DeMeco Ryans Shares Thoughts on Texans' Draft Class

DeMeco Ryans gave some thoughts on this year's group of incoming rookies in Houston.

Feb 25, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Houston Texans coach DeMeco Ryans speaks during the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The 2025 NFL Draft is finally wrapped up after three days of action in Green Bay, and with it, the Houston Texans picked up nine new rookies onto the roster.

All in all, the Texans picked up six new offensive pieces and three defensive, headlined by the pickups of Iowa State receivers Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel, tackle Aireontae Ersery, and defensive back Jaylin Smith through their first two days.

OUR 2025 DRAFT CLASS 🤘 pic.twitter.com/2dlZgB9A3F

— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) April 26, 2025

It's not a star-studded draft from Houston, nor is it one that included a first-rounder, thanks to their trade down with the New York Giants to acquire Jaxson Dart. But, in the eyes of Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans, it's a draft class that the team feels pretty confident in.

"We feel really good about this draft class. Put a lot of work in," Ryans said. "Starts with our scouts, our coaches; guys put a lot of work in and did a great job evaluating talented guys. Not only about the talent, but also the people. We brought in a ton of great people, also great players, and that's the formula that we like. It's worked well for us, and we think these guys can come in, contribute, and help our team get better."

Perhaps one of the biggest driving factors in the Texans' scouting process was finding players with an ambitious mindset; a critical component in the eyes of Ryans for the team's culture.

"The mindset is definitely everything," Ryans said. "If you have the mindset to work, the mindset is you really enjoy and love playing football, that fits our building. That works for us. That works with the guys that we already have here. We have a ton of guys in our locker room already who love football. I just believe that when you love the game of football, we're going to get your best."

The Texans had two big needs entering this year's draft: wide receiver and offensive tackle. On day two, Houston was able to land a pair of Iowa State pass catchers with a diverse skillset to plug that receiver need, and Ersery can be the aspired developmental tackle the team can place in front of C.J. Stroud for the foreseeable future.

For the surrounding division in the AFC South, it was a splashy outcome: the Tennessee Titans landed their franchise quarterback in Cam Ward, the Jacksonville Jaguars moved up for a generational talent in Travis Hunter, and the Indianapolis Colts could've lucked into the best tight end in the class with Tyler Warren.

Still, Ryans, Nick Caserio, and the rest of the Texans brass were able to capitalize on value down the board and plug the necessary holes en route to their hopeful third-straight division win in 2025.

Time will tell how the results of this year's group of Texans rookies will pan out, but in the mind of Ryans and the Houston brass, it was an overall success in Green Bay.

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