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<\/a><\/p>\nSep 21, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles inside linebacker DeMeco Ryans (59) celebrates a defensive stop on third down against the Washington Redskins at Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles defeated the Redskins, 37-34. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images<\/p>\n
Nick Caserio, spent 20 years (2001-2020) with the Patriots organization, before joining the Texans as their GM in 2021. Caserio was deeply involved in the Patriots football operations and has considered to be Belichick\u2019s right-hand man. He held many roles with Patriots including Director of Player Personnel. His scouting, draft evaluation, and cap-awareness help play a significant role in the sustained success of the Patriots during his time there. Can he do the same for the Texans?<\/p>\n
When Caserio arrived in Houston, the Texans were in disarray. They had limited draft capital, coaching instability, a weak roster, and cap issues. It took two years for Caserio to completely overhaul the team, which further tested the patience of the fans. But as was noted above, 2023 was a key turning point. And just like Howie Roseman of the Eagles, Caserio is not afraid of wheeling and dealing. In fact, the record for the greatest number of trades within a 7-round draft is eight, accomplished by the Patriots in 2018, the Texans in 2023, and the Eagles in 2024.<\/p>\n
As another example of Caserio\u2019s aggressiveness, you might remember that the Eagles jumped up two spots from 15 to 13 in the 2022 draft to select Jordan Davis. This started out as Cleveland\u2019s 2022 13th pick, but ended up with the Eagles via the following two trades:<\/p>\n
Trade 1:Browns gave 2022 13th pick, 107th pick; 2023 1st pick, 3rd round pick, and 2024 1st pick and 4th round pick.Texans gave QB Deshaun Watson and 2024 6th round pickTrade 2:Eagles gave 2022 15th, 124th, 162nd, and 166th (to jump up 2 spots)Texans gave 2022 13th round pick<\/p>\n
That\u2019s quite the draft assets acquired by Caserio, one might even call it Roseman-esque!<\/p>\n
While the Texans\u2019 fans were initially skeptical of Caserio, their sentiment has completely flipped. The prevailing view is that Caserio has a plan, that he doesn\u2019t panic, and wins more trades than he loses. For the Texans to get to the promised land of a Lombardi trophy, the Texans\u2019 fans might barrow the phase of the Eagles fans; \u201cIn Nick they trust\u201d.<\/p>\n
Now to the 2026 draft and the 28th overall pick. The Texans staying at this spot, just like the Eagles staying at 23 is unrealistic. However, in this community mock draft trades are not considered. Caserio, much like Howie, tries to build a complete roster before the draft. That way the Texans can aim to pick the best player available based on their big board regardless of how the draft plays out. He did that by signing or acquiring several offensive linemen (Braden Smith, Wyatt Teller), running back (David Montgomery), safety (Reid Blankenship), and even a punter (Kai Kroeger) among others.<\/p>\n
However, when the Texans were on the clock, they struggled with this pick. Despite signing safety Blankenship in free agency, safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren out of Toledo was still on the board and looked enticing. Similarly, picking a defensive tackle such as Peter Woods from Clemson or Christen Miller from Georgia would have really solidified an already strong defensive line with their dominate edge rushers of Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter. In the end, they decided to do what Caserio had never done before during his time with the Texans, he went with an internal offensive lineman in the first round: Emmanuel Pregnon out of University of Oregan.<\/p>\n
Pregnon is dense, thick player (6\u20194\u201d height, 314 lbs) with strong arms, big hands, and good leg drive. He tested extremely well at the combine for a guard: 5.21 second in the 40, 35 inch vertical leap (best of all guards), 9\u20193\u201d broad, and 30 reps on the bench press for an overall combine RAS score of 9.1.<\/p>\n
He started his college career at Wyoming which included 2 redshirt years and then being named a Freshman All-American for the Cowboys in 2022 where he started 11 games. He then transferred to USC for two seasons. Starting in 12 games in 2023 and all 13 games in 2024 for the Trojans, without allowing a sack. He was named second-team All-Big Ten in 2024. He once again transferred, this time to Oregon for his senior season. For the college football playoff Ducks, he earned First-Team All-American and First-Team All-Big Ten honors. After 3 schools, 6 years in college, 51 games, and over 3100 offensive snaps he has continued to develop and grow at each level. Which brings us to his one big knock: his age. He is 24 years old. And one of the reasons he is typically projected as an early second round pick.<\/p>\n