Texans Draft Ohio State Duo in Kiper, McShay 3-Round NFL Mock Draft

When it comes to teams that find themselves rebuilding currently in the NFL the Houston Texans are in an enviable position to hasten their rebuild and get back to playoff contention.

They own two first-round picks in the upcoming draft and five picks in the first three rounds, giving them the ability to add premier prospects. How they use those picks, of course, is still to be seen. 

For now, though, Todd McShay and Mel Kiper teamed up for a three-round mock draft that has the Texans getting better on both sides of the ball. 

McShay was given both of the Texans' first-round picks and with those selections, he went offense - drafting Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud at second overall and pairing him with his college teammate in receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba at No. 12 overall. 

The Texans could pass on Stroud at No. 2, with Bryce Young looking more and more like the pick at No. 1 overall, and opt to trade down or go defense. In this mock, though, they add the other of the two top quarterback prospects. 

How highly the Texans view Stroud isn't known, but coming away with him and Smith-Njigba is a good way to end the first round. The duo connected for 1,606 receiving yards and nine touchdowns in 2021 and could help unlock the Texans' offense. 

After going offense with the two first-round picks under McShay, Kiper was in charge of the next three picks for Houston and went defense-heavy. 

The Texans were bad on defense last season. They allowed opponents to score 24.7 points per game, good for 27th in the NFL, on 379.5 yards of total offense. 

To fix that with their second-round pick, at No. 33 overall, Kiper has the Texans selecting outside linebacker Keion White from Georgia Tech. In his final season at Georgia Tech, White recorded 54 total tackles with 14 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks. 

Joining White to help bolster the Texans' defense is Iowa linebacker Jack Campbell and LSU defensive tackle Jaquelin Roy at No. 65 and No. 73 overall respectively. 

Campbell was a dominant force at Iowa in his senior season, recording 125 tackles with 5.5 tackles for loss, and having no trouble stopping the run. Roy was also disruptive along the defensive line for LSU with 49 total tackles, including 3.5 tackles for loss.

There are a lot of areas of need for the Texans to address in the upcoming draft, but this three-round mock does a good job of handling said needs.

Houston comes away with not only its future franchise quarterback and an elite receiver prospect, but three defenders with a chance to come in and make an impact from day one - something they sorely need as they look to get back to contending for a playoff spot. 

You can find Connor Zimmerlee on Twitter @Connorjz98

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