Houston Texans 2018 Draft Ranking Is Very Low

HOUSTON, TX — The Houston Texans didn't make a selection in this year's NFL Draft until the fourth pick of the third round, and the team drafted eight players in the final five rounds. The Texans seem to have the right pieces to the puzzle on both sides of the ball. It's hard to gage that on last year's record, but injuries depleted the team last fall.

Although Chad Reuter of NFL.com gave the Texans a grade of A last weekend, the team finds itself near the bottom of the 2018 Draft rankings. NFL Media draft analysis Lance Zierlein on nfl.com ranked the Texans 28th out of 32 teams.

In his analysis, Zierlein wrote: "GM Brian Gaine said before the draft that they they wanted to get much faster across the board, and they did just that despite not having a first- or second-round pick. Reid was a steal in Round 3. They added more speed with Akins and Coutee. Ejiofor slid in the draft due to a shoulder issue, but he could pay off in a huge way as a sixth-rounder. This was a solid haul despite their limited draft capital."

That sounds like the team should be ranked higher than 28th. Here's the haul that the Texans brought in:

Round 3 • Pick 4 (68th overall) — Justin Reid, Safety, Stanford
Round 3 • Pick 16 (80) — Martinas Rankin, Center, Mississippi State
Round 3 • Pick 34 (98) — Jordan Akins, Tight End, Central Florida
Round 4 • Pick 3 (103) — Keke Coutee, Wide Receiver, Texas Tech
Round 6 • Pick 3 (177) — Duke Ejiofor, Defensive End, Wake Forest
Round 6 • Pick 37 (211) — Jordan Thomas, Tight End, Mississippi State
Round 6 • Pick 40 (214) — Peter Kalambayl, EDGE, Stanford
Round 7 • Pick 4 (222) — Jermaine Kelly, Defensive Back, San Jose State

Zierlein's top team in the Draft was the New York Giants, followed by the Dallas Cowboys at No. 2. The New Orleans Saints were last at No. 32.

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Image: Justin Reid of Stanford catches the ball as Justin Bickham of Rice attempts to spoil during the College Football Sydney Cup match between Stanford University (Stanford Cardinal) and Rice University (Rice Owls) at Allianz Stadium on August 27, 2017 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Brook Mitchell/Getty Images)