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The first round of the 2021 NFL Draft is in the books and there was plenty to write about. The Jags added two Clemson stars, Chicago doubled down on the quarterback position. Everything went right for New England.
Your Houston Texans don’t make a selection until the third pick in the third round, which makes it a bit unclear who will be available and who won’t. First, let’s look at the top five players who are still up for grabs after the first round, according to Pro Football Focus.
- Christian Barmore: DT—Alabama
- Trevon Moehrig: S—TCU
- J. Owusu-Koramoah: LB—Notre Dame
- Elijah Moore: WR—Ole Miss
- Walker Little: OT—Stanford
Other players who jump off the page are cornerback Asante Samuel Jr., outside linebacker Azees Ojulari, and running back Javonte Williams. We don’t expect any of these players to be available in the third round, but you never know what could be occurring in the NFL war rooms heading into Day Two. Based on the ebbs and flows of this draft, there should be a run on interior players. The first half of the draft was almost exclusively for offensive and defensive weapons and playmakers. Look for the beginning of the second round to feature linebackers, offensive linemen, and safeties.
For the Texans, not much has changed. Only four defensive linemen have been selected so far and no safeties have come off the board at all. The defensive side of the ball should see more love tonight. However, with the Texans needing help on defense, they are hoping some of these high-end fall down the board, pushing others our way.
Here are four players, one from each of Houston’s top positions of need, that you should look out for the Texans drafting in the third round.
- Baron Browning: LB—Ohio State (my personal pick)
- D’Wayne Eskridge: WR—Western Michigan (the best system fit)
- Carlos Basham: EDGE—Wake Forest (skill set Texans lack)
- Kelvin Joseph: CB—Kentucky (high upside)
There’s a million different directions the Texans could go at Pick 67, but they will ultimately take the best player available. They lucked out on Justin Reid two years ago; hopefully they can do the same tonight.