What the Draft Told Us About DeMeco Ryans' Real Plan for the Texans

The Houston Texans had two focuses headed into the 2026 draft.

For one, it was patching up a few of their lingering roster holes from a busy offseason thus far.

The Texans added a new face to compete for their starting center role in Keylan Rutledge, a second defensive tackle for the future of their four-man rush in Kayden McDonald, and even another tight end to add down the offensive depth chart in second-rounder Marlin Klein.

In that sense, it was a pretty productive draft for Houston. But there's another vision the Texans had for virtually every one of their selections throughout all three days as well: they had to be quality fits into their locker room and DeMeco Ryans' SWARM culture.

Texans Put Heavy Focus on Culture Fit in Draft Selections

One factor that sticks out about nearly all of the Texans' draft selections is their history as a team captain throughout college.

Go back and look at each of their eight picks; over half of them were team captains. And even for the ones that weren't, like Oklahoma's Febechi Nwaiwu, their positive locker room fit is clear when taking home honors like the Pat Tillman Award in the Shrine Bowl.

The Texans were in search of high-level, high-character prospects across the board, which is something even Ryans himself made note of following the three days of the draft in Pittsburgh:

"They're all— as you guys have probably noticed— they're all our type of guys," Ryans said of the Texans' draft class. "They're football-first guys, high-character guys, guys who just love playing football, guys with big smiles, big energy, guys. They're gonna fit right into our locker room, right?"

"And not just the person, but we feel like we’ve got really good football players as well. And it always starts with the film first, and having great character, great men on top of that makes it even better. And we’ve got that and all the kinds that we’ve chosen."

On a roster that already has standout locker room pieces and leaders like Will Anderson, C.J. Stroud, and Azeez Al-Shaair, having the mental makeup to be fit for the Texans––a group that has some of the most relentless defensive intensity across the NFL––only a select few can be pieces that fit into that puzzle.

Nov 9, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans with defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins (90) and linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair (0) following a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images | Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

Clearly, the Texans feel like they got their hands on just those types of guys in this year's draft; players who were leaders from their respective programs, tough, and aggressive football players that can fit right into the fiber of this group that's been building since Ryans was hired four years ago.

Adding them should only build upon Houston's team culture to be even stronger. And as long as they can hold up their end of the bargain with high-level fits on the field, perhaps as soon as year one for Rutledge and McDonald, the Texans can walk away considering this draft a big success.

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