Texans Could Target South Carolina DB in NFL Draft

The Houston Texans appear to be one of many teams taking interest in a particular South Carolina defensive back just over a month away from the NFL Draft.

According to Tony Pauline of Essentially Sports, the Texans are among the teams holding an official 30-visit with South Carolina DB Jalon Kilgore, joining several other suitors who have taken notice in the pre-draft process.

"Kilgore has official 30 visits with the Philadelphia Eagles, Houston Texans, Carolina Panthers, Indianapolis Colts, and Seattle Seahawks. Before the workout on Tuesday, he met with the Cincinnati Bengals and Minnesota Vikings, then met with the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins after pro day."

Kilgore comes in as one of the few top-30 visits reported for the Texans thus far in the weeks ahead of April's draft, along with Alabama offensive tackle Kaydn Proctor, and just recently Clemson running back Adam Randall.

This time, it's the defensive side of the ball that's getting the attention of the Texans and their front office, and could be an area that they target among their few mid-round selections on the board.

Could Texans Have Special Interest in South Carolina's Jalon Kilgore?

The fit between the Texans and Kilgore come as intriguing for a couple of reasons.

For one, it's not the first time that the two sides have interacted leading up to this year's draft. Not only will Houston be slated for a top-30 visit with the 21-year-old safety in the coming weeks, but they've already met once at the combine as well.

Kilgore noted he and the Texans had a "good conversation" at their informal meeting a few weeks ago, and clearly, the team has liked what they've seen so far to warrant a closer look.

USC DB Jalon Kilgore said he’s had an informal meeting with the #Texans. Says he had a good conversation with them. pic.twitter.com/G5Yt3K5b2M
— Jared Koch (@jjaredkoch) February 26, 2026

Texans general manager Nick Caserio was also one of the few top executives in attendance at this year's South Carolina pro day, according to The Houston Chronicle's Jonathan M. Alexander.

Often attended to by other team scouts and assistants, headed to Columbia, South Carolina, does provide an up-close glimpse of Kilgore in his workouts, and perhaps another opportunity to speak with him in person. So for Houston's top front-office decision-maker to be the one making the trip certainly catches some additional attention than usual.

Of course, this could just be a standard protocol for the Texans as they traverse through the annual scouting process. But with this special intrigue in South Carolina in particular, you might be able to connect the dots of who Houston could have their eyes on just a few weeks away before they're officially on the clock to make their picks.

Feb 27, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; South Carolina defensive back Jalon Kilgore (DB39) during the NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Texans already made a big investment into their safety unit earlier this offseason by signing former Philadelphia Eagles veteran Reed Blankenship to a three-year deal, and thus slotting him in as an plug-and-play starter in the back-end of this defense.

But, if Houston wanted to add even more depth and youth to their already-elite secondary, an investment in Kilgore, a top-10 safety prospect in this class, could manage to do just that.

The Texans showed they weren't shy of investing heavily into their secondary in last year's draft by selecting Jaylin Smith and Jaylen Reed in days two and three, and this year could end up looking a bit similar, depending on how the board falls.

Look for Kilgore to be a name to watch for Houston in the mid-to-late rounds next month, where the Texans will have three selections from rounds four to five on day three of this year's draft that could be a perfect place for him to go.

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