Houston Texans Projected to Pick Stanford Star in NFL Draft

Nov 19, 2023; Houston, Texas, USA; View of a Houston Texans battle red helmet before the game against the Arizona Cardinals at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
Nov 19, 2023; Houston, Texas, USA; View of a Houston Texans battle red helmet before the game against the Arizona Cardinals at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The Houston Texans have been eliminated from the playoffs after a second consecutive 10-7 season that saw them finish atop the AFC South. Their exit came in the Divisional Round for the second straight season.

Quarterback C.J. Stroud ranked No. 15 in passing yards this past season, finishing the year with 3,727, but he's not too far off from being a top-10 passer, at least in terms of yards. San Francisco 49ers' QB Brock Purdy ranked No. 10 and finished with 3,864 (in 15 games played). That's a difference of 137 yards to jump five spots. In simpler terms, that's just eight yards per game.

With this in mind, the Texans could be seeking another receiver in the NFL Draft to provide Stroud with another solid option in the passing game.

In a recent mock draft, Fox Sports had the Texans selecting Stanford wide receiver Elic Ayomanor with the No. 25 overall pick.

Their reasoning: "Huge need on the offensive line. But might they get that done in free agency with a proven player, and then plug Ayomanor into an offense that struggled when Diggs and Dell got hurt? At 6-foot-2. and 210 pounds, he was a big-time track athlete in high school and had offers from SEC schools and Notre Dame."

Ayomanor has been floating in between the late first and early second round depending on the day, so this could very well be the spot that we end up seeing Ayomanor land. If he does wind up with Texas, he'd be paired with another former Stanford Cardinal, Dalton Schultz, who signed a three-year deal with the Texans early in 2024.

Ayomanor missed his true freshman season due to injury, but really put himself on the map in 2023 when he torched Colorado for 13 catches, 294 yards and three touchdowns. All of those stats came in the second half and overtime. He ended his freshman season with 62 catches for 1,013 yards and six touchdowns.

He turned in another solid season in 2024, despite the Cardinal having trouble with the offensive line throughout the year. As a sophomore, he hauled in 63 catches for 831 yards and six touchdowns. He didn't dominate a game quite like he did in '23, but he was also the focal point of opposing defenses this past season, which made getting him the ball a little more tricky.

If he were to join the Texans as a second, or even third option (to start), then he could be an extremely valuable weapon for the team as they hope to continue having success during the regular season, but also find a little more luck when it comes to the playoffs.


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Jason Burke
JASON BURKE

Jason has been covering the A’s at various sites for over a decade, and was the original host of the Locked on A’s podcast. He also covers the Stanford Cardinal as they attempt to rebuild numerous programs to prominence.