Houston Texans: The best and worst of the 2021 NFL Draft

The Worst, Part 1

1. Trading up for Nico Collins

Nick Caserio has been doing the NFL Draft in New England long enough that he should know a bad deal when he sees one. Matt Rhule and Scott Fitterer must drive a pretty hard bargain there in Carolina, because in order to move up to get Nico Collins, the Texans overpaid.

By a lot.

Houston received: 89th pick

Carolina received: 109th pick, 158th pick, 2022 4th-round pick

In the event that Houston would pick first overall in 2022 (let’s say Deshaun Watson doesn’t play this year or is traded, heck, they almost got the first overall pick with a healthy Watson), that 2022 fourth-round pick could be the top pick of day three, which is always valuable every year with teams trying to trade up for guys who may still be second- or third-round grades on their board after day two.

Not only did the Texans surrender a pick that will be at least a top-145 pick in a best-case scenario for Houston, but they also gave up the 109th pick and 158th pick. We mentioned in the previous slide that Houston got a tremendous value in Brevin Jordan at 147 overall and there were other players on the board who could have helped them.

The process of this trade was terrible, and Houston should be kicking themselves for it. Nico Collins has a chance to be a good player, but he was also a 2020 opt-out, so they traded up to get a guy who will be coming in slightly cold, all things considered.