- 2 months ago
ITL breaks down which position groups could fly off the board early and put Houston in a tough spot.
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00:00Bruce Feldman, good reporter covering college football and obviously now dipping into the draft to some degree.
00:07He puts out his 2026 mock draft, and his annual mock draft is not just based off of what these
00:15players are, what teams need to some degree.
00:17He also uses intel that he's gathered from coaches, scouting, and agent sources over the last month.
00:24And these are the mock drafts that I find personally to have a lot of value, John Lopez.
00:28Because, I mean, obviously there's a lot of people who are great analysts that break down the players and try
00:34and match them with teams that have needs.
00:35But ultimately, you can't get inside the head of the decision makers without having a little bit of intel.
00:41And I think that these are some of the most useful for trying to have some idea of how the
00:46table falls.
00:47You won't be surprised to find that even with a little intel, Fernando Mendoza goes one on the Bruce Feldman.
00:52And interestingly enough, before we even get to who he has the Texans taking, at three, he has the Arizona
00:59Cardinals trading out of three.
01:02And the Dallas Cowboys trading up using their 12th pick and their 92nd pick to trade up and get a
01:09edge rusher, David Bailey from Texas Tech.
01:11Like, 12 and 92 for three?
01:13Yeah.
01:14Might be a little more than that.
01:15Yeah.
01:15That's why I was like, hey, that's an interesting perspective.
01:18But even just the idea that the Cowboys trade up for an edge, I know that their defense was bad.
01:22But, damn, trading up in that way, especially when someone like Reuben Bain would still be there or whatever.
01:28But I found that to be interesting.
01:30That being said, just to give you a real quick, he does have Jeremiah Love going to the Titans.
01:35And, of course, I will scroll all the way to 28, where the Houston Texans select.
01:40Who would you imagine is, or before I even talk about who, what position do you think that he ultimately
01:46went with?
01:46Defensive tackle.
01:47That is correct.
01:48So, with whatever insight that he has.
01:52Now, also one thing we have to remember is the Texans notoriously not the easiest organization to tap into the
01:58way that they're thinking for outsiders.
02:00However, he has the Texans taking a defensive tackle.
02:03It seems to track with some of the things that we've thought and, obviously, some of the things that mock
02:07drafters have had.
02:08He has, at the 28th pick, the Houston Texans taking defensive tackle from Ohio State, Cade McDonald.
02:15Yeah.
02:16That seems to be the widely held belief.
02:20Now, we must say, as we always do, it is lying season.
02:24And that includes, you know, within the, maybe even more so, within the little rumor mill that is the NFL.
02:33But, boy, McDonald is just widely considered right now where the Texans would lean.
02:38I do feel that there are, you know, things that, there are things that are going to happen that are
02:43going to change everything.
02:45But, I don't think they're necessarily tied into anything right now.
02:48And that was the beauty of the offseason.
02:50That was the beauty of the free agency.
02:51Yeah, that's one of the things that, funny enough, Cal McNair was even talking about is he liked the way
02:56that this offseason went in preparing themselves,
02:58getting themselves to this place with this roster where they can kind of have some leeway.
03:04Even D'Amico Ryan said it, like, and he said it in his very uniquely D'Amico way where you
03:08look at the roster, he goes,
03:09We play football today.
03:10Yeah.
03:10Right?
03:10And that feels very much like a dude who played linebacker, and they could.
03:14If they wanted to run out their roster, they could play competitive NFL football right now without even having to
03:19go to the draft.
03:20But it still feels like, especially when you consider, did you realize that Tim Settle was one of your best,
03:25if not your best, run stoppers?
03:27Well, you've talked about it, yeah.
03:29Right?
03:29I don't know exactly if I knew the ranking.
03:31I kind of figured that out until he got hurt.
03:33Yeah.
03:33Right?
03:33And so, he's not coming back.
03:36And you have some guys that defend to tackle, but you do need somebody that can step up as a
03:41run stopper, even amongst the guys that you have,
03:43which, with respect to Tommy Togiai, who definitely has demonstrated some capabilities of doing that, Sheldon Rankin to some degree
03:48as well.
