Kenyon Green was a monster at Texas A&M.
The Humble Atascocita High School product earned two All-Americans while with the Aggies and solidified himself as a dominant tackle in the SEC West. The Houston Texans took the local kid in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft to shore up their offensive line.
Green solves the problem of what to do with former 2019 first-round pick Tytus Howard. With Howard’s position flex, he spent time bouncing inside and out across the Texans’ offensive line in 2021. With Green playing at guard, Howard can go back out to right tackle where he plays much more proficiently.
Although Green was a force at Texas A&M, he has to prove he isn’t just another guy on the Texans. Going against NFL level talent is the equivalent of facing the best of the SEC West everyday in practice.
Defensive tackle Maliek Collins is the Texans’ presumptive starter at 3-technique and goes against Green daily in practice. The 6-2, 310-pound defensive lineman sees up close what Texans scouts and the personnel department saw when recommending Green.
“I see he’s got potential to be a great player,” Collins told reporters Friday after the sixth day of practice at Houston Methodist Training Center. “He just keeps coming out here working.”
Green isn’t simply putting in the work on the practice field. The rookie will ask Collins for help after sessions and look for advice.
“He pulls me to the side after practice and we get some work done, little things —if I see some things I’ll let him know, and things he picks up on me he’ll let me know, so we just keep comparing notes and keep competing against each other every day,” said Collins.
With Green getting an advanced course in how defensive tackles attack, it should help him acclimate to the NFL quickly.