Mel Kiper Mock Draft: Three Rounds’ Worth Of Picks For The Texans

Mel Kiper, Jr. has his latest mock draft out for ESPN, and it’s a doozy. It’s three rounds, and it features Mel putting on his general manager hat for every NFL team. The framework of this exercise, according to Kiper:

It's time for my annual three-round mock draft, which has a simple concept: I'm the general manager for each team at each pick, from No. 1 to No. 107.

I'm not projecting picks based on what I'm hearing around the league. This is me making 107 picks -- three full rounds -- based on what's best for each team at that slot, so that each team gets an "A" grade.

The ground rules:

- At each slot, I make a pick in the best interest of only the team with the pick. I won't pass on a player at No. 4 just because I like the team at No. 5 better.

- No trades unless they have already happened. I try to address team needs, but as with the actual draft, value can supersede need.

- Once again, I'm not projecting. It's more a look at where I see value up and down the board, based on my rankings.

Here’s what Kiper has the Texans doing in the first three rounds of the 2017 NFL Draft under those parameters:

Houston Texans

Round 1 (25): Cam Robinson, OT, Alabama

Round 2 (57): Nathan Peterman, QB, Pitt

Round 3 (89): Taywan Taylor, WR, Western Kentucky

Once again, the 25 spot is a reach for quarterbacks, according to my rankings. I'll give Bill O'Brien's squad an eventual replacement for Duane Brown in Robinson, who is a powerful run-blocker but needs to clean up some things to reach his potential. That means I'm going with a quarterback in the second round, and it's Peterman, my No. 4-ranked signal-caller. He doesn't have big-time arm strength, but that should improve when he gets into the league. He's a steady QB with room to grow into a starter and could compete with Tom Savage. Taylor, who had 34 touchdown catches the past two seasons, doesn't have ideal size (5-foot-11, 203 pounds) or speed (4.50 40), but he could develop into a reliable No. 3 receiver.

Uh...alright. That is...something. What would your reaction be if the Texans followed Kiper’s script with their first three picks next week?