When this offseason began, the Houston Texans had one huge need: offensive line help. And now, after the initial wave of free agency, the Texans still have that same need. In fact, it's an even bigger need now after the team traded Laremy Tunsil.
It should come as no surprise then that when projecting what the Texans will do in the 2025 NFL Draft, the early rounds are heavy on offensive linemen.
Here's what the 2025 NFL Draft could look like for the Houston Texans after the initial wave of free agency.
Round 1, Pick 25: OT Josh Simmons (Ohio State)
Last year, the Texans starting tackles were Laremy Tunsil and Tytus Howard. Tunsil is a Commander now and Howard will ideally slide to guard, which means at the moment, the projected starting tackles for Houston are Cam Robinson and Blake Fisher, with Trent Brown in the mix as well.
Adding any talent the team can on the line is important at this point. Josh Simmons does basically everything you need an offensive lineman to do. He's relatively fast for his size, allowing him to step in front of edge rushers, where he can then use his size and speed to slow down the pass rush.
The only real issue here is that a knee injury ended Simmons's last season at Ohio State early. If he's healthy and ready to go for training camp, then he could potentially be ready to be a Day 1 starter for the Texans at one of the tackle spots.
Round 2, Pick 58: DL Omarr Norman-Lott (Tennessee)
I was tempted to go with another offensive tackle here, maybe Cameron Williams from Texas, but Houston probably won't go back-to-back on the same position, even if you could make a strong argument that the team should.
This is where Houston can add to the interior of the offensive line. This Texans roster has great edge rusher strength but could certainly use help on the interior.
Houston added Sheldon Rankins in free agency, inking the veteran defensive tackle to a one-year deal, but he's not the long-term answer to the interior defensive line. Houston needs to add young talent there.
Enter Omarr Norman-Lott from Tennessee. He's a bit on the older side as he'll be 23 years old for his rookie season, but he's an athletic pass rusher who can provide pressure up the middle.
Ideally, Houston wouldn't take Norman-Lott with this pick, though. This is a perfect time to move up 10ish spots to grab an even better interior defender in Texas' Alfred Collins, or it's a spot where you move back a handful of spots and come away with Norman-Lott somewhere around Pick 63 or Pick 64, grabbing an extra late round pick in the process. But if Houston stays put here, Norman-Lott makes sense considering the team's needs.
Round 3, Pick 79: C/G Jared Wilson (Georgia)
One good thing about this offseason is that the Texans picked up an additional Day 2 pick in this draft, acquiring the No. 79 overall pick in the trade that sent Tunsil to Washington. With that pick, Houston can address its offensive line concerns again, but this time on the interior.
Before the Tunsil trade, I mocked guard Tyler Booker to Houston in Round 1, but that deal made getting an offensive tackle more important. So, Houston passes on Booker now but adds interior offensive lineman Jared Wilson from Georgia to the roster in Round 3.
Wilson is primarily a center, but played some at guard in 2022 and 2023. Ideally, Houston would start him in the middle of the offensive line, allowing the team to move Jarrett Patterson back to guard. Houston's center spot was a turnstile last season, with Juice Scruggs opening the year as the starter before he was mved to guard to replace Kenyon Green. Wilson would give the team stability at the position and the luxury to have a real competition between Patterson, Scruggs, Tytus Howard and Laken Tomlinson for the two starting guard spots.
Round 3, Pick 89: WR Savion Williams (TCU)
Houston added Christian Kirk this offseason, but lost Stefon Diggs in free agency. With Tank Dell still dealing with injury concerns, Houston could use another body at wide receiver.
It's possible they could go after that help earlier. Matthew Golden is a Round 1 option. Jayden Higgins and Elic Ayomanor are Round 2 options.
But it feels more likely that one of the two Round 3 picks will be used on a receiver. One enticing option is the 5-foot-10 Tez Johnson, who has 20 touchdown catches over the past two seasons and has shown some explosive run-after-catch ability. He'd mostly play the slot, which is potentially an issue since Kirk is at his best in the slot as well. So while his big-play upside is enticing, Houston likely opts for more size, which is where TCU's Savion Williams comes into play.
Williams has struggled with drops and needs to work on expanding his route tree, but he's 6-foot-5 and explosive with the ball in his hands. He can play on the outside in this Texans offense and serve as a deep threat for quarterback C.J. Stroud, though the team will need to work hard to fix the hand concerns.