The Houston Texans gave up their 2020 first-round pick as part of their trade package to acquire left tackle Laremy Tunsil from the Miami Dolphins on Aug. 31.
What are the Dolphins going to do with that 26th overall pick? According to Michael Middlehurts-Schwartz’s latest mock draft for USA TODAY, the 5-11 club from the AFC East are going to fix their tackle void that was created by dealing away Tunsil.
26. Dolphins (from Texans) — Josh Jones, OT, Houston: Between Miami’s 58 sacks allowed and rate of 3.3 yards per carry, it’s clear an investment needs to be made up front, especially if an ascending talent like Jones is available in the first round.
So if the Texans didn’t address left tackle with Tunsil, then they would have Jones there with their first-round pick. The Texans would have a young trio on the offensive line with former first-rounder Tytus Howard and former second-rounder Max Scharping entering their second seasons to go along with the rookie Jones.
Of course, Scharping was originally a tackle before he was kicked inside to play left guard. What if the Texans thought 2020 was the season to put both at tackle? From what’s available according to the mock draft, Houston would have a threesome of edge defenders to choose from in DE/OLBs K’Lavon Chaisson (LSU), Terrell Lewis (Alabama), Julian Okwara (Notre Dame). There would also be some secondary help in Alabama safety Xavier McKinney and possibly a Will Fuller replacement in Penn State’s K.J. Hamler.
The Texans won’t have a chance to add to their ranks until the second round. The Tunsil trade worked in the short-term to help the Texans protect quarterback Deshaun Watson’s blindside immediately. However, the next phase is to see whether or not gambling on a “win now” mentality costs them young stars that could be the foundation for a new era.