ESPN Insider Issues Final Prediction for Texans' First Round Pick

The wait is finally over to uncover how the Houston Texans, as well as the rest of the league will approach their plans for the 2025 NFL Draft, with the first round of the chaos sitting right around the corner.

For the Texans, they've been viewed a team with an opportunity to go in a few different directions once the first round gets underway. Whether it be a trade up, a move down, or a chance to target multiple positions across the board, it's been hard to truly pinpoint where Houston will ultimately go for their early selections.

Yet, with the clock winding down quickly until things kick off, we've started to see some final predictions from some notable insiders across the league as to how the Texans could end up taking on their first-round pick, which could provide a major hint as to how Houston may truly go about their process.

In the eyes of ESPN insider Field Yates, he foresees the Texans ending up with Oregon left tackle Josh Conerly Jr.

"The Texans have reconstructed their offensive line, including replacing Laremy Tunsil with Cam Robinson at left tackle. But they must be mindful of the long-term future of an essential spot. Conerly is a balanced and controlled pass protector, and he could help keep C.J. Stroud upright."

As the Texans have frequently been linked to prioritizing more talent on the offensive line, it's easy to see a tackle being the ultimate choice Houston ends up with.

In this scenario, the Texans don't get a trade up into the first, and most of the higher-end guys with a chance to fall like Kelvin Banks Jr. and Josh Simmons aren't on the table at 25. While Conerly may be seventh offensive lineman taken off the board, he fills perhaps the biggest priority for this offense in finding a long-term tackle option, while not having to extend major resources and assets to acquire one.

Of course, there's always a world where Caserio does get aggressive to make that rumored move up in the first, if this is the outcome to transpire, it allows Houston the ability to take a deep breath surrounding the state of their protection, and can focus better on other areas down the board in this deep class.

The Texans' final verdict for the 2025 NFL Draft will be determined by the end of Thursday night. Let's see how Nick Caserio and Co. take on the challenge.

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