The first week of free agency has yielded a couple new favorites for the Texans in the 2025 NFL Draft.
If the experts are correct, Houston will select either Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, or fellow Buckeye Josh Simmons, who plays left tackle.
For the fourth time this offseason, we scoured the internet and gathered together the more prominent mock drafts. This time, 56 were included, and Egbuka and Simmons were mocked to Houston by 11 experts (19.6%) apiece. In the three previous Mock Draft Roundups, Alabama offensive guard Tyler Booker was the leader, or tied for the lead as the choice for the Texans.
The NFL Draft starts five weeks from Thursday, on April 24 in Green Bay. The Texans own the 25th overall pick in the first round.
Six mockers (10.7%) predicted Booker would get taken by the Texans, while the Texas Longhorn duo of wide receiver Matthew Golden and offensive lineman Kelvin Banks, Jr. were each slotted to Houston by five different experts (8.9%).
In all, just over half of the mock drafters (31) had the Texans taking an offensive lineman, and all but five of the 56 mockers sent an offensive player to Houston. 20 of the 56 (35.7%) mocked a wide receiver to the Texans.
| MOCK DRAFT | TEXANS SELECTION |
|---|---|
| 1. HOUSTON TEXANS/ FOOTBALL TAKEOVER (JOHN HARRIS) | WR EMEKA EGBUKA, OHIO STATE |
| 2. NFL MEDIA (CHARLES DAVIS) | WR EMEKA EGBUKA, OHIO STATE |
| 3. 33RD TEAM (KYLE CRABBS) | WR EMEKA EGBUKA, OHIO STATE |
| 4. SHARP FOOTBALL ANALYSIS (RYAN MCCRYSTAL) | WR EMEKA EGBUKA, OHIO STATE |
| 5. CBS SPORTS (GARRETT PODELL) | WR EMEKA EGBUKA, OHIO STATE |
| 6. SHARP FOOTBALL (WARREN SHARP) | WR EMEKA EGBUKA, OHIO STATE |
| 7. YAHOO! SPORTS (NATE TICE) | WR EMEKA EGBUKA, OHIO STATE |
| 8. ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION (D. ORLANDO LEDBETTER) | WR EMEKA EGBUKA, OHIO STATE |
| 9. USA TODAY (TYLER DRAGON) | WR EMEKA EGBUKA, OHIO STATE |
| 10. SHARP FOOTBALL (BRENDAN DONAHUE) | WR EMEKA EGBUKA, OHIO STATE |
| 11. NFL MEDIA (DAN PARR) | WR EMEKA EGBUKA, OHIO STATE |
| 1. ESPN (MEL KIPER, JR.) | OT JOSH SIMMONS, OHIO STATE |
| 2. CBS SPORTS (CHRIS TRAPASSO) | OT JOSH SIMMONS, OHIO STATE |
| 3. CBS SPORTS (MIKE RENNER) | OT JOSH SIMMONS, OHIO STATE |
| 4. CBS SPORTS (JOSH EDWARDS) | OT JOSH SIMMONS, OHIO STATE |
| 5. CBS SPORTS (KYLE STACKPOLE) | OT JOSH SIMMONS, OHIO STATE |
| 6. THE DRAFT NETWORK (RYAN FOWLER) | OT JOSH SIMMONS, OHIO STATE |
| 7. PRO FOOTBALL FOCUS (TREVOR SIKKEMA) | OT JOSH SIMMONS, OHIO STATE |
