Houston Texans

Welcome back to Muffed. The Houston Texans walked into the 2026 NFL Draft with eight picks and walked out with a class that screams trenches, trenches, trenches. No quarterback drama, no flashy skill swing — Nick Caserio and DeMeco Ryans doubled down on the lines of scrimmage. The headliner: Georgia Tech guard Keylan Rutledge at 26, followed by Ohio State defensive tackle Kayden McDonald early in the second. Add a freak-athlete tight end, two linebackers, and a possession receiver, and the theme writes itself: build the walls on both sides, then layer in character guys who fit DeMeco's locker room.

Start up front on offense, because that's where this class is anchored. Houston spent 2025 watching its quarterback absorb 31 sacks and 78 hits — four and a half shots on the passer every single game — while the rushing offense posted minus 36 expected points added on the season. Enter Rutledge at 26, who smashed the combine with a Relative Athletic Score of 9.52 at guard. Quick definition: Relative Athletic Score is a 0-to-10 grade comparing a prospect's combine and pro-day testing to every player at his position since 1987. A 9.52 puts Rutledge in the top 5 percent of every guard ever tested. Caserio doubled back in the fourth at 106 for Oklahoma's Febechi Nwaiwu — a more modest 6.04 score, but real positional flex at guard and center. Caserio's words: quote, sturdy as hell, he's thick, he's really, really strong, end quote. Houston had Nwaiwu circled at 91. They got him fifteen picks later. Board win.

Flip to the defensive front, and McDonald at 36 tells you exactly how Houston wants this defense to feel. The 2025 run defense was already solid — 94 rushing yards a game, minus 0.05 expected points added allowed per carry — but Ryans framed McDonald as a philosophy shift. Houston's had success with smaller, explosive tackles, he said, but lost snaps in the run game. McDonald is, quote, a bonafide defensive tackle who's stout versus the run. He brought 65 tackles, 9 for loss, and 3 sacks out of Ohio State as a young interior player. In round four at 123, Houston grabbed Clemson linebacker Wade Woodaz — 70 tackles, 7 for loss, 3 pass breakups, and an 8.64 Relative Athletic Score that lands in the top 15 percent of linebackers ever measured. Caserio said the staff had, quote, a vision and a role for him. They closed the run-defense investment in round seven at 243 with Indiana linebacker Aiden Fisher, whose 95 tackles, 10.5 for loss, and 4.5 sacks were the most productive line in the class. A 6.30 Relative Athletic Score keeps him in the depth-and-special-teams conversation, but the college tape did work.

The passing-game additions came in rounds two and six, headlined by Michigan tight end Marlin Klein at 59. Counting numbers are modest — 24 catches, 248 yards, one touchdown in the Big Ten — but his per-play predicted points added, the college equivalent of NFL expected points added, was plus 0.21, totaling plus 8.10 on the season. Elite efficiency on limited volume. Stack the athletic profile on top: a 9.01 Relative Athletic Score at tight end, top 10 percent ever. Ryans said Klein was one of his first interviews at the combine and the tape sold him from the jump. In round six at 204, Houston added Boston College receiver Lewis Bond — 89 catches for 1,010 yards, fifth nationally, third in the ACC. Testing came in at 5.82, muffed-the-measurables territory, but Caserio leaned into the football traits, calling Bond, quote, one of the smartest players McDaniels ever talked to in the process.

The lone pass-defense addition: USC safety Kamari Ramsey in round five at 141. Houston's 2025 pass defense already allowed minus 0.19 expected points added per play — opponent passing offenses were losing value against them. So Ramsey is depth and developmental athleticism behind a unit that doesn't need saving. The college line is light — 21 tackles, 1.5 for loss, no interceptions, 2 pass breakups — but the sell is an 8.65 Relative Athletic Score, top 14 percent of free safeties ever tested.

Pick of the draft. You can argue McDonald for the philosophical reset on the defensive front. You can argue Klein for the athletic-plus-efficiency combo at a premium position. The pick is Rutledge. Houston took eight swings and only one inside the top 25 — the player they put first-round capital on has to anchor the class. A top-5-percent athletic profile on the interior, in front of a quarterback who took 78 hits, behind a rushing offense that posted minus 36 expected points added. Guards with 9.5-plus testing at his size don't come around every cycle. Rutledge changes the math on both problems at once.

Going into 2026, the question is whether the trench investments show up where it counts: the run game on offense, early downs against the run on defense. Houston's 2025 rushing offense was minus 0.08 expected points added per carry — that's the unit that needs Rutledge and Nwaiwu to land. And McDonald changes how this defense looks on first and second down, full stop. Caserio called this class full of, quote, big smile, big energy guys who love football. The data says they're also bigger, more athletic, and built for the lines. Trenches draft. Buckle up.