Draft Wire has Texans taking edge defender, receiver in latest 2-round mock

The Houston Texans go with an edge defender and a receiver in the latest two-round mock from the Draft Wire.

According to Luke Easterling, who used the latest Super Bowl odds as a basis to generate the draft order, the Texans take Oregon defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux with the No. 1 overall pick and then Clemson receiver Justyn Ross at No. 33 overall, the first selection in Round 2.

If reality were to play out as the mock draft, it would indicate the organization believes they have solved quarterback. Otherwise, they would have used a pick at the position. In the mock, Liberty quarterback Malik Willis goes No. 2 overall, North Carolina signal caller Sam Howell No. 7 overall, and Oklahoma’s Spencer Rattler No. 9 overall.

Houston drafted Stanford quarterback Davis Mills with their first selection in the 2021 NFL draft at No. 67 overall in Round 3. Mills is working behind former Pro Bowler Tyrod Taylor and former San Francisco 49ers 2016 sixth-round pick Jeff Driskel. It would take tremendous growth throughout the season and a supplanting of Taylor as the starter for Houston to feel comfortable enough to go with an edge defender as the first pick in the draft.

Taking Ross that early in the second round would also be the result of the organization parting ways with either Brandin Cooks, who is a post-June 1 cut dead money hit of $2.5 million, or Randall Cobb, who is a $2 million dead money hit. Receiver Keke Coutee is also entering the final year of his contract in 2021.

Ross at 6-4, 205 pounds would provide the Texans with another big target for the future opposite of Nico Collins, who the club took in the 2021 NFL draft from Michigan.

The fall will ultimately reveal where the Texans pick in April 2022 and whether the players they are projected to take now are worth such draft slots.