| 8. FOX SPORTS (JASON MCINTYRE) | OT JOSH SIMMONS, OHIO STATE |
| 9. THE ATHLETIC (STAFF) | OT JOSH SIMMONS, OHIO STATE |
| 10. THE RINGER (TODD MCSHAY) | OT JOSH SIMMONS, OHIO STATE |
| 11. OURLADS | OT JOSH SIMMONS, OHIO STATE |
| 1. HOUSTON CHRONICLE (JONATHAN ALEXANDER) | OL TYLER BOOKER, ALABAMA |
| 2. FANTASY LIFE (MATTHEW FREEDMAN) | OL TYLER BOOKER, ALABAMA |
| 3. SB NATION (JOSEPH ACOSTA) | OL TYLER BOOKER, ALABAMA |
| 4. PRO FOOTBALL FOCUS (DALTON WASSERMAN) | OL TYLER BOOKER, ALABAMA |
| 5. FOX SPORTS (ROB RANG) | OL TYLER BOOKER, ALABAMA |
| 6. ESPN (MATT MILLER) | OL TYLER BOOKER, ALABAMA |
| 1. NFL.COM (DANIEL JEREMIAH) | OL KELVIN BANKS, JR., TEXAS |
| 2. ATHLON SPORTS (LUKE EASTERLING) | OL KELVIN BANKS, JR., TEXAS |
| 3. ESPN (JORDAN REID) | OL KELVIN BANKS, JR., TEXAS |
| 4. NFL.COM (LANCE ZIERLEIN) | OL KELVIN BANKS, JR., TEXAS |
| 5. THE DRAFT NETWORK (JUSTIN MELO) | OL KELVIN BANKS, JR., TEXAS |
| 1. PALM BEACH POST (JOE SCHAD) | WR MATTHEW GOLDEN, TEXAS |
| 2. PRO FOOTBALL NETWORK (BRANTLEY WEISSMAN) | WR MATTHEW GOLDEN, TEXAS |
| 3. SPORTING NEWS (VINNIE IYER) | WR MATTHEW GOLDEN, TEXAS |
| 4. NFL.COM (CYNTHIA FRELUND) | WR MATTHEW GOLDEN, TEXAS |
| 5. PRO FOOTBALL NETWORK | WR MATTHEW GOLDEN, TEXAS |
| 1. NBC SPORTS PHILADELPHIA (DAVE ZANGARO) | WR LUTHER BURDEN, MISSOURI |
| 2. NFL MEDIA (BUCKY BROOKS) | WR LUTHER BURDEN, MISSOURI |
| 3. NFL MEDIA (GENARO FELICE) | WR LUTHER BURDEN, MISSOURI |
| 4. PRO FOOTBALL FOCUS (JORDAN PLOCHER) | WR LUTHER BURDEN, MISSOURI |
| 1. WALTER FOOTBALL (WALTER CHEREPINSKY) | OL GRAY ZABEL, NORTH DAKOTA ST. |
| 2. THE ATHLETIC (DANE BRUGLER) | OL GRAY ZABEL, NORTH DAKOTA ST. |
| 3. DALLAS MORNING NEWS (CALVIN WATKINS) | OL GRAY ZABEL, NORTH DAKOTA ST. |
| 4. FANTASY LIFE (THOR NYSTROM) | OL GRAY ZABEL, NORTH DAKOTA ST. |
| 1. FOX SPORTS (JOEL KLATT) | OL JOSH CONERLY, JR., OREGON |
| 2. PRO FOOTBALL NETWORK (JACOB INFANTE) | OL JOSH CONERLY, JR., OREGON |
| 1. THE RINGER (STAFF) | OL DONOVAN JACKSON, OHIO STATE |
| 2. THE ATHLETIC (NICK BAUMGARDNER) | OL DONOVAN JACKSON, OHIO STATE |
| 1. CBS SPORTS (RYAN WILSON) | DT WALTER NOLEN, OLE MISS |
| 2. PRO FOOTBALL FOCUS (MASON CAMERON) | DT WALTER NOLEN, OLE MISS |
| NBC SPORTS BAYAREA (MATT MAIOCCO) | DT DERRICK HARMON, OREGON |
| 48. FANTASY PROS (MATTHEW JONES) | DT KENNETH GRANT, MICHIGAN |
| 55. WALTER FOOTBALL (CHARLIE CAMPBELL) | OL ARMAND MEMBOU, MISSOURI |
| 56. NFL.COM (CHAD REUTER) | LB JALON WALKER, GEORGIA |
