• WR Matthew Golden in Round 1: Golden is an excellent route-runner who creates natural separation. Of his 59 receptions in 2024, 26 were explosive plays (gains of 15 or more yards), and he won 60% of his contested targets.
• Offensive line help in Round 2: Cameron Williams will be a natural fit and an upgrade at guard for the Texans. Though he had a couple of rough outings in the playoffs, he was excellent during the regular season, allowing just two sacks and two hits in pass protection.
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Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

Like their division rival Jaguars, the Houston Texans should make this offseason all about surrounding their quarterback with talent. Injuries and depth were major concerns at wide receiver last season, and the interior offensive line needs multiple upgrades.

Expect Houston to target both positions in free agency and the draft while also taking advantage of this year’s deep running back class.

Round 1, Pick 25: WR Matthew Golden, Texas

Golden is an excellent route-runner who creates natural separation. Of his 59 receptions in 2024, 26 were explosive plays (gains of 15 or more yards), and he won 60% of his contested targets.

Round 2, Pick 58: OL CameronWilliams, Texas

Williams will be a natural fit and an upgrade at guard for the Texans. Though he had a couple of rough outings in the playoffs—while playing through injury and shifting outside to tackle—he was excellent during the regular season, allowing just two sacks and two hits in pass protection.

Sampson forced 85 missed tackles in 2024 and recorded 39 explosive runs of 10 or more yards.

Pegues is a dominant interior run-stopper. He tallied 17 run stops in 2024, with an average tackle depth of just 0.18 yards. Expect him to contribute on the other side of the ball as well, as the NFL asked him to work out at fullback during the combine.

Christian-Lichtenhan transferred to Oregon State from Colorado for the 2024 season and excelled for the Beavers, allowing just three sacks and 12 total pressures—down from 43 the previous year with the Buffaloes.

Trader earned an impressive 83.0 run-defense grade in 2024 while posting a 19.2% forced incompletion rate in coverage.