{"id":842217,"date":"2026-03-30T03:19:02","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T03:19:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/842217\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T03:19:02","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T03:19:02","slug":"texans-continue-to-bolster-offensive-line-in-usa-todays-mock-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/842217\/","title":{"rendered":"Texans continue to bolster offensive line in USA Today&#8217;s mock draft"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Another day, another mock draft where the <a href=\"https:\/\/texanswire.usatoday.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Houston Texans;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Houston Texans&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Houston Texans<\/a> land an offensive lineman <a href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/articles\/espn-gives-overall-promising-grade-043022185.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:for the long-term future;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;for the long-term future&quot;}\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">for the long-term future<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Yes, while Houston did pick up two new linemen and re-signed a pair of others, finding stability past 2026 in the trenches seems to be priority No. 1 for the 12-win franchise. Veteran <a href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/articles\/nfl-world-reacts-texans-signing-200046646.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:right tackle Braden Smith;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;right tackle Braden Smith&quot;}\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">right tackle Braden Smith<\/a> has dealt with multiple injuries, so targeting a tackle prospect that doesn&#8217;t have to start from Day 1 might be ideal.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>In the latest mock draft from <a href=\"https:\/\/bearswire.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/nfl\/draft\/2026\/03\/23\/nfl-mock-draft-2026-surprises-first-round-picks\/89212978007\/?utm_source=nflmockdraftdatabase&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_content=read_mock_link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:USA Today&#039;s Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;USA Today&#039;s Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz&quot;}\" class=\"link \">USA Today&#8217;s Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz<\/a>, the <a href=\"https:\/\/sportsdata.usatoday.com\/football\/nfl\/teams\/houston-texans\/325\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Texans;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Texans&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Texans<\/a> find Smith&#8217;s eventual replacement at right tackle to close out Round 1. Clemson <a href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/articles\/texans-shore-offensive-line-first-213208229.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:offensive tackle Blake Miller;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;offensive tackle Blake Miller&quot;}\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">offensive tackle Blake Miller<\/a> has been a trendy pick for Houston in recent months and once again seems to be the logical option to redshirt for a season while getting him prepared to start in 2027.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Reconfiguring the offensive line has been the running theme of Houston&#8217;s offseason, with right tackle Braden Smith and left guard Wyatt Miller arriving to solidify the starting lineup,&#8221; Middlehurst-Schwartz said. &#8220;The effort might not stop there, however, with Blake Miller \u2013 who started 54 games at Clemson \u2013 providing additional support behind Smith, who has missed at least four games in four of the last five seasons.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Adding Miller would present a solid run blocker with plug-and-play experience on the right side, which could be considered an upgrade over Alabama offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor or Oregon offensive lineman Emmanuel Pregnon, two names likely set to either play left tackle or left guard. Shoring up the right side of the line would also allow the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/sportsdata.usatoday.com\/football\/nfl\/teams\/houston-texans\/325\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Texans;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Texans&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Texans<\/a>\u00a0to perhaps target a guard in the later rounds without the need of having to feel as if they must start right away.<\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s not a lot of flash to his game, but Miller&#8217;s expected to be a stable option that should be an NFL starter for years to come. It&#8217;s not the only move Houston can make to fix the offensive line, but it&#8217;s a step in a direction that should give more promise entering 2026.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>The Texans have eight picks in April&#8217;s draft, including two second-round picks and four selections in the top 70. To read the entire mock draft, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/nfl\/draft\/2026\/03\/23\/nfl-mock-draft-2026-surprises-first-round-picks\/89212978007\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:click here;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;click here&quot;}\" class=\"link \">click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: <a href=\"https:\/\/texanswire.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/nfl\/texans\/2026\/03\/29\/texans-bolster-offensive-line-clemson-blake-miller-usa-todays-mock-draft\/89381304007\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Texans continue to bolster offensive line in USA Today&#039;s mock draft;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Texans continue to bolster offensive line in USA Today&#039;s mock draft&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Texans continue to bolster offensive line in USA Today&#8217;s mock draft<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Another day, another mock draft where the Houston Texans land an offensive lineman for the long-term future. Yes,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":842218,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2056],"tags":[228,29145,4973,1681,7,221,253,2368,22455,4002,6,1482,453,23416,222,29960],"class_list":{"0":"post-842217","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-houston-texans","8":"tag-bengals","9":"tag-blake-miller","10":"tag-braden-smith","11":"tag-clemson","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-houston","14":"tag-houston-texans","15":"tag-houstontexans","16":"tag-michael-middlehurst-schwartz","17":"tag-mock-draft","18":"tag-nfl","19":"tag-offensive-line","20":"tag-offensive-lineman","21":"tag-right-tackle","22":"tag-texans","23":"tag-wyatt-miller"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/842217","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=842217"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/842217\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/842218"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=842217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=842217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=842217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}