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The Houston Texans will have three picks in the first three rounds of the 2025 NFL Draft. With these picks, they could shore up the offensive line, add weapons to the offense, or beef up the defense. Which way will they go in April? We asked the PFF NFL mock draft simulator what the Texans would do, and here’s what the simulation told us.
Round 1, pick 25 — RB Omarion Hampton, North Carolina
The Texans got good production out of Joe Mixon this year. He went for over 1,000 yards on the ground and scored 12 total touchdowns. He’ll also be 29 in July, and he missed three games last season due to injury.
Drafting a running back at some point in the 2025 NFL Draft makes a lot of sense for the Texans, it’s just a matter of when. At pick 25, they are likely out of the Ashton Jeanty sweepstakes, but like in 2023 when Jahmyr Gibbs quietly followed Bijan Robinson, Omarion Hampton could be a first-rounder, too.
Hampton is a 6-foot, 220-pound battering ram who doesn’t hesitate when hitting the hole. So, while the offensive line does need an upgrade, the other thing that can keep pass-rushers off of Stroud is the threat of a Mack Truck running downhill.
All that said, the running back class is deep this year, so the Texans could hold off until later, especially because Mixon is still under contract for two more seasons.
If they did pass on Hampton and looked at O-linemen instead, Armand Membou (Missouri) and Grey Zabel (North Dakota State) were both available in the PFF NFL mock draft simulator.
Round 2, pick 57 — DT Derrick Harmon, Oregon
This is a situation where dealing with an NFL mock draft simulator is tough. Whatever algorithm PFF uses to rank players has a few prospects who seem like surefire first-round picks slipping to the second or even third rounds.
Oregon defensive tackle Derrick Harmon seems like a first-round pick now, but there is a ways to go between mid-February and late April.
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Harmon is a 6-foot-5, 310-pound lineman who can play in odd or even fronts. His versatility is his big selling point, and a player like this can allow defensive-minded head coach DeMeco Ryans to do a lot of different things on defense.
If Harmon slips this far, he is a steal for the Texans. If they do decide to go with the opposite line here, the PFF NFL mock draft simulator has OTs Cameron Williams (Texas), Ozzy Trapilo (Boston College), and Wyatt Milum (West Virginia) coming off the board shortly after.
Round 3, pick 89 — DT Deone Walker, Kentucky
If the Texans do get Harmon in Round 2, I love taking another DT in Round 3, as they do in this PFF NFL mock draft simulator situation.
Houston had one of the worst DT rotations in the NFL starting last season, with Tim Settle, Tommy Togiai, Mario Edwards Jr., and Folorunso Fatukasi coming in at 58, 61, 64, and 116, respectively, out of 118 eligible DTs in PFFs final grades.
In Deone Walker, the Texans get one of the most physically imposing players in the 2025 NFL Draft. The Kentucky product is 6-foot-7, 340 pounds, and his NFL.com scouting report sums him up perfectly, saying, he is an “Enormous human with elite size and length.”
Putting Harmon and Walker in the center of the Texans defense with Will Anderson Jr. on the outside could transform the unit from a middling one to one of the top defenses in the league.