03:49Kay McDonald does that.
03:50He's a load in the run game, specifically.
03:52Measure 6'2", 326.
03:54And also, a Big Ten offensive coordinator said of Kay McDonald, he's a heck of a player.
04:00He was so physical, tough, and violent, he can run better than you, and he can run better than you
04:05think.
04:06The run better than you think is nice.
04:08However, when I give you three characteristics of a player that is physical, tough, and violent, where would you put
04:14that guy?
04:14That would be your Houston, Texas.
04:16You know what I mean?
04:17So, I found that to be...
04:19Is he nasty?
04:19Is he swarmy?
04:20Right.
04:21And that's one of those things that feels like a prerequisite for playing here.
04:24But also, he just turned 21 for whatever that's worth, you know, the youth of getting in there.
04:29And it's one of those reasons why Sheldon Rankin's being there, I think, is also a very good thing.
04:34But, okay, so there you go.
04:35That's Kay McDonald there.
04:37So, there are teams that you would go, could they be interested in a Kay McDonald higher than that?
04:44This, I think, brings up one of the questions that you had, which is, then, what run would you not
04:50like to see happen in the NFL draft to help you out with this?
04:55And I think defensive tackle is an interesting one because I don't know where the run would have to start
05:01for you to be in a bad place at 28.
05:03Yeah, and, yes, I mean, the four that you don't want to see a run on are wide receiver, tight
05:10end, offensive line, and defensive tackle.
05:12You don't want to see a run on wide receiver?
05:14Yeah, because they're picking guys that you may want to target.
05:17You think that the Texans would be targeting wide receiver here?
05:20Why not?
05:21I think the wide receiver is one that I'd actually be good with because if there's a run on wide
05:25receiver, I think that pushes down more potential players that you'd be interested in, including someone like maybe a Kenyon.
05:30That Tank Dell news shook me.
05:32And I think wide receiver is in play.
05:35We talked about it.
05:36So you wouldn't be upset if they decided to take a wide receiver in the first round?
05:41I would not.
05:43And I know it's a little counterintuitive.
05:45Before the Tank Dell news, you were, you know.
05:46I wasn't as adamant about, well, not adamant, but as maybe leaning into a wide receiver.
05:51You probably would have been a little shocked if they did take one.
05:53Correct.
05:54Because, and this has nothing to do, we talked about this.
05:56It has nothing to do with Jaden Higgins and his future.
05:59Could be great.
05:59You know, same thing with Jalen Noel.
06:02You know, same thing with Tank Dell, for that matter.
06:04But when I heard D'Amico Ryans himself say he may not be, you know, out there at OTAs, that
06:09changes the room, man.
06:11That changes your expectation of the room anyway.
06:14Because you have Nico Collins.
06:15He's locked up.
06:16Obviously, big-time receiver.
06:18And then you're like, okay, well, we're kind of hoping.
06:21You know, we're kind of hoping that one of these other guys steps up.
06:23And they may well.
06:24I do think that's a worry, though, man.
06:27Yeah.
06:27Like, just kind of hoping a little bit.
06:28Yeah.
06:29Because if you kind of knew what you was getting out of them, if you knew they was going to
06:34be productive, I don't know if they probably would have, you know, tried to get another wide receiver this early.
06:39Maybe they'd sign a veteran receiver to kind of be, just be there.
06:44I mean, Xavier Hutchinson, we know, I think we know what he is.
06:47And that's not going to be a number two wide receiver.
06:49However, if Jaden Higgins were going into his third year and he was coming off, let's say, 45 catches or
06:56something, you'd feel damn good, you know?
06:58I mean, he had 41.
07:00I know, but it was his rookie year is what I'm saying.
07:02You know, like, you don't know, you know?
07:05Yeah, I think that I would add a little qualification to the you don't know on Jaden Higgins.
07:11I think that you have a pretty solid inkling.
07:14I think that that's a different perspective.
07:16And then also, how much do we then factor in, we're not coming from the perspective that we once were
07:22under a Bobby Slowick regime of offensive coordinator or the time where we weren't exactly sure what Nick Caley's offensive
07:29system looked like.
