Final Houston Texans Seven Round Mock Draft

The last mock draft before Houston begins picking their 2024 draft class

It’s time. The final no-trade Houston Texans mock draft. You can find all of my mock drafts in the links below to see how things have changed since the first edition in February.

Houston is at such a unique position where they are in a win now, best player available, build on strengths position. It’s hard to not defer to simply adding talent at the biggest positions of need; that being defensive tackle and cornerback. What I don’t think fans truly consider is that Nick Caserio loves to maximize his strengths. Simply look at the Stefon Diggs trade.

As well, I am obviously aware of the semi-futility of predicting Nick Caserio in the draft. Last year’s correct pick of Jarret Patterson was a huge win, but identifying talent is as much of an art as it is a metrics based science.

For those, like me who are curious about the T’Vondre Sweat situation, I truly think he’s off the Texans. He needs to be extracted from his current environment and brought to a city that will only focus on football. Green Bay would be a great fit for the former Longhorn.

Another consideration: Houston recently resigned Dare Ogunbowale and brought in Jacob Phillips. Both positions were considered needs heading into the draft, but if Houston thinks they’ve found decent depth solutions there, it pushes other needs up the draft board. Adding two players in positions of need so close to the draft only signals that they do not find many prospects in this class that they think fit their style or liking.

Let’s begin, and finish the mock draft season. Hope y’all enjoyed it as much as I did.

Round 2: No. 42 overall: Kamari Lassiter, CB – Georgia

• Other considerations: Javon Bullard, S – Georgia, Tyler Nubin, S – Minnesota, Braden Fiske, DL – Florida State, Edgerrin Cooper, LB – Texas A&M

Oh how the draft is a full circle process. Lassiter was my initial projection for the Texans at 23 before they traded back with the Minnesota Vikings. Now, Lassiter is poised to be one of the biggest steals or busts of the draft.

The biggest red flag – of all prospects in the top 50 – is his 6th percentile 40-yard dash. You simply don’t see cornerbacks with as poor a 40 yard dash time succeed at the next level. Conversely, he ran in the 94th percentile three cone drill. Essentially, he is dynamic in a short range but easily beaten downfield.

Teams will look to exploit his straight line lack of speed. But underneath Lassiter is an absolute daemon and excellent tackler. He brings the tenacity Houston is looking for with solid height and weight.

Lassiter reminds me of Kareem Jackson – someone who played college cornerback but could transition to safety due to a lack of speed. His hard hitting nature make him a great downhill safety while his CB experience should prove to excel at the next level.

For now, Lassiter is a capable CB2 and solidifies Houston’s cornerback room.

Round 2: No. 59: Patrick Paul, OT – Houston

• Other considerations: T.J. Tampa, CB – Iowa State, Kris Jenkins, DT – Michigan, Junior Colson, LB – Michigan

If you believe Houston is primed to make a run, what’s one of the quickest ways to derail that? Laremy Tunsil getting injured. In this mock, Caserio buys insurance and a lottery ticket for the future.

Offensive line depth has steadily crept up my board over the past three months in the form of third or fourth round prospects Javon Foster, Blake Fisher, Christian Jones, and Dominic Puni.

A native Houstonian, Paul’s enormous 6’7 1/2, 330 pound frame is prototypical for the left tackle spot. He can learn under Tunsil for two or three years and improve upon several of the glitches in his pass protection.

Fun fact, his grandfather was Major General and President of Nigeria in 1966.

Only 22 years old, Paul has three years of starting experience at the collegiate level. He effortlessly made the transition from the AAC to the Big 12 his final season and had his best PFF grade yet. He is a smooth feet in pass blocking but can use some work when the going gets tough. He’s an ideal prospect to wait a year or two to develop before unleashing on the league.

Round 3: No. 86: DeWayne Carter, DT – Duke

• Other considerations: Cedric Gray, LB – UNC, Khyree Jackson, CB – Oregon, Christian Jones, OT – Texas

Houston waits on defensive tackle but lands one of the most slept on prospects in the draft. A three year starter…. and three year team captain. That’s exactly what Caserio drafts. He possesses standard size and weight to play the defensive tackle position.

Many of the prospects ranked higher than Carter possess superior pass rush capabilities, but a majority of them are too weak or predictable in the run game to be every-down players. Carter is a versatile and experienced defensive tackle with an extremely high floor for a third round pick.

