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2017 NFL Draft: Houston Texans final grade

By John Buhler

Apr 28, 2017; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans first round draft pick Deshaun Watson poses with a jersey during a press conference at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 28, 2017; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans first round draft pick Deshaun Watson poses with a jersey during a press conference at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /
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Nov 19, 2016; Nashville, TN, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores inside linebacker Zach Cunningham (41) is congratulated by teammates after a fumble recovery during the second half against the Mississippi Rebels at Vanderbilt Stadium. Vanderbilt won 38-17. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 19, 2016; Nashville, TN, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores inside linebacker Zach Cunningham (41) is congratulated by teammates after a fumble recovery during the second half against the Mississippi Rebels at Vanderbilt Stadium. Vanderbilt won 38-17. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports /

Second Round

57

Zach Cunningham

Linebacker, Vanderbilt Commodores

Houston has come to terms that inside linebacker Brian Cushing may be on his way out of the league. The guy has been a great player in the middle of their defense for a while now, but the former USC Trojans standout struggles to stay healthy.

If Houston wants to reload and stay in the mix in the AFC Playoffs, the Texans needed to find a guy that could eventually usurp Cushing on their depth chart. Grabbing Vanderbilt Commodores linebacker Zach Cunningham at No. 57 in the second round was an absolute steal.

The guy was a tackling machine at Vanderbilt in the SEC. Vanderbilt wasn’t on many teams’ radars last fall, but Cunningham helped carry that improving Commodores defense to a bowl game. He’s not as athletic as other linebackers in this draft, but he is a fearless playmaker in the middle of a defense. It’ll be interesting to see how he will jell in new defensive coordinator Mike Vrabel’s Texans defense.

Third Round

89

D'Onta Foreman

Running Back, Texas Longhorns

This was a deep running back draft, one with both Leonard Fournette and Christian McCaffrey going inside of the top-10. Houston probably needed to grab a running back at some point as well in this draft. The Texans got a solid year out of Lamar Miller in 2016, but who knows how much tread is still left on his tires?

Houston stayed in-state and took the best player from the Texas Longhorns in the draft in junior running back D’Onta Foreman. Texas may have been a terrible team in the final year of the Charlie Strong era in Austin, but Foreman was briefly in the mix for the 2016 Heisman Trophy.

He runs with conviction and could be a future bell-cow back in Houston. For now, pairing him with Miller gives the Texans a solid one-two punch in their backfield. The best thing Houston can do going forward with their offense is to establish a competent ground game while Savage and Watson develop as NFL passers. Taking Foreman at No. 89 looks to be a sound choice for the Texans.

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