The Houston Texans supposedly told Kayvon Thibodeaux they were going to take him at No. 3.
Though Kayvon Thibodeaux landed in a terrific spot with the New York Giants at No. 5, apparently, he could have gone two picks higher to the Houston Texans at No. 3 in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Derek Stevens said on the set of VSiN Live that Thibodeaux received a phone call from the Texans saying they were absolutely going to take him at No. 3. Obviously, that did not happen, as Houston took former LSU standout defensive back Derek Stingley Jr. with the third selection on Thursday night. Clearly, there was some sort of misunderstanding or a complete communication breakdown.
Here is the video clip of Stevens explaining what happened between Houston and Thibodeaux.
Houston Texans could have had Kayvon Thibodeaux but messed that thing up
What seemed to have transpired was the Jacksonville Jaguars taking Travon Walker at No. 1 and the Detroit Lions rushing up to the podium to take Aidan Hutchinson at No. 2 had the Texans off-guard? Really? It seemed so obvious those would be the first two picks taken in last weekend’s draft, but here we are. While Stingley is a great player, Thibodeaux was once the top prospect.
Houston may have wanted to move down, but could not find a trade partner in time. Frankly, it seems like the Texans panicked and drafted the next star coming out of DBU. Though Stingley and Thibodeaux were two of the most scrutinized players taken in the first round throughout the draft process, luck favors the prepared, and the Texans are simply incapable of creating their own luck.
While calling a player to say you are going to draft him and then failing to follow through is not a good look, this is not really a surprise. It probably happens more often than people even realize, multiple times every NFL Draft. However, the Texans had one of the strangest evenings on draft night, and this story about their No. 3 overall pick only reflects that. The Texans are going to Texan.
Houston has many problems, but struggling with their own draft board should not be one of them.