While it may seem the Houston Texans have all the time and assets in the world to address roster needs throughout the entire three days of the 2022 NFL draft, the weekend could get away from them.
Perhaps Kyle Hamilton is not available to them in Round 1, and day two safeties Jaquan Brisker, Jalen Pitre, and Lewis Cine slip through their grasp.
If day three rolls around and the Texans still have not added a solid defensive back for the backend to play Lovie Smith’s Tampa 2 scheme, they may be able to still salvage their pursuit with Auburn safety Smoke Monday.
According to Pete Prisco from CBS Sports, Monday is one of his 20 prospects that he likes more than scouts do.
He is a tall, leaner safety who is more than willing to throw his body around. There are a lot of plays on tape where he can chase down a run play from the deep middle to the sideline. That shows awareness and speed. He is a willing tackler, even if he needs to get bigger. He is also a solid coverage player who can turn and run when need be, even if he is sometimes too aggressive. He is fluid and had some big picks for the Tigers. A team that takes him in the fourth round will be getting a starter down the road.
Don’t sleep on Prisco’s picks. After all, former Stanford quarterback Davis Mills was one of his 20 such selections ahead of the 2021 NFL draft.
Safety may be too big of a priority for the Texans to use a selection on Monday. Nevertheless if the draft starts to get away from them and they have yet to shore up the backend, Monday would be a decent pick to use to provide depth at safety.