07:30This is a team that wants to run the football.
07:32How much do you need to be like, hey, we need to add another wide receiver to the wide receivers
07:35that we have where you go.
07:37Nico Collins, bad dude.
07:38Jaden Higgins, we have a good inkling on what he is.
07:42Jalen Dole should get more opportunity and then a Higgins, or not a Higgins, but a Hutchinson, there you go.
07:47If we need to plan, we can.
07:49I think that, and then also like the hopes, the hope kind of thought process on Tank Dell.
07:54How much of this is a necessity versus a luxury, I think is a question that we need to ask.
07:59I'm good with inklings.
08:01I'm good with, you know, have a good idea.
08:04And it may well prove to be true.
08:06And frankly, you know, the same could be true for the receiver you bring in.
08:11But if you bring in a first-round receiver, I think it elevates even more so.
08:16And then the other part of this, Reggie, is...
08:18I wonder if a first-round receiver isn't right where, or just below where Jaden Higgins is anyways.
08:25Well, that's another discussion, but...
08:27I think it's part of the discussion.
08:28I think if you draft a wide receiver at 28 overall in a very deep class of wide receivers...
08:34It is a deep class, but also...
08:35The over-under for receivers taken in the first round is five and a half.
08:38There's also not as much of a high end when we talk about, outside of like Carnell Tate.
08:43Outside of Carnell Tate at wide receiver, you have a lot of guys that teams are looking at as,
08:47okay, maybe he can be a number two wide receiver.
08:48Well, that's my point.
08:50But that's what I'm saying.
08:50We're talking about eventually, right?
08:51You want to get a guy who you immediately have that belief.
08:54I think that you're slotting another guy in who's even more of a question than a Jaden Higgins.
08:57I didn't say that.
08:58I think your odds go up when you have Tank Dell and you're not certain about it,
09:02and you're still trying to find out on these other two guys, and you have an inkling, as you put
09:06it.
09:06But your odds go up of getting it right if you draft a deep wide receiver.
09:12It's a deep wide receiver class.
09:14If you draft one at 28, I think the odds go up that you're going to find that number two.
09:18And you talk about, do you really need to have that number two wide receiver with this offense?
09:24It's just perspective for me.
09:26We're not in the business of three years from now.
09:30We're in the business of, let's get to a Super Bowl.
09:34Well, if we're talking about not being in the business of three years from now,
09:36why are we talking about a wide receiver in the draft as opposed to something else?
09:40Because I feel like there's a vacancy there.
09:42There's a question there.
09:44There's not a lot of questions in other places.
09:46I think there's a question at the number two wide receiver.
09:49Flat out.
09:50Especially with the Delnius.
09:53I still wouldn't go with that being the place where I'm like, hey, that really hurts me if there's a
09:57run on it.
09:58I actually like that a lot better.
09:59Reggie, do you feel like they need a wide receiver right now?
10:03Or do you feel like the room is good?
10:06The question I think hinges on how much do you trust Justin Watson,
10:09and it feels like they trust him a little bit more than maybe the rest of us do.
10:12I think they like what Justin Watson brings.
10:14Would you feel better if they bring somebody else that's just a tad bit better than Justin Watson?
10:18I think sure.
10:19I think sure.
10:20But I think that's probably like from a veteran perspective,
10:22which I think we'll have an opportunity to talk about as well.
10:25But I don't know that it's the wide receiver way of doing that.
10:28Or sorry, the draft way of doing this, especially at the top of the draft where I think
10:31if we're adding a premium player, I think I'd much rather add a premium player
10:34in some other places like a defensive tackle.
10:37Or one of the places where I would, if we're answering the question of where do I not want to
10:41see a run?
10:42Offensive line.
10:42Like anywhere on the offensive line.
10:45Obviously, you're less likely to get run on offensive line, on the interior, particularly at center,
10:50because that's just, they're not taken in the first round usually,
10:52unless you're talking about a generational prospect, which they don't have in this.