The main concern with Carter was the regression in his final season at Duke. He noticeably received more attention from opposing offenses and did not respond with as many stats. If Houston picks Carter, he won’t be the center of attention on the defensive line and could blossom into a strong rotational player on the defensive line.

Round 4: No. 123: Kitan Oladipo, S – Oregon State

Other considerations: Jarvis Brownlee, CB – Louisville, Kris Abrams-Draine, CB – Missouri, D.J. James, CB – Aubrun

This is an incredibly difficult draft pick. I am drafting for need more than best player available. Oladipo is one of the more controversial picks in the draft. Some have the 6’2 safety going in the second round. Some have him as low as the fifth or sixth. I however believe he’s an early to mid fourth round pick

Oladipo is one of the most versatile defensive backs in the draft. He had a 40/40/20 split between slot cornerback, deep safety, and in the box safety.

While not the fastest, Oladipo has the agility and tenacity to make noise at the next level. He’s one of those players who will make the defense play better because he’s on the field while not adding much to the stat board.

He’ll be an instant impact player on special teams while providing rotational depth to both Jalen Pitre at strong safety and Desmond King II in the slot corner. Another player who was a team captain too.

Round 4: No. 127: Tyrone Tracy, RB – Purdue

Other considerations: Bucky Irving, RB – Oregon, Isaac Guerendo, RB – Louisville, Will Shipley, RB – Clemson

Tracy is the only holdover from my last mock draft. I cannot claim to have started a wave of appreciation for Tracy, but he’s one of the most talked about prospects on Day Three. My recent article lauding his pass catching, special teams, and play making capabilities makes him a long term prospect with short-term production.

Tracy will contribute on pass catching downs while providing a spark in the newly designed kickoffs. As the RB3, Tracy will compete for specific plays and depending on if Dameon Pierce can learn the new offense, a bigger role within the team.

Round 6: No. 188: Justin Eboigbe, DE – Alabama

Obviously, we’re at that point in the draft where best players available is all that matters. Seeing an Alabama pass rusher with seven sacks last season in the sixth round – what am I missing?

Eboigbe has the height, weight, speed, and length to excel at the next level. It’s his lack of playing experience and delayed launch due to injuries which set back the once highly touted prospect. He played across the ENTIRE defensive line and can be a versatile depth piece to the Texans. This is a pick where if DeMeco Ryans gets his hands on him and schedules him for long-term growth, Houston could land a gem in the sixth round.

Round 6: No. 189: Javion Cohen, OG – Miami

Cohen has started at Miami and Alabama in his collegiate career but never truly blossomed as an athlete. He’s an enormous prospect at 6’4, 325 pounds and moves with weight behind him. More of a low-end prospect than anything else, Cohen is essentially bet on the physical traits than the skillset itself. You can’t call Cohen a “tools-y” prospect, but what you like about Cohen is the power and size that are necessary to play the left guard position.

Cohen is a depth piece on a young offensive line and a potential competitor to Kenyon Green if the former first rounder can’t get it together.

Round 7: No. 238: Dallas Gant, LB – Toledo

This would be Caserio’s second ever pick outside of a power-five conference. Gant was previously at Ohio State, but transferred over to get more playing time. Gant improved significantly on his missed tackles his last season at Toledo.

Grant is an idea size and speed fit for the Texans at 6’2 linebacker with 4.58 forty yard dash speed. He’s an athletic coverage linebacker and immediate backup for Henry To’oTo’o. Gant easily contributes on special teams given his exceptional tackling in space and straight line speed. Houston adds an elite athlete who could use several years in the gym and practice grounds before becoming a rotational coverage linebacker.

Round 7: No. 247: Brevyn Spann-Ford

At this point, every position of need has been checked. Every depth piece added, except one – tight end. BSF is a Big M.F. at 6’7, he’s closer to an offensive tackle than anything else. He needs to work on his physical traits matching his potential through coordinated footwork, hand placement, and pure aggression.

In terms of pass catching, Spann-Ford leaves lot to be desired too. He has legitimate drop issues and needs to improve in that department to utilize his frame fully.

Past mock drafts:

Houston Texans Seven Round Mock Draft 2.0

Houston Texans Post-Trade Seven Round Mock Draft

Houston Texans Post-NFL Combine Mock Draft