2026 NFL Draft

very unrealistic draft but would love this; traded down one pick to the rams and they gave me pick 93 to move up one spot for pick 165

https://www.profootballnetwork.com/mockdraft

 

Clemson RT Blake Miller sounds like a guy we should avoid.

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP89okLeL/

 

Blake Miller at pick 28 would be a steal. Clemson does a great job of developing offensive lineman. Blake would be a safe pick, an instant starter. His quick feet, run blocking, and playing through the whistle are exceptional. He played the last year at right tackle, but can play the left side too.

 

There's no way Jerimayah Love drops to us, right?

 

Perhaps I'm mistaken. The guys at Draft Buzz like him too.

Scouting Report: Summary
Miller's tape is a study in contrasts. In pass protection, he looks like a polished, NFL-ready starter who understands angles, trusts his feet, and competes with a quiet nastiness that offensive line coaches will love. His ability to process stunts and games at the line puts him ahead of most tackle prospects in this class from a mental standpoint, and the natural fluidity in his movement, for a 315-pound man, gives him a real ceiling to work with at the next level. When he's locked in on his pass sets, he can make life miserable for edge rushers with that initial pop in his hands and his ability to recover when he gets momentarily displaced.

The run game is where a coaching staff is going to need to invest time. Miller's pad level issues and inconsistent hand placement limit what should be a dominant power game given his frame and natural strength. He too often lunges into contact rather than striking with leverage, and his second-level blocking can be a boom-or-bust proposition. The good news is that these are correctable issues rooted in technique rather than athletic limitations. His forty time confirms the movement ability is real, and his wrestling background suggests a player who understands body control and leverage even if he doesn't always apply it on the football field.

The most realistic projection here is a right tackle who starts early in his NFL career and grows into a dependable, long-term option on the right side. Zone-based rushing schemes that value lateral movement and reach ability will get the most out of his skill set, while his pass protection chops give him a floor that most Day 2 tackles in this class can't match. He's never going to be a people-mover who ragdolls defenders in the run game, but his combination of availability, processing speed, and pass protection technique makes him one of the safer offensive line investments in this draft. The versatility to kick to the left side in a pinch only adds to his value.

 

The mock draft simulators and the player rankings are all over the place. There's no way that Jeremiyah Love gets to the Texans. That means the Cowboys would of had to pass up on Love twice. I've done some simulators where Arvell Reese or Caleb Downs made it to the Texans at 28, There's zero chance where those players make it to the Texans.

 

Nick needs to be ready, with extra picks in tow, if someone starts sliding. We keep thinking we stand pat, but just imagine a guy like Love is sitting there in the teens. Having the extra picks is also leverage to move around if value starts sliding.

 

To me: if the talent room that chose Stingley Jr, Lassiter, Pitre and Bullock, loves Downs, should they see a slide at all - you got to go jump on him. These type guys could be HOF guys. Nobody cares if we whiff on an OL if we land the guy from this draft and he may be the one. The Secondary scouting is the strength of our team.

Zero chance of the mock where I saw that we take anybody else at 28 and somehow Downs at 38. Come on!! Do better. Only reasonable explanation is that mock was by Bari secretly using KDs burner phone (Bari tries hard).

 

100% this. If there is a guy who’s a no doubt stud, HOF caliber, move up and go get him. If Downs is truly generational and he slips to say 10, you’ve got to make the call.

 

That might happen IF we re-sign Ed Ingram, Trent Brown, and can sign another quality OL. Otherwise we MUST use our picks on high-quality OL prospects.

 

I believe the reality is that we don't HAVE to draft a single defensive player, assuming we can re-sign Sheldon Rankins, and a few other defensive depth pieces. There is no urgency on defense as there is, or should be, on the offensive line. To me our first six picks (Rounds 1-4) should go to OL(3), RB(1),TE(1), & WR(1). Our D is fantastic. We can win it all IF we can upgrade the offense by nailing the draft. Can Caserio deliver?

 

My thinking: The problem with this thinking is how many teams do you know of that have rebuilt their entire offensive line in one draft? Drafting from our position? Particularly those orgs who are just bad at OL assessment. Not that the failure doesn’t amplify the need. It does, but wasting picks in areas where we are bad in assessment does not solve itself. Our organization is simply bad at identifying talent on the OL; shall we continue our 25% hit rate (Scruggs, Green,Fisher; at least Air). At least Air.

I think you have to draft to the available talent first. Fallen GMs meet in bars all over America having succumbed to a needs-based draft. Need matters not, but it does swallow gm jobs. Nobody remembers a specific team’s need in the Annals of GM blunders, just that they failed to get the gets. We are exceptional at identifying BPA in defensive backs and defensive linemen. Unfortunately, I think you go BPA every single time if available in those positions. If eventually, you have to trade from a place of strength and abundance, that can eventually return more than a whiff on a position of need.

rant over. Thank you for listening/

 

Thing is bpa at these draft positions have good value.

1-28 Ieanachor
2-38 Dunker
2-59 Price
3-69 Delp

These players have value that justifies being drafted at these spots. Some consider Max to be a reach at 1-28, I dont. The rest of these guys will be lucky to be there.

 

Good point. I don’t disagree in theory. But how many times have the Texans drafted the “obvious” offensive lineman that the media / draft pundits held as the highest value? I think all four of our last OL picks have all been a head scratching reach. It would be sad to see say all four of those players at their respective proposed positions, and we pass on all of them. I think that’s the broken part of our organization. They value something in offensive linemen that nobody (or few) sees, and it hasn’t worked well yet. I’m here for the party. I would trust them more if they value a guy like Downs and go get him.

 

I disagree on Airontae but Blake Fisher and Juice Scruggs were obvious mistakes the moment they were picked.

I've seen a lot of OL talent get picked over the past couple of drafts that we could have and should have drafted. For whatever reason, Caserio is inept at drafting OL.

 

Agree - that one worked out... he was still a reach at the time, but my thought related to a prior post. I'll give a passing grade on Airontae, and that's well earned given their history. However, that only lifts their hit rate on OL in R1 and R2 to 25%; or a 75% failure rate. Inept is a word. Fairly stated, Bari wonderlic inept.

BDN on defense.
LDN on OL picks. Crazy inept.

 

Tae had a decent rookie year. This year we hope that he improves and moves into the top-50% of NFL tackles.