The Houston Texans won’t have a shot at Aidan Hutchinson by the time they are on the clock at No. 3 overall in the 2022 NFL draft.
Most mock drafts have the Detroit Lions taking the former Michigan Wolverine, and thus the Texans get their choice of Oregon defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux or the field.
According to Mark Schofield from the Touchdown Wire, when given the choice between Thibodeaux and Hutchinson, the Texans take Thibodeaux.
Houston has a number of needs this off-season. One of which is their pass rush. As evaluators dive into Aidan Hutchinson, George Karlfatis, Jermaine Johnson and David Ojabo, Kayvon Thibodeaux seems to be sliding. Once viewed as a surefire top five selection, that seems in doubt. Thibodeaux did his best to change the narrative starting at the Combine with his bench press numbers, and I still believe that by the time the draft rolls around, he is going to be at the top of the board once more.
He checks many of the boxes teams are looking for in a top-flight edge rusher, and the Texans find a potential cornerstone piece to their defensive front.
The Jacksonville Jaguars start off the draft with Alabama tackle Evan Neal at No. 1 overall. The Detroit Lions take Notre Dame safety Kyle Hamilton, which is how the Texans are in a position to pick between the two best pass rushers in the draft.
Hutchinson goes the very next pick to the New York Jets.
With the Seattle Seahawks trading quarterback Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos, and thus picking No. 9 overall, the NFC West club takes Liberty signal caller Malik Willis to compete against fourth-year veteran Drew Lock to determine who will replace Wilson — at least on the depth chart.
Regardless of who the Texans pick, coach Lovie Smith is billing the Texans as a destination for defensive linemen.
“If I’m a defensive lineman, I would like to come to a place like the Houston Texans,” Smith told reporters on March 2 at the NFL Scouting Combine. “We start up front. Again, it’s about, as I said, about the defensive line. We kind of read on the run, athletes getting up the field, making sacks and things like that. I think it’s a defensive line friendly system.”
