Grumpy Nick defends the offensive line

It’s funny how the absence of one (1) pick can change how you feel about something. I liked the Texans double-tapping receiver early in this draft. I was not a huge fan of drafting Aireontae Ersery instead of one of the better-perceived left tackles in this class, mostly because my thought is that if you aren’t a first-round tackle you probably aren’t a long-term solution, and additionally because I’m not sure Ersery is more than a right tackle. But what I’ve found with this stuff is mostly that I’m willing to give evaluators the benefit of the doubt when they attack a position — they break down the tape better and more often than I do, and I was not spending my April grinding college film on the fifth through 13th ranked offensive lineman. Caserio has some big misses in the draft, but he also has plenty of hits, and I respect the process.

Then the Texans simply did not draft another offensive lineman. They have Ersery, a move that I think pretty clearly sends Tytus Howard to left guard as long as one of Ersery or Blake Fisher proves they can handle right tackle. But at guard the Texans have the following players:

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• Howard, who has never had a good year at left guard in his entire career and was wildly up -and-down after moving there.
• Laken Tomlinson, who has not had a PFF grade above last year’s 62.1 since 2021.
• Juice Scruggs, who struggled when moved to guard after Week 9 to help cover the Kenyon Green fiasco and is a natural center.
• Ed Ingram, who was benched by the Vikings and given away.
• Depth guys like Nick Broeker who have no real NFL experience.

And yet he was asked about this and got … unexpectedly spicy?

And contextually, let me add, he repeated this “someone tell me what a need is” multiple times over the final two days, and not in reference to any kind of hard-hitting question. It was tonally awkward at best, and felt defensive and kind of prickly to me personally.

What the Texans have done is built depth and believed in the idea of the competition. No matter who starts on the offensive line in 2025, that is the bet. Nick Caley and Cole Popovich, two first-time coaches at their respective positions, are going to be asked to elevate the unit. I don’t think that is an impossible task, by the way — I’m open-minded. But that is what the bet is.

I think Caserio is getting way too sucked into this versatility argument — I’d simply pick the best players. I don’t think Howard’s ability to play left guard at 75 percent of his talent at right tackle has made life easier for the Texans at any point in the last five years. And yet, here we are in 2025, without Laremy Tunsil this time, continuing on with this despite no margin for error.

If the Texans had added one more guard in the first two days, I’d feel a lot happier with this draft. I’d have some kind of hope for better interior play. C.J. Stroud’s new ownership of the offense better be transformative for this team’s pass-blocking, or this will feel a lot like last year.

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The Woody Marks trade is where I was lost

I was okay with this draft — didn’t love it outside of grabbing Jaylin Noel in the third round, but not upset about the positions targeted — up until the Texans traded up in the fourth round for Woody Marks.

I have nothing bad to say about Marks as a prospect, this is about the circumstances. The Texans traded up. They gave up a future third-round pick for the right to draft Marks in the fourth despite the fact that he was the 19th-ranked running back in Dane Brugler’s The Beast. There was a ton of depth at the position, very good players (in my opinion) like Tahj Brooks, Dylan Sampson, and Jordan James went way later. I understand that Marks gives you passing-game excellence — or at least that’s the hope — but I don’t see anything that made him one-of-a-kind in the Texans eyes outside of his personality.

That is what really drives the Caserio trade ups, when you think about it. The Texans famously attack special teams as free agency opens. This year it was Braxton Berrios, Justin Watson, and Tremon Smith. I have nothing bad to say about how much Caserio cares about special teams — it’s tonally funny, but he has clearly gotten results. But they do not sign huge undrafted free agency classes or want to make 10 picks a draft because they have chosen this life in advance with the special-teams chasing. They take huge stances on the combination of belief in the player’s personality and talent. And then they react to those with scarcity, which is what drives all the trade ups.

So no, I don’t think they feel losing the future third-rounder really matters. Me? I’d rather have a future third-round pick and Brooks. But Marks is going to get his chance — he might finally dislodge Dare Ogunbowale off the roster, or perhaps Dameon Pierce — and I think he’s got the talent to play in the league. It just feels like a major waste of resources.

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Let’s talk about the wideout room: What exactly is happening here?

I’m pretty sure Nico Collins is going to play every snap as long as he’s not struggling for breath on the sideline and/or injured. I’m fairly sure Christian Kirk is going to be fed in the slot and be the primary No. 2 receiver.

Other than that, you could tell me anything about the other wideouts asides from the fact that Jaylin Noel or Jayden Higgins were cut and I’d believe you. John Metchie and Xavier Hutchinson have both had their uses and been productive. Then you’ve got Watson and Berrios at the bottom as special-teams first players. Anybody could come out of that group and be the third-leading receiver on the team and it wouldn’t really surprise me.

I am highest on Noel as an instant fix, and my guess is that the main competition is Hutchinson outside on run downs. I think Higgins probably is going to need to marinate a little bit or be a quick learner,. He didn’t play as big as his frame on Saturdays. That’s okay, I’ve said that about Collins too and he eventually developed into much better. I just think his higher spot in the draft order was about the rarity of his size/speed combination than it was about how ready he is to play now.

Tank Dell? Well, let’s see where his knee is at in 2026.

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