Over the three-day NFL Draft, the Houston Texans added nine new players. Six played in the SEC, three were from Houston, several were teammates in college (WR John Metchie III and LB Christian Harris at Alabama, DB Derek Stingley Jr. and OL Austin Deculus and DL Thomas Booker and current QB Davis Mills). However, General Manager Nick Caserio described the one common thread among all the players he selected.
"I would say the one thing that's probably pretty consistent with the players that we've drafted is that mindset," Caserio said. "Whether it's Jalen, whether it's John Metchie or Dameon Pierce, (Austin) Deculus in that category. They share that and they see that in their teammate, and they think this is how we need to play. Kenyon (Green), big ass physical offensive lineman that moves people. You want to be a tough team. You want to be a physical team. You better have tough, physical players that adopt that mindset and then see what happens when we get on the field."
Caserio referenced the scoring highlight of RB Dameon Pierce, drafted in the fourth round (107th overall out of Florida). In the video that circulated on Twitter after being drafted by Houston, Pierce gets his helmet knocked off short of the first down marker but charges ahead anyway and scores a touchdown against Florida State.
"Football is a mindset," Caserio said. "Football is a tough ass game that requires mental toughness, physical toughness, and competitive stamina. That's what football demands. You have to have the requisite physical skills along with those types of qualities. The more players you have like on that on your team, when you turn to either side of you and you see that's the mindset and that's the mentality and that's the work ethic, you don't have a choice because if you don't do that, you're going to stand out like a sore thumb."
Caserio executed four draft-day trades this year, setting a new franchise record. Houston's 2022 Draft class includes Stingley Jr. (LSU), OL Kenyon Green (Texas A&M), DB Jalen Pitre (Baylor), Metchie (Alabama), Harris (Alabama), Pierce (Florida), Booker (Stanford), TE Teagan Quitoriano (Oregon St.) and Deculus (LSU). Texans will hold rookie minicamp on Friday, May 13 through Sunday, May 15 at the Houston Methodist Training Center.
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