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Mark “BobbleTexan” Baughman: Dear Drew, We all know first round picks are important! We also know rounds 2-6 are imperative to make good choices. Of those rounds which one is the most imperative in your experience and why?
DD: Mark! Great to hear from you. Hope you and the family are great. Tough question. You want to find contributors in every round, and contributors who thrive. But that doesn’t always happen.
In this decade, though, outside of the first round, the third round has been a fruitful one for Houston. In 2020 the Texans snared defensive end Jonathan Greenard. He has 38.5 career sacks, and was a Pro Bowler last season in his first year with the Vikings. Greenard logged eight and 12.5 sacks in two of his final seasons with Houston.
In 2021, the Texans first two picks were third-rounders: quarterback Davis Mills and wide receiver Nico Collins. The former has started 26 career games and is now a valuable backup to Pro Bowler C.J. Stroud, and the latter has become one of the best pass-catchers in the NFL. Collins has cracked the 1,000-yard mark in each of the last two seasons, and has a combined 15 touchdown grabs in 2023 and 2024.
2022 saw Houston draft linebacker Christian Harris in the third, and when he’s been on the field, he’s been a difference-maker. His finest hour came in a playoff win two Januarys ago, when he tallied a sack, two tackles for loss, eight tackles total and a pick-6 against Cleveland.
In 2023, Tank Dell was the third-rounder, and the last two seasons saw him catch a combined 98 passes for 1,376 yards and 10 touchdowns in 25 games worth of work.
Then last year, Houston took USC safety Calen Bullock in the third, and he wound up picking off five passes.
Like I said, every round is important. But the Texans have really hit on difference-makers, lately, in the third.