Texans OL Draft Strategy: Why I Believe They’ll Pass on Tackles Projected to Guard in Round 1

I’ve been thinking a lot about the Texans’ OL situation — especially after rewatching Caserio and DeMeco’s recent interviews and diving deep into snap data across both the current roster and top draft prospects.

Here’s where I’ve landed:

I don’t think the Texans will draft one of the highly mocked tackles projected to play guard in the first round (like Kelvin Banks Jr., Josh Conerly Jr., or Josh Simmons). While these guys have talent, they lack interior experience — and Caserio has been clear that projecting a player to a new position (especially moving OT → G) carries significant risk.

Instead, I think Houston is zeroed in on a true plug-and-play guard — someone who’s proven, Power 5-tested, and can start Day 1 at LG.

I broke down:

• Every Texans OL player’s career snap count by position
• The top OL prospects' position-by-position snap data
• Caserio’s own words about roster difficulty and evaluation risks
• My prediction for how the draft could play out
• And what I think the 2-deep OL could look like post-draft

I believe the most likely target is Tyler Booker. If he’s gone, Donovan Jackson makes a ton of sense (and they could possibly trade back and still get him). If they do go with a tackle/guard type, I think it’d be someone later like Mbow, Savaiinaea, or Trapilo — not a Round 1 guy.

Check out the full breakdown with data and projections here:
🔗 https://www.houstonstressans.com/post/what-will-the-texans-do-with-their-offensive-line-a-deep-dive-into-houston-s-2025-ol-strategy

Curious to hear what y’all think — especially if you’d be okay with a projection pick vs. a sure-thing guard.