The 2026 NFL Draft is in the books, and now we get to the part of the draft process that probably gives many of us the shivers, as we harken back to this phase of our regular lives — the doling out of report cards!
Now, to be clear, report cards on the selection of players whose true worth won’t be known for a minimum of two years (likely, a couple years longer than that) has all the makings of a fool’s errand. However, we love rating things, ranking things, and generally judging things, so report cards hit us squarely where we itch.
To be clear, Houston Texans GM Nick Caserio thinks draft report cards are the dumbest part of this process. So, naturally, rabble rousing media members like myself love to accentuate them and exaggerate their worth. So let’s take a look at what five experts (or in the case of Pro Football Focus, group of experts) say about the Texans’ 2026 draft class. Here we go:
MEL KIPER, Jr., ESPN.com, GRADE: C+
NATE TICE / CHARLES McDONALD, YAHOO!, GRADE: B+
CHAD REUTER, NFL.com, GRADE: B
NATE DAVIS, USA TODAY, GRADE: B
PFF Staff, GRADE B-
You can click each of the report cards in the links of the letter grade above. For now, let’s look at some recurring themes among these experts:
They see Nick Caserio as one of the GMs more likely to “reach” on a player
There are definitely experts out there who think the Texans could have drafted Kaylen Rutledge a little bit later, but the pick that had most folks scratching their heads was the selection of Michigan TE Marlin Klein with the 59th overall pick. Kiper probably summed it up best when he said, “I was shocked to hear Marlin Klein‘s name in Round 2. I didn’t have him in the top 150, and he was the ninth-best tight end on my board. Klein caught 38 career passes, and he needs to work on his blocking.” Many Texans fans felt the same way, hearing a name they were totally unfamiliar with getting selected with the 59th overall pick.
Keylan Rutledge is a definite culture fit, even if they took him a little to high for some
For the last two years, the Texans have said they want to be a tough, physical football team, particularly in the run game. However, the actual players acquired never really embodied that. If they had, the Texans wouldn’t be turning over half the offensive line room this offseason. Rutledge is a different kind of dude. In the Yahoo! report card, Tice said, “Houston made an unorthodox pick in Keylan Rutledge at the bottom of the first round, but he makes sense as a hard-nosed player who fits in the Texans’ blocking scheme.” Davis called the Rutledge selection “Not sexy. But good teams invest in the trenches, where the Texans took G Keyland Rutledge at the back of Round 1,” and said he is “a blocker who might add a charge to a perennially average (at best) running game.”
Everyone loves the Kayden McDonald selection
The one thing everyone seems to agree on — the Texans made one of the best picks in the draft when they jumped up two spots to nab McDonald, a forecasted first round pick by many, who slipped to the second round. Reuter called McDonald “an excellent run defender who was worthy of a first-round selection.” Kiper said that McDonald is “a powerful 326-pounder, but he can move. Sheldon Rankins is occupying the middle, but there’s room for McDonald to see meaningful snaps in the Texans’ 4-3 defense.” Finally, PFF points out that McDonald “[landed] in the 99th percentile in run-stop rate and 95th percentile in run-defense grade” under their grading system. McDonald has an incredibly bright future.
What would the Texans’ Grade Point Average (GPA) be, based on these scores?
Yeah, if we’re gonna give out report cards, then we may as well come up with a grade point average for Caserio’s performance. So, using the first online GPA calculator that came up in a Google search (very scientific, I know), Caserio has a GPA of 2.86, which isn’t anything to brag about, but, as my kids remind me, C’s get degrees! Do they C’s get Super Bowls, though? That’s a tougher question.
