The 2022 NFL draft is going to determine how quickly the Houston Texans get back to the top.
If general manager Nick Caserio, with the significant input from assistant directors of player personnel Matt Bazirgan and James Liipfert, is delivering a B-plus draft or better in 2022, it could be the final piece to complete the rebuild. Caserio was able to succeed despite having five picks and three of them on day three in 2021. It isn’t unreasonable to think he could do it again.
Should the Texans need to find a player on day three who can elevate a position group, they may need to keep tabs on Southern Jaguars receiver Marquis McClain.
According to Charles Davis’ recent piece for NFL.com, McClain was one of his six standouts from this past week at the HBCU Legacy Bowl.
There was a lot of chatter about McClain during the week because of his size (6-2, 215), with some folks wondering if he could put more weight on his frame and become a move tight end at the next level. I see him as a big wide receiver who can go inside and make the tough catches. He certainly showed what he’s capable of in the game, making seven catches for 84 yards. I think he’s going to make a lot of people give him a look, if they hadn’t already, with that performance. A tight end who had flashed during the week, North Carolina Central’s Isaiah Macklin, did not end up playing on Saturday, so McClain had to pick up the slack for his team, and he did it quite well.
The Texans have big targets in receiver Nico Collins at 6-4, 215 pounds and tight end Brevin Jordan at 6-3, 245 pounds. Adding McClain would give the Texans an abundance of red zone targets for quarterback Davis Mills to work with.
McClain caught 28 passes for 400 yards and four touchdowns while also carrying six times for 89 yards and a touchdown through 10 games.