The Houston Texans may be looking to upgrade their cornerback group in the 2022 NFL draft.
According to Aaron Wilson from the Pro Football Network, the Texans are bringing in former Cincinnati Bearcats cornerback Ahmad Gardner for a visit.
The Texans have had interest in Gardner going back to his pro day when coach Lovie Smith spent time with the blue-chip defensive back who goes by the nickname “Sauce.”
Gardner is an intriguing prospect who offers the Texans possibilities on the backend due to his exemplary play regardless of the coverage. The complication for Houston is No. 3 overall may be too high a pick for a cornerback, but Gardner may be gone by the time the Texans pick again at No. 13 overall.
The 21-year-old provided the Bearcats with 40 combined tackles, five tackles for loss, three sacks, three interceptions, and four pass breakups through 13 games.
Gardner has the mentality and ability to tackle and not just be a finesse defensive back, which is what cornerbacks coach Dino Vasso wants to see out of his unit in the second year in Smith’s Tampa 2.
“I think we just need to build on the foundation that we laid the first year,” Vasso told reporters on Feb. 22. “I think a Lovie Smith coached team is going to play hard. They’re going to play with great effort. They’re going to take the football away.
“The thing we talk about as a staff is takeaways, not turnovers. You don’t want to wait for the offense to turn the football over. You want to take it away. So, I think if you go into it with that mentality, you give yourself 60, 80 opportunities to take the football away.”
The Texans will be able to get another dimension of what Gardner can bring to the franchise when he takes his tour of NRG Stadium.