Welcome to the third and final part of the Offseason of the Offensive Line Series!
Link to part one
Link to part two
I left off on reviewing the offensive lineman general manager Nick Caserio has brought in (as of March 27), making my case that the offensive line has found starters in guard Laken Tomlinson and tackle Cam Robinson, but still remains a weak spot on the team. In this post, we’ll go through the handful of remaining free agent linemen that could end up Houston, and NFL Draft prospects that could (and should) end up in Battle Red come May.
Unfortunately, there aren’t too many free agents left available that could end up being starters for the Houston Texans in 2025. To me, it really comes to down to three players:
San Francisco 49ers v Arizona Cardinals Photo by Ryan Kang/Getty Images
These three players aren’t going to save the offensive line, but they’re at least as good as Trent Brown. I am still very, very concerned about the state of Houston’s interior offensive line, so I believe that it will be a point of focus for Nick Caserio in a free agent signing and/or a draft pick. Laken Tomlinson has the inside track to making the starting left guard spot, but I doubt that there is any trust in Ed Ingram to do the same. Ingram had a few terrible seasons in Minnesota, so Houston must have their eyes set on another guard, at least for competition’s sake. Nick Caserio has to be looking, still…right? RIGHT?!
Every day that passes by is another chance for a different team to take one of these three players, putting Houston in the uncomfortable position of relying on the draft to find a starting right guard. Every day that passes by, this last-resort scenario seems more and more likely, so who could be waiting for Houston in the 2025 NFL Draft? Well, even though my notes are incomplete on the players listed below, I’d be happy to see Houston use a draft pick on any of them:
G Donovan Jackson,Ohio State - Probably a first-round pick or early second-round pick, the Texans may need to trade up to get Jackson. He was a fantastic guard for Ohio State in 2023 and 2024, and has the potential to be a starter right away.
C/G/T Grey Zabel, North Dakota State - Zabel has plenty of hype around his name, meaning he’ll likely be a first-round or early second-round selection. He has the size and agility to play virtually any position in the NFL, but I’d like to see him most at guard.
G/T Marcus Mbow, Purdue - Mbow spent the last two seasons at tackle for Purdue, but his position beforehand was guard. I expect him to go back to guard in the NFL due to his size, but his athleticism and speed will guarantee he’s gone within the first 100 picks.
G/T Xavier Truss, Georgia - If Houston isn’t able to snatch up any of the rookies previously listed, then Xavier Truss would be a solid pick in the third, fourth, or fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Truss has spent most of his collegiate time at right tackle, but his best season came in 2022 when he was the left guard. He is a gigantic person, so he would at least be a decent pass blocker. Sometimes, you just need some big ol’ guys!
These are extremely incomplete notes on a handful of collegiate interior lineman. But, in the event that Houston doesn’t sign another guard, they can break the protective glass and draft these players in an emergency.
Houston’s intentions have rarely ever felt so clear as they are this offseason. Often signing a wide swath of veterans to short, prove-it deals, Nick Caserio has opted instead to sign a high school team’s worth of offensive lineman to…short, prove-it deals. By the middle of the 2024 season, it was obvious that the line was a point of constant work and deliberation, eventually leading to the ouster of a successful offensive coordinator, Bobby Slowik. Week by week, the offensive line continued to kill them, and their attempts to patch it up mid-season were futile; So, to smithereens the whole thing will go!
In March 2025, Nick Caserio had one of the most eventful weeks of his Houston Texans tenure when he released Shaq Mason, traded Laremy Tunsil, and then traded Kenyon Green. Maybe Nick Caserio really had listened to fans and thought it’d be best to throw out the offensive line as part of a much needed Spring cleaning, but are we so confident that this was the right thing to do? Are we certain that the money saved by moving/releasing Shaq Mason and Laremy Tunsil is being used more effectively now?
Since 2023, Houston’s gambles have paid off time and time again, fostering a sense of optimism that permeates through the community. In three short years, Houston had gone from the deepest of holes in 2021 to the envy of the league in 2023, so you can’t blame any Texans fans for thinking we might just pull away from this offensive line dilemma on the better end of things. While a more cohesive line may seem like a certainty, there’s no guarantee four linemen on short-term deals will fix anything. To me, a rosy-outlook on these moves depicts a level of optimism that is a little too rich for me. Maybe I’m permanently stained by the Davis Mills era, but at some point, this optimism will have Houston flying directly into the sun. Some time ago, I heard the infamous quote, “If you start listening to the fans, it’s only a matter of time till you’re sitting in the seats with them,” and as exhausting as that quote may be to read, I wonder if Nick Caserio has just embodied it.
What do you think, though? I’m clearly suspicious of the whole rebuild, but that doesn’t mean you have to be! There’s plenty of reason to believe in Cam Robinson and Laken Tomlinson, and if they get enough work out of Ed Ingram and a rookie, this could actually be a successful rebuild. Are you more of an optimist than I? Or, are there a few draft prospects you’re desperate to see in Battle Red? Let us know down in the comments below!
GO TEXANS!!!!