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NFL: Houston Texans 2025 Preview

July 25, 2025 by CollegeFootballPoll.com staff

Houston was like a used car dealer during the 2025 NFL Draft, wheeling and dealing their trades to ultimately pick up two more picks than the seven they started out with. They desperately needed to upgrade the offensive line and bring in more weapons for CJ Stroud who was sacked 52 times last season while many receivers spent time off the field due to injuries.

They started off with picks 25, 58, 79, 89, 166, 236 and 241 and wound up with the following:

Round	Pick	Selection
2	34	WRJayden Higgins, Iowa State
2	48	T Aireontae Ersery, Minnesota
3	79	WR Jaylin Noel, Iowa State
3	97	CB Jaylin Smith USC
4	116	RB Jo'Quavious Marks, USC
6	187	S Jaylen Reed, Penn State
6	197	QB Graham Mertz, Florida
7	224	DT Kyonte Hamilton, Rutgers
7	255	TE Luke Lachey, Iowa

Among its first three picks were a pair of receivers from a Iowa State Cyclones program that previously produced Allen Lazard who went undrafted in 2018 and signed with Green Bay as a rookie free agent. He has 3,007 yards total in his NFL career after posting 2,621 yards in four seasons with the Cyclones.

Iowa State finished in a four-way tie for first-place in the Big 12 in 2025 as wide receivers Jayden Higgins (1,183 yards, 9 TD's) and Jaylin Noel (1,194 yards, 8 TD's) combined for 2,377 yards and 17 scores. Higgins had 2,166 yards receiving and 15 TD's in two seasons with Iowa State after transferring from Eastern Kentucky where he amassed 1,151 yards and 13 scores in two seasons. Noel compiled 2,855 yards and 18 scores in four seasons at the Ames school. The 6'4" Higgins had just 3 drops in his time at Iowa State. At 5'11, Noel would likely fit into a slot receiver role.

In between, Houston addressed its offensive line needs by selecting 6'6", 330-pound tackle Aireonte Ersery out of Minnesota with a second pick in the second round.

The Texans used a second pick in the 3rd round (the teams' 4th over-all pick), to focus on the defensive backfield and took Jaylin Smith from the Southern California Trojans before nabbing another Trojans with their next pick when they chose RB Jo'Quavious Marks who spent one season in Los Angeles after four years at Mississippi State. The move helped Marks improve his draft status tremendously as he went from being a 582-yard rusher in 2022 and a 573-yard gainer in 2023 to a 1,133-yard outburst in 2024 with USC.

It was back to the secondary in round 6 with the selection of safety Jaylen Reed who helped Penn State achieve a school record 13 wins and its first ever College Football Playoff appearance. The 6-foot Reed had 3 interceptions after posting a pair in 2023.

A second pick in round 6 was a bit puzzling as Houston traded up to take Graham Mertz, a QB who suffered a torn ACL in an October 14 overtime loss to Tennessee. We doubt will Mertz will ever see the field in a regular season NFL game. Mertz is a traditional dropback passer with limited mobility. That has worked fine for the likes of a Dan Marino or a Tom Brady, but most of today's top QB's are two-dimensional.

Houston rounded-out the draft with a pair of 7th round picks. They took DT Kyonte Hamilton from Rutgers with the 224th pick and TE Luke Lachey of Iowa with the 255th selection.

2025 Houston Texans at-a-glance

2025 Records: 10-7 regular season (1-1 playoffs), 5-1 vs. AFC South, 8-4 vs. AFC, 2-3 vs. NFC
2025 Super Bowl FanDuel odds: +2500, tied No. 13 of all 32 teams (tied No. 6 of 16 AFC teams)
2025 AFC South Champion odds: +110, No.1 of 4
General Manager: Nick Caserio (2023)
Head Coach: DeMeco Ryans (2023)
Offensive Coordinator: Nick Caley (2025)
Defensive Coordinator: Matt Burke (2023)

Houston general manager Nick Caserio, head coach DeMeco Ryans and defensive coordinator Matt Burke have all been with the club since 2023. Offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik was fired after the 2024 season and has moved on to Miami as the senior passing game coordinator. Nick Caley comes over from the Rams where he was primarily the tight ends coach for the past two seasons. He was with New England from 2015-2022 where he also coached tight ends (Rob Gronkowski and others).

Houston is one of four teams to have never made it to a Super Bowl, along with division mate Jacksonville, the Cleveland Browns and the Detroit Lions. Though the Texans have won 8 AFC south titles since their inception in 2002, they are the only NFL team to have never won a road playoff game. They have an all-time postseason record of 6-8.

Houston ranked 22nd in total offense in 2024, including ranks of 21 through the air and 15 on the ground. They were 12th in 2023 in total offense, 7th through the air and 22nd on the ground.

Houston ranked 6th in total defense in 2024, 6th in pass defense and 11th in rushing defense. They were 14th overall in 2023, 23rd against the pass and 6th in stopping the run.

2025 Schedule

9/7 at Rams
9/15 Buccaneers (MNF)
9/21 at Jaguars
9/28 Titans
10/5 at Ravens
10/12 BYE
10/20 at Seahawks (MNF)
10/26 49ers
11/2 Broncos
11/9 Jaguars
11/16 at Titans
11/20 Bills (TNF)
11/30 at Colts
12/7 at Chiefs (SNF)
12/14 Cardinals
12/21 Raiders
12/28 at Chargers
1/2, 1/5 or 1/6 Colts

The Texans will face every team in the NFC West (Arizona,.LA. Rams, Seattle, San Francisco) with three of those in their first seven games. They will also battle the AFC West teams (Denver, Kansas City, Las Vegas, L.A. Chargers) with games against the Chiefs, Raiders and Chargers among their last five contests.

Sharp Football Analysis ranks the Texans' schedule as the 25th-toughest in 2025 based on sportsbook win total projections. If you go by 2024 opponents win percentage, the Texans' schedule ranks 18th.

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