And similar to that, the 2026 NFL Draft is over! After months and months of hype, draft prep, professional days, your entire NFL Mix…ketchup interviews…and extra main as much as this second, every part ends after simply three days. That is the third and remaining a part of my “Battle Red Blog at the 2026 NFL Draft” collection, the place I’ve been chronicling Battle Purple Weblog author Nickschwager’s and my expertise protecting the NFL draft on-site. I’m concluding the three-part collection with the third day of the NFL Draft, protecting rounds 4-7. There sadly weren’t any Texans draftees on-site for at the present time on the draft, however it was nonetheless an eventful one nonetheless.
Day One in all my 2026 Draft coverageDay Two of my 2026 Draft protection
The primary evening, Houston traded up two picks to get OG/C Keylan Rutledge from Georgia Tech, a mauler in the course of the o-line that may (hopefully) remedy Houston’s quandary on the line of scrimmage. Some followers, together with a couple of I talked to on the draft itself, have been a bit stunned by the decide and thought it could have been a “reach,” however have been in the end nonetheless supportive of the decide.
On day two, the Texans traded up two picks but once more, going from decide #38 to #36 to pick Ohio State DT Kayden McDonald! McDonald was a really coveted prospect throughout the NFL cognoscenti, and the very fact he fell out of the primary spherical was each stunning to many and seen as a primary alternative for a soccer crew to double-dip on nabbing starting-caliber gamers. The Texans simply so occurred to be that crew! He was certainly one of my favourite gamers of the draft, he was certainly one of Battle Purple Weblog’s Kenneth Levy’s favourite gamers, and he was a favourite of a Texans fan I talked to outdoors of the draft stage who truly wished for the Texans to draft him. His, and most of the Texans followers’ needs throughout the nation, got here true that Friday evening.
Josh Norris of Underdog known as it a symptom of the, “…weirdness of the TE range on day two…” since Houston was joined by the Jacksonville Jaguars (Nate Boerkircher, TAMU) and the Miami Dolphins (Will Kacmarek, Ohio State) as groups that took sure TE prospects just a little larger than many have been anticipating. Some Texans followers (together with me) have been just a little disenchanted by the choice given the opposite proficient gamers that have been nonetheless on board, however that’s simply as properly since lots have been nonetheless remaining coming into day three. A few of my favourite day three guys included:
RB Emmett Johnson (Nebraska)RB Kaytron Allen (Penn State)LB Kyle Louis (Pitt)CB Keionte Scott (Miami)S Zakee Wheatley (Penn State)
The quick evening between the top of day two and the start of day three was filled with anticipation for Texans followers. The crew has now arguably addressed their largest wants on the primary two days of the draft, and now, curiosity rose on how they might spherical out their Tremendous Bowl-caliber roster. Nicely, because the Saturday morning solar rose over the Allegheny mountains, above the Pittsburgh skies hung gloomy clouds. A short bathe within the morning gave the occasion a form of damp, afterparty aesthetic, however as soon as I arrived on the Draft occasion on the North Shore, it was nonetheless crowded and charged with pleasure. I met Nick at a Topps buying and selling card occasion happening inside Acrisure stadium, and it was aflutter with card fanatics and promoting galore. They even had former Steelers LB James Harrison come to open some packs on stage!
It was definitely packed occasion, and within the card-collecting mania of all of it…I succumbed to the stress. I’ll admit it, I’m not a lot of a “card guy” (sorry collectors on the market), however I did, in reality purchase a Jayden Higgins card for $5.00:
However look! It was a tiny little piece of his uniform material inside the cardboard! Isn’t that cooool?
By the point I departed the buying and selling card celebration, the draft was simply an hour away, and the Texans had one of many first picks of spherical 4! They’ll get an opportunity to pick any certainly one of a large checklist of nice faculty gamers, together with the shortlist of private favorites I discussed earlier. However…yeah, properly, it didn’t actually work out for me. Right here’s the complete checklist of their draftees from rounds 4-7:
Three JAM PACKED days, if I’ll add.
Many followers have argued that the resumes dotting this Texans draft class reveal that the Texans have been much less thinking about getting grade-A expertise, and extra thinking about discovering “culture” guys. Gamers that have been crew captains, recognized for his or her depth, consciousness on the sector, and – particularly with the linemen that have been simply drafted – rugged physicality. Whereas I agree with the premise of the draft might have been to search out gamers that may have a constructive influence on Houston’s crew tradition, the truth of that premise begs the query: was the Houston Texans’ crew tradition in want of assist? Was the state of the crew’s tradition in a spot the place extra athletic gamers wanted to be glossed over for the sake of discovering extra crew captains? Whereas drafting extra gamers that may keep a constructive crew environment is a plus, I’d argue that this third day of drafting was much less about Houston seeking to turn out to be a extra “physical” or “mentally tough” crew and extra about basic supervisor Nick Caserio making an attempt to make the administration of Houston’s fiscal state and of its oft-injured defensive backfield just a little bit simpler.
