CFB Week 13 Scouting Roundup: Five Players to Keep an Eye on for the Houston Texans

Nov 28, 2022 - 9:19 PM

Week 13 of college football is in the books with some big-time performances that deserve a mention and a look from the Houston Texans, who currently hold two premium first-round picks in the next draft. Let’s dive right into it!

Bryce Young, Quarterback, Alabama

Rather than an analysis on Bryce Young’s performance against Auburn, I think it makes more sense to highlight what separates him from C.J. Stroud. This season, without any top pass catcher on roster, Young has still displayed that he can carry the whole offense and produce with his perfect game within the structure and creativity outside of it. Stroud played with the best pass catching corps in college football but when the he needed to step up, he wasn’t able to do it as much as Young. Stroud doesn’t offer much outside of structure and that’s a significant red flag in today’s NFL. While Stroud looks like a system quarterback that reminds me of Geno Smith and will not have as good of an offensive line and wide receivers as he had at Ohio State, Young looks like a plug and play signal caller who can perform through adversity and elevate whichever offense he plays in.

Jalin Hyatt, Wide Receiver, Tennessee

Considering that the Texans will take their future franchise quarterback early in the draft, adding a top-tier deep threat would make sense in order to give to the signal caller a reliable game breaker who can make the difference downfield. Hyatt is a speedster who can impose himself physically at the catch point: Bryce Young would have in Hyatt what he had at Alabama in Jameson Williams. Hyatt is a big play waiting to happen with his impressive speed and burst.

Trenton Simpson, Linebacker, Clemson

The Texans need to make significant improvements on both sides of the ball: adding a tone-setter like Trenton Simpson with their second first-round pick could make sense. He’s a complete linebacker who plays a lot like San Francisco’s Fred Warner: he can truly do it all and he’s a tremendous athlete with high football IQ. Houston needs good football players and Simpson would be a no-brainer.

Dalton Kincaid, Tight End, Utah

This season Kincaid has emerged as a big-time security blanket at Utah. If the Texans decides to ultimately add a quarterback with their first pick, their number one focus should be of making him as comfortable as possible in the NFL, and that means adding to the mix a significant amount of weapons at his disposal. In the short and intermediate areas of the field, as well as in the end zone, Kincaid is a reliable target who’s physical but also dynamic with the ball in his hands. He would be a reasonable pick on day two.

Zacch Pickens, Defensive Tackle, South Carolina

Even though the Texans have to make their biggest improvements on offense, the defensive line is still among the worst in the league. Zacch Pickens would be a huge presence in the trenches as a 3-tech able to work well both as a pass rusher and run defender. He’s got interesting potential and the Texans could snag him on day two or early day three.