A look at the selections
Lance Zierlein's analysis of the Texans later picks
Apr 26, 2019, 9:16 pm
A look at the selections
Lance Zierlein's breakdown of the Texans second-day draft picks:
Round: 2 Pick: 54
Strengths
Weaknesses
Who he is:
Long and tall with physical traits galore, Johnson looks the part but lacks the consistency and ball skills expected of a starting NFL cornerback at times on tape. He has had issues with allowing catches and touchdowns when his back is to the ball and his ball production was very disappointing over the last two years. Some position coaches believe that his issues can be corrected with coaching. If it's not corrected, it will require changes in coverage scheme.
On the other end of the spectrum, he's extremely long and strong from press. At the Senior Bowl he suffocated receivers from press coverage rep after rep and pushed himself way up with evaluators. He is willing as tackler in run support. Johnson's combination of size, strength and speed could create an opportunity to step right into a starter's role opposite Johnathan Joseph, but the going will likely be bumpy when the ball is in the air for at least the first season as he adjusts and learns.
Round: 2 Pick: 55
Strengths
Weaknesses
Who he is
He played left tackle this season but will bump over to right tackle where he is more comfortable. Scharping has a good combination of size and functional athletic ability, but there is work to be done in his pass protection. While he's shown the ability to handle bull rushers with a stiff inside hand and quality recovery talent around the edge, He tends to open his outside shoulder too early and his pass sets become hurried and unfocused against edge speed.
However, keep this in mind…. in his matchup against Florida State's Brian Burns, Scharping was outstanding at keeping Burns away from his quarterback and stymieing Burns' edge speed while preventing any inside counters. Scharping has potential in the running game but need more reps with his hand in the ground and firing out into opponents. He could compete for early reps, but I'm expecting him to learn in practice for the better part of the year. Then again, when is the last time Seantrell Henderson stayed healthy?
Round: 3. Pick: 86
Strengths
Round 5: Pick: 161.
Strengths
Round: 6. Pick: 195.
Strengths
Round: 7. Pick: 220.
Strengths
Editor's note: Lance's analysis of all the Texans picks first appeared on NFL.com, where you can find all of his terrific draft coverage.
Coming out of Tuesday's Texans press conference, it feels like we may have been left with more questions than answers.
Head coach DeMeco Ryans continued to downplay CJ Stroud's “soreness” that has kept him from throwing at OTAs.
I noted in my article on Tuesday, that it I found it interesting that Ryans dodged a question from ESPN's DJ Bien-Aime about Stroud's availability for next week's mandatory minicamp.
However, Mike Florio of NBC Sports' biggest takeaway from the press conference really raised some red flags. When Ryans was asked if Stroud had any work performed on him in the offseason, his body language shifted dramatically. He started aggressively adjusting the sleeves on his shirt and looking quite uncomfortable. Seth Payne shared some similar thoughts on his YouTube channel, too.
Texans HC DeMeco Ryans on CJ Stroud not throwing today:
“There are no concerns with CJ. Just general soreness. Taking extra precautions.”
DeMeco Ryans declines to answer if C.J. had any work on his shoulder in the offseason.
He reiterates CJ has “GENERAL SORENESS.” pic.twitter.com/9jy9iGlptv
— Will Kunkel (@WillKunkelFOX) June 3, 2025
Florio makes a point in the video below that coaches have to be careful with their movements during these press conferences when asked tough questions. Or people will start reading into body language and wonder why the coach is refusing to answer further questions on the subject.
Something DeMeco did Tuesday after the “work” question. Media members suddenly become professional poker players looking for any tell.
That's a “no” from me dawg
Florio's co-host Chris Simms on the other hand wasn't buying it. He believes if there was any kind of procedure in the offseason, somebody would have heard about it.
He chalks up Stroud's absence to something much more minor, like tendonitis in the shoulder or elbow. KPRC 2's Aaron Wilson is reporting that his sources are telling him Stroud is dealing with tightness in his shoulder muscle. So it could be something as simple as that.
It's shoulder muscle tightness that C.J. Stroud is dealing with, per league sources @KPRC2 https://t.co/2PWQJQ3qZR
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) June 3, 2025
At the end of the day, let's hope Simms and Wilson are correct, and this isn't something we should worry about with the season still several months away.
But it is worth mentioning, CJ is learning a new offense and working with many new receivers that are expected to make an impact this year (Jayden Higgins, Jaylin Noel). A lot could be achieved by throwing to his new weapons and gaining experience in an unfamiliar system.
Something has to be bothering him enough to miss these valuable reps.
Be sure to check out the video below for the full conversation and see where you come out on the debate.
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