The Houston Texans saw one of their rookies from their five-man draft class take strides throughout the 2021 season.
Houston selected Roy Lopez in Round 6 from Arizona, and the 6-2, 318-pound defensive tackle started in 15 of hi 16 games. The Texans saw Lopez generate 31 combined tackles, five tackles for loss, two quarterback hits, 1.0 sack, and a fumble recovery.
Lopez was paired with veterans such as Maliek Collins, Jaleel Johnson, and Vincent Taylor. If the Texans wanted to, they could go with another youngster to put alongside Lopez in former Georgia Bulldog defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt.
According to Ryan Wilson from CBS Sports, Wyatt had a good week of practices at the Senior Bowl.
When it came to the Bulldogs defense, much of the conversation during the 2021 college season was about Jordan Davis, or Nakobe Dean, or Lewis Cine, and rightly so — those guys balled out all season long. Wyatt, meanwhile, flew under the radar as much as you can at nearly 6-foot-3, 307 pounds, while shining on the country’s best defense. He’s continued to shine this week in Mobile and perhaps the most impressive quality is his quickness off the ball.
Devonte Wyatt vs. Cade Mays went exactly how UGA fans would expect.pic.twitter.com/M8iIfCMhzW
— Georgia Sports Now (@GASportsNow) February 2, 2022
Tennessee’s Cade Mays is a really good player and sometimes really good players get beat, especially against someone with that type of explosiveness. There’s no shame in that.
The Texans will need to address defensive tackle regardless of how impressive Wyatt is; all three of the aforementioned veterans are free agents when the new league year kicks off in March.
Even if Houston brings back Taylor and Johnson to fill out the roster, the prospect of having another disruptive defensive tackle to control the line of scrimmage has to be tempting. With the Texans on the verge of completing their rebuild, all roster spots are up for grabs.
Wyatt is listed as the 37th-best prospect on Pro Football Focus’ big board — right where the Texans are slated to pick in the second round. If Wyatt is available, and the Texans are truly looking for the best athlete available, the former Georgia product needs consideration.
