25. Houston Texans: Matthew Golden, WR, Texas
The Houston Texans officially lost wide receiver Stefon Diggs in NFL Free Agency on a big-money deal to the New England Patriots. We don’t know what the future holds for talented young receiver Tank Dell after his latest major injury.
The wide receiver position should be considered a major area of need for the Houston Texans right now and they have basically their pick of the litter here. Emeka Egbuka – CJ Stroud’s former Ohio State teammate – is off the board here but Matthew Golden wouldn’t have to move too far to join the Texans.
The speedy, sure-handed slot receiver has outstanding toughness and ball dominance at the position and would be an ideal complement to the big-bodied WR1 Nico Collins.
26. Los Angeles Rams: Carson Schwesinger, LB, UCLA
The Los Angeles Rams are another team that you might look at in round one to address a need rather than just take the best player on the board. They don’t have a pick after this until later in the third round, so they need to make it count.
The Rams could be considered a likely landing spot for the next best cornerback on the board here, which in this case would be Maxwell Hairston, Trey Amos, or possibly Shavon Revel Jr. They could also add a receiver like Tetairoa McMillan to be the long-term pairing with Puka Nacua.
With Jalon Walker and Jihaad Campbell already off the board, the Rams decide instead to take the best remaining off-ball linebacker, UCLA standout Carson Schwesinger. We don’t often see true off-ball linebackers going in the first round these days but Schwesinger is an absolute machine and will work extremely well behind the revamped defensive line of the Rams.