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.
The Texans are favored to win the AFC South for a third straight season with a team led by young stars quarterback C.J. Stroud and defensive end Will Anderson. Stroud’s strong first two years helped the Texans turn things around and this year they’ll try to reach the playoffs in three straight seasons for the first time in franchise history. Stroud will be directing a new offense led by first-time offensive coordinator Nick Caley, who took over after Bobby Slowik was fired this offseason following Houston’s loss to the Chiefs in the divisional round. General manager Nick Caserio also beefed up the team’s receiving corps, led by Nico Collins, by adding veteran Christian Kirk and drafting Jayden Higgins in the second round and Jaylin Noel in the third. Coach DeMeco Ryans has vowed the offensive line will be better this season after Stroud was sacked 52 times last season, which was second-most in the league. But it’s difficult to see how his protection will be better after they traded left tackle Laremy Tunsil and didn’t make any big moves to replace him. Defensively, Anderson should take another step forward in his second year playing with veteran Danielle Hunter after the third-overall pick in the 2023 draft had 17 sacks combined in his first two seasons. Cornerback Derek Stingley returns to lead a talented young secondary after earning first team AP All-Pro honors last season when he had five interceptions and defended 18 passes.
OC Nick Caley, WR Jayden Higgins, WR Christian Kirk, WR Jaylin Noel, LT Cam Robinson, RB Nick Chubb, RT Aireontae Ersery, LG Laken Tomlinson, C Jake Andrews.
LT Laremy Tunsil, WR John Metchie III, G Kenyon Green, TE Brevin Jordan, CB Eric Murray, WR Robert Woods, CB Kris Boyd.
Stroud and Houston’s stacked receiving group should be the stars of the team this season. The 2023 AP Offensive Rookie of the Year has been great in his first two seasons to bring the Texans back into contention after an awful stretch. His interception rate was up last season but he’s looking for improvement this season in Caley’s offense, which he has described as “exciting.” He’ll have plenty of strong targets to throw to, led by Collins, who had a second straight 1,000-yard season last year despite missing five games with injuries. He’ll be joined by Kirk, who should fill in at the slot with Tank Dell likely to miss all season recovering from an injury he suffered in December. Higgins and Noel come to Houston after combining for 2,377 yards receiving and 17 touchdowns last season at Iowa State.
It’s hard to see how the offensive line will be improved this season with Tunsil gone to Washington. Though he was penalty-prone, he was the team’s most consistent lineman. They completely revamped the line after his trade and return just one starter from last year’s group. They’ll likely rely on rookie Ersery to protect Stroud’s blind side after taking him in the second round of the draft. He started 38 games at left tackle over three seasons at Minnesota. Veteran Tytus Howard returns at right tackle after starting 16 games there last season. The center is Jake Andrews in his first year in Houston and he returns after missing all of last season with an injury before being released by the Patriots. Left guard Laken Tomlinson and right guard Ed Ingram are also new to the team.
Houston’s secondary sustained a big blow in camp when safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson suffered a leg injury. The injury isn’t season-ending but he is likely to miss significant time. Gardner-Johnson is in his first year in Houston after he was acquired from the Eagles in March in exchange for left guard Kenyon Green. He was expected to be the team’s starting free safety after the Texans lost Eric Murray in free agency to the Jaguars. The Texans will also be without backup Jimmie Ward indefinitely after he was placed on the commissioner exempt list Tuesday as he faces a felony domestic violence charge after a June arrest.
Collins should have another big year after finishing with more than 1,000 yards receiving in each of the last two seasons. He’s had 15 touchdowns combined in the last two seasons despite missing seven games with injuries.
Win Super Bowl: 35-1.