What to get for the side of the ball that has it all?

The battle on the offensive side of the ball to make things right is real. David Montgomery was brought in to fix the run game. There are new veteran offensive linemen at left guard and right tackle, and I'd be stunned if they didn't take an offensive lineman of some stripe early in the draft. Tank Dell – in some form – should be back in 2026. And, of course, C.J. Stroud and Nick Caley both need to take a step forward. It has been the focus of my offseason because ... it's easy to improve areas that need improvement.

Dealing with touching the defense is a little trickier. They finished second in defensive DVOA behind the Seahawks. They have two No. 1 EDGE rushers and, arguably, two No. 1 cornerbacks. The weakest link, the linebacker room, has Azeez Al-Shaair coming off a career year. I don't even know that I agree with the premise that defensive tackle is a weak spot for Houston with the addition of Logan Hall. Reed Blankenship is going to be the kind of steady presence they thought they'd get from C.J. Gardner-Johnson at safety.

So to some extent, keeping the Texans defense at the level it was at in 2025 is about avoiding attrition and regression. Danielle Hunter will turn 32 in 2026 – that's not exactly ancient, but it wouldn't be a complete surprise if he took a step back. They also had a remarkably healthy season for their best. Players played through injuries, of course – that is the natural state of the league – but they got 17 games of Will Anderson, Hunter, Calen Bullock, and Derek Stingley Jr. They got 16 games of Al-Shaair and Kamari Lassiter, and probably would have gotten 17 if that Week 18 game against the Colts was important. The only one of their best seven defenders that missed major time was Jalen Pitre, and even that was only four games to a concussion.

But if we come at this from the starting point that there's not a move they can make to improve the frontline talent from a cost-efficiency standpoint, well, there are still important depth tweaks that can be made to try to keep the unit ready for worse times.

Minding the Al-Shaair gap

I don't think the Texans are interested in moving on from Al-Shaair. But when you look at their core on defense, he is the one piece that is neither "long-term extension handed out" or "old enough to go year-to-year with." He also is in the final year of his contract. Aaron Wilson has reported that the Texans are interested in re-signing him. But, it hasn't happened yet. Some of that may have been held up by the Will Anderson contract, some of it might be asking price versus expectations versus talent.

So would I be surprised to see the Texans draft a linebacker? No. Henry To'oTo'o is in the final year of his rookie deal. E.J. Speed is just a veteran. The only player with a rookie deal to draw from left at the position is Jamal Hill, who they seem to like, but hasn't really made inroads to a starting gig in the two seasons he's played yet.

The idea of a Jacob Rodriguez (Texas Tech) coming in and tearing things up as LB2 before ascending to the lead role is one that has stuck in my mind of late. If you look at the defense from a pure contracts standpoint, that one stands out.

EDGE3: The long-term Hunter replacement

I wouldn't exactly call this a great edge rusher draft, but I think there are a lot of interesting options. Both wideout and edge rusher are in that stasis state in free agency where there are enough options that nobody is desperate – Deebo Samuel is still out there, Joey Bosa is still out there, etc. – but teams would rather have the young than deal with the old and/or injured. Derek Barnett, Houston's solid No. 3 end the past few years, is still out there as a contingency plan.

Still, I could see the staff taking a chance on someone like T.J. Parker with their first-round pick with the idea that they want to eventually find an off-ramp for Hunter's contract. I tend to favor both Parker and Peter Woods as prospects late in the first round with the idea that both players simply were in an untenable situation as Dabo's boys in the swamp imploded in 2025. Both would benefit from a more sustainable situation in 2026, and both played much better in 2024. I don't necessarily think that fits the Texans model, though – why weren't these players better self-starters? – and believe there are enough teams hunting in the late first for defensive line or edge rusher help that they'll probably not have their first choice there.

Getting ahead of the 2024 DB rookie class

The Texans are in a great spot with their secondary between Pitre and Stingley having long-term extensions, Lassiter and Bullock being on the third years of their four-year rookie contracts (couldn't extend them if they wanted to), and Blankenship as a new veteran addition at safety. Depth is a little less certain, but Jaylin Smith and Jaylen Reed both played some in 2025 and were recent draft picks.

I think there's an argument to be made that if the Texans are simply picking the best player available, defensive back could be in the equation at some point in this draft with the idea that you can't keep everyone and/or need to have a succession plan at safety or for Lassiter on the outside. I don't think it's a likely plan – it's probably a 2027 draft idea – but I could see the board falling this way. Especially at safety in the middle rounds. On paper, Arizona S Genesis Smith is the exact kind of gamble the Texans took on Bullock: A rangy safety with problems hitting who still wears that captain badge.

If you look at the contract situations, I think a bet on an EDGE or a linebacker feels pretty appropriate with this roster. I wouldn't be stunned by a defensive tackle either, though their Tommy Togiai extension augurs that they're happy enough with him next to Sheldon Rankins. They could add some more youth to that room besides just Hall.

Watching how Caserio has worked, I think we'll get at least one trade-up. For better (Anderson) or for worse (John Metchie), Caserio gets stuck on His Guys in a draft. I don't think they'll dive into running back because of how weak the class is, and my big bet would be given how many free agents they've added they will only add one or two offensive linemen in the draft. Offensive line, wideout, and tight should get touched. Then on defense: linebacker and EDGE. The Texans have five picks in the top 106 and I'd expect them to wind up with either four or three given the roster and the free-agent pivots they could touch if they wanted to.