Battle Red Blog
It’s the first edition of the 2025 NFL Mock Draft Season and starts off with the big boys up front.
One would think that a division winning team with a star QB and 19 returning starters would be humming with enthusiasm, but that’s not how the Texans enter the 2025 offseason.
With only $5M in salary cap before the offseason fully kicks off, Houston will rely on the NFL Draft to fill several of the gaping holes.
Personally, the first round pick should always go to the best player available and the second and third rounds to filling positions of need. This strategy adds the best talent possible while also finding solution to immediate problems. In the Houston Texans case, the offensive line is such a dumpster fire that nothing else matters until it’s put out. If the front office didn’t need any more emphasis, the eight sacks let up against the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Divisional Round was one short of the NFL record nine.....
In this first mock draft of the season, I project Nick Caserio to douse the fire that is the Texans offense.
The Houston Texans need the best offensive lineman on the board regardless of position. Additionally, Houston must prepare for the eventuality when both Laremy Tunsil and Tytus Howard are free agents in 2026.
Conerly played two seasons as the Ducks’ starting left tackle. The transition from PAC 12 to BIG 10 didn’t phase the Seattle native this season. He only allowed one sack all season and six QB pressures.
Conerly is still developing; he’s only 21 years old but is an elite, elite athlete with a basketball background and footwork to match. His frame can support more strength which will be necessary to reach his potential.
Conerly is a tad undersized for the left tackle position at 6’4, but is 47th percentile for a guard. Houston would shift Conerly to left guard to start his career with the goal of shifting him to left tackle when Tunsil is a free agent.
Higgins has four years of production between Eastern Kentucky and Iowa State. He’s an extremely large athlete at 6’4 with has fantastic footwork and release skill. His nine touchdowns his senior year at Iowa State demonstrated his comfort in high leverage situations, including seven catches for 115 yards in the BIG 12 Championship game.
His main area of weakness is lateral agility which is expected out of a bigger, denser wide receiver. He tends to body catch passes when he knows he isn’t in tight coverage. Higgins won’t blow you away with vertical speed that hinders his top-end play making ability, but if Houston needs a guy in the late second round to come in and snag catches until Tank Dell and/or Stefon Diggs comes back - Higgins is a fantastic option. Higgins is similar to the Nico...