10:56But there is a possibility that a lot of these tackles end up,
11:00you end up getting a run on them in this draft.
11:03And as much as I don't know that tackle is definitely where they're taking,
11:06I would like it much more if you had more options there on tackle,
11:09especially some of these tackles might be moving into guard anyways,
11:13more those guys that slide towards 28 as opposed to going up higher
11:17and then kind of maybe forcing your hands in some ways on the offensive lineman
11:22that you might like to draft.
11:23No, if I had to rank them, I would say offensive line is the one I would least like to
11:29see a run on,
11:30even though, as you mentioned, you know, there's not a really big run on interior offensive linemen.
11:35But I'm not so sure I wouldn't have wide receiver too.
11:37You know, like Figge asked you, you're like, do you think they need a wide receiver?
11:41If you ask me that, I'm like, yeah.
11:43Yeah.
11:44I think my whole thing is I'm not sure.
11:47I can't bet my money on Higgins and Noel right now that they are submitting
11:52number two and number three type of deal.
11:54So, like, maybe I could be wrong, man.
11:57I could be wrong.
11:58Maybe this year they could take that big step.
12:00They know more than we do, and they may love them, and they think that guy is a number two
12:04wide receiver.
12:05Just wait.
12:05I just think with the news, with the Taint Dale possible news,
12:09I think if we were really confident about the other two receivers,
12:13I don't think this would hit us as hard as it did.
12:16Yes.
12:18I actually have a lot more confidence in Jaden Higgins, I think, personally, to be that.
12:23Because I also recognize the slow start that he got, but the slow start that this offense in general got,
12:28and the ways in which, you know, you ended up with a, especially in the back side of this season,
12:33you ended up with a wide receiver who demonstrated a little bit more of that,
12:36plus having a full offseason to, you know, continue to progress his body and understand what the NFL is
12:42and how to, you know, run his routes, get off, those types of things.
12:45I am actually wildly optimistic about Jaden Higgins.
12:48I was, you know, I was trying to hold from doing too much, but I am actually pretty optimistic on
12:53what that second season is.
12:54But I understand your thought process, and I'm not trying to say that you don't need to be better at
12:59wide receiver.
12:59I just don't think that's prioritized in this way, especially when we talk about, like, a first-round pick.
13:05You might even still get me on one of your two seconds.
13:07You might get me there.
13:08I just don't know that here is the way that I would do it.
13:11Is there another position that you just would hate to see a run on for the purposes of the Texans?
13:15Just because of sheer numbers, tight end, I think it's very thin.
13:19I don't even know that you could talk about a run.
13:21I think as soon as they take one, I go, damn, all right.
13:23Well, over-under is one and a half.
13:24I think as soon as Kenyon Sadiq go off, I'm like, well, that was fun.
13:29Let's look at the undrafted.
13:31Well, I won't go that far, but as far as, like, hey, for 28, right?
13:35I think I'm in a place where it's just Kenyon Sadiq that gets me interested there.
13:40And I'm having a little bit of an interesting kind of conversation with myself when it comes to Eli Stowers.
13:47I think that that's one of those guys that people think about.
13:49But I am having – I've had some of an interesting thought where we see the trend in the NFL
13:55with big –
13:56maybe not big, but, like, blocking tight ends.
13:58And I wonder how viable is it to have a guy that is less of an in-line blocker?
14:03Well, yeah, and that's an ongoing conversation in the NFL.
14:06And so I don't know how much I'm like, hey, sign me up for more –
14:09He would be the other one.
14:10That's why the over-under is one and a half.
14:12A lot of people do love him, reportedly.
14:14Yeah, and I think that that's the thing.
14:16If you give me a Kenyon Sadiq, oh, yeah, I know he'd do all that.
14:18Like, he might not be the best blocker, but he does it willingly.
14:21And then when you get him trying to catch this football, buddy, it is electric.
14:25And so, yeah, easily.
14:26But I feel you on that.
14:27The general premise I feel you on.
14:29I just feel like it's a lot shorter than a run.
14:30It's just as soon as he goes, I go, well.
14:32Yeah.
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