Since Houston has accomplished such an distinctive job drafting star gamers from 2022-2025, the sheer quantity of large contracts the crew must dole out simply to maintain their greatest gamers comfortable will probably be huge. This dilemma already began with massive paydays going to CB Derek Stingley, S Jalen Pitre, WR Nico Collins, and most just lately RG Ingram, DE Danielle Hunter, and DE Will Anderson, and it’s inevitably going to proceed with QB CJ Stroud, CB Kamari Lassiter, and S Calen Bullock. All three of those gamers will probably be in search of wholesome extensions (and deservedly so), however there’s no doable avenue for Nick Caserio to search out the assets to maintain all of those stars underneath the Houston sky. Nevertheless, a method he could make this entire mess just a little simpler on himself is by filling in depth at positions the place gamers are sometimes injured (S, LB, O-line) with rookies on low-cost contracts. In my opinion, this draft was step one (or first massive step) by Caserio in transitioning from constructing the again half of the roster by way of short-term free agent contracts, to barely cheaper rookie contracts. Gone are the times of signing gamers like CB Tremon Smith, S M.J. Stewart, LB E.J. Velocity, and OG Laken Tomlinson, as they’ve been changed (or will ultimately get replaced) by this new crop of rookies. Or, no less than, I prefer to think about that is what the best plan appears to be like like from the angle of the entrance workplace of the Texans.
As to what I used to be doing on the occasion, since none of those new Texans have been on-site for media availability after being drafted Saturday afternoon, most of my Texans-related work on day three was reviewing the gamers they’d drafted and crossing my fingers they’d take S Zakee Wheatley (they didn’t). However, there have been nonetheless a few different gamers not drafted by the Texans that I did get a possibility to interview. They have been: RB/WR Eli Heidenreich and TE Seydou Traore. In case you don’t know Eli Heidenreich’s story of being a Navy grad turned homecoming Steeler, learn by way of Pittsburgh Submit-Gazette reporter Noah Hiles’ in depth protection into what Heidenreich means to town of Pittsburgh. Seydou Traore, the most recent star in a the ever-growing NFL Worldwide Participant Pathway Program (IPPP), will probably be taking his skills to Miami after a meteoric rise from 2019-2025 that began with studying the right way to play American soccer in London to ending his final collegiate season at Mississippi State with 35 receptions for 369 yards and 5 touchdowns! Each gamers arrived to the media room in fast succession, ending my weekend with a bang that I positively wasn’t anticipating. Nevertheless, with the expertise I gathered from the whirlwind first two days of the draft, I used to be extra ready for these two interviews, and acquired a couple of strong questions in earlier than they’d left.
In all of its hype, the NFL Draft had chewed me up and spit me out on day three as a Texans fan blogger starstruck, honored, and humbled. On day one, Nick and I entered the media workroom wide-eyed and nervous, not sure of what to do or what to anticipate since this was our first time. By day two, we had established a sport plan and have become a extra organized duo for the Kayden McDonald press convention. By day three, we have been prepared for the day, even when I used to be just a little exhausted from the sheer explosion of content material and knowledge on Thursday and Friday. I departed the draft final evening, driving residence by way of the cool spring evening comfortable, nonetheless a bit awestruck, and not sure what I had recalled was actual and what was a dream.
However, a very powerful factor I take away from this expertise is a newfound sense of empathy for the gamers, particularly the 2 I acquired to interview on the final day. These have been gamers that have been most not sure of their future amongst all of the gamers on the draft occasion, and to see the joy, willpower, and sheer elation radiating from them after being drafted, crammed me with a way of goal to echo their identical ardour in my work, and to embrace the enjoyment that they have been leaving the stadium with. In spite of everything, the NFL Draft is a celebration at the start, and by the point I used to be leaving the stadium, I wished the entire thing to start out over once more.
Right here’s Houston full 2026 NFL Draft class, in its full glory from editor Patrick Haughton
General, I feel I’d give this Houston Texans grade a B-. The Keylan Rutledge and Kayden McDonald picks make this inherently class, however I’ll proceed to internally debate if Wade Woodaz and Kamari Ramsey have been the perfect gamers availabe at 123rd and 141st general, respectively. Solely time will inform, however what do you consider this 2026 Draft class? Will this be the category that lastly pushed Houston over the mountaintop and to Tremendous Bowl glory, or is the crew nonetheless a couple of items away from a championship? Tell us your ideas, and your draft grades, down within the feedback under!
