2020 NFL Draft: Texans
Texans take Ross Blacklock with 40th overall pick
Apr 24, 2020, 7:07 pm
NFL.com
Ross Blacklock
The Texans used the 40th overall pick in the draft to select hometown guy defensive lineman Ross Blacklock out of TCU. Blacklock is a native of Missouri City who played at Elkins High School. His dad, Jimmy, was the first black captain of any athletic team when he played basketball for the Longhorns. He's currently the head coach for the Harlem Globetrotters, a team in which he also played for. As you can see, the kid comes from good stock.
There's a lot to like about this pick. At 6'3 and 290lbs, Blacklock is a long armed guy who uses his quickness on the inside to shoot gaps and give interior offensive lineman fits. His 4.9 40 yard dash time was impressive, but his 10 yard splits were the better tell of his quickness. Missing time in 2018 with an Achilles tear hurt him, but he looked to have recovered this past season. Told by the advisory board to go back to school for his senior year, Blacklock decided to gamble on himself and looks like it paid off.
It's not often that being your team's first draft pick of a draft class will place you as your team's second biggest headline of the day, but that's life as a Texan Blacklock will have to get used to. For a full rundown on Blacklock as a prospect, head over to Lance Zierlien's NFL.com profile of Blacklock and read the full write up. In my opinion, he's not going to replace the loss of D.J. Reader and he won't be an elite pass rusher to start off, but he's a good player and someone they needed to add to the defensive line. Please don't compare this kid to DeAndre Hopkins either. Sure he was selected with the pick they got for Hopkins, but he'll have enough pressure to perform by where he was selected. Look for him to show signs of improvement over time. I expect him to be a day one starter and become a mandatory double team on passing downs. If he improves versus the run, you could be looking at a potential Pro Bowler.
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Christian Walker homered in a three-run second, Ryan Gusto pitched well into the sixth and the Houston Astros beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 on Wednesday night to sweep the three-game series.
CHRISTIAN SKYWALKER. #BuiltForThis pic.twitter.com/EZxbda3HT3
— Houston Astros (@astros) April 24, 2025
Walker led off the second with a home run to left off Bowden Francis (2-3), Yainer Diaz tripled and scored on Zach Dezenzo's RBI single and Yordan Alvarez capped the scoring with a sacrifice fly.
Gusto (3-1) allowed one run on three hits with six strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings. Gusto has allowed three runs or fewer in each of his three starts this season.
Bryan King pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings, and Bryan Abreu threw a scoreless eighth.
George Springer walked, and Ernie Clement doubled with one out in the ninth, but Josh Hader struck out Alejandro Kirk and induced a flyout by Myles Straw for his seventh save.
Houston has won five of its last six.
Springer hit an RBI double in the fourth for the Blue Jays. They have lost five straight games.
Francis surrendered three runs on eight hits in 4 2/3 innings. He has allowed three runs or fewer in four of his five starts.
Key moment
Hader striking out Kirk and getting Straw to flyout to center to end it.
Key stat
The Astros swept the Blue Jays for the first time since they swept a four-game series in Houston on May 14-17, 2015.
Final Thoughts
Julia Morales caught up with Walker after the game.
#Astros beat the Blue Jays 3-1
Christian Walker 2-4, HR & spoke with @JuliaMorales after the @astros WIN#BuiltForThis pic.twitter.com/MyRYdVwidH
— Space City Home Network (@SpaceCityHN) April 24, 2025
Up next
Houston starts a three-game series Friday at Kansas City, with RHP Hayden Wesneski (1-1, 3.91 ERA) starting the opener. Toronto RHP José Berríos (1-1, 5.02) starts Friday night in the opener of a three-game series at the Yankees.
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