybe one of them will. Jeremiah likes Freeling.
“The Texans did a nice job of maneuvering to land Aireontae Ersery in last year’s draft,” Jeremiah wrote. “Now they get another young tackle to pair with him. Freeling is just scratching the surface of his potential.”
Lee Hunter, DT, Texas Tech
Brent Sobleski, Bleacher Report
Not so fast, Sobleski said. Maybe the Texans will turn their heads away from the offense and strengthen their already strong defense.
“The automatic assumption is that the Houston Texans will start building around quarterback C.J. Stroud instead of investing in what's already a top-notch defense,” Sobleski wrote. “Lee Hunter played as well as anyone not named Fernando Mendoza during the recent College Football Playoff. He's not a traditional space-eater. Instead, the 320-pound defensive tackle can be a disruptive force as part of a defensive front that already unleashes hell on opposing backfields.”
The Texans could get hit in free agency. And that’s why Bleacher Report says the defensive line is the first-round direction.
“While the Texans featured a strong defensive line this past season, starting defensive tackles Sheldon Rankins and Tim Settle are about to hit free agency,” Matt Holder said. “This pick maintains the Texans' defensive dominance.
“With Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter working the edges and Hunter up the middle, no team will be running on Houston's defense for the foreseeable future.”
The overall roundup analysis
The Bleacher Report idea is intriguing. However, unless they get a game-changer, it’s hard to imagine them passing on offensive line help. And how many times is a game-changer available this late in the first round?
Take the safe route. Grab the best offensive lineman. And give the offense a chance to keep up with the defense.
