(SportsRadio 610) -- With all of the Texans' roster needs, it's possible they could be looking to trade down from the No. 67 overall selection for additional future picks.
This idea was presented by Texans analyst and sideline reporter John Harris, who joined Clint Stoerner & "The Show" on Tuesday to preview the NFL Draft.
"I could see them definitely, definitely moving down," Harris said. "Unless there's a player that just falls for some reason and you're like 'wait a second, we've got this guy as a top 15 pick on our board and he's now there at 67, they may jump all over that. The way I would look at it is I've got four or five guys I could get, let's go see if we can get something else. Let's go get a little more bang for our buck. Because how many times have we said it? You need more draft picks, period. You need more young, cheap labor in this organization going forward. So I think that's one way than can do it.
"I won't be shocked to see them pick at 67. That's where they're scheduled to pick. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see them pick lower and get a little draft capital to go with it."
So, what are the Texans' needs to address in the draft? There are plenty. But the main one Harris points out is at cornerback.
Last season, the Texans had only two interceptions from their corners -- Bradley Roby and Vernon Hargreaves had one apiece. Defensive end J.J. Watt tied them for the team lead with one interception.
The Texans need someone who can cover. While they drafted John Reid out of Penn State last year, he did not see the field much his rookie season and is still unproven.
None of the Texans' corners are signed past 2022, indicating a clear need to address the position's long term future.
"To me, we've got to find somebody that can cover," Harris said.
Harris, who scouts and covers the draft as thoroughly as anyone in Houston sports media, suggested cornerback Ifeatu Melifonwu from Syracuse, who's been projected as high as a second-round pick but could be available at 67.
The Texans also need some size along the defensive line to create some disruption, whether eating up blocks or getting up field, Harris said.
Harris also said if he went with a quarterback, it would be Texas A&M's Kellen Mond, but he would be surprised if the Texans went in that direction.
Earlier this month, Texans general manager Nick Caserio seemed open to the idea of trading up or down, depending on different scenarios.
"So part of our draft, I would say preparation is to look at different scenarios, how far could we actually move relative to the resources that we currently have in place?" Caserio said April 16. "So I think the most important thing is always being prepared to pick whenever you're scheduled to pick, and if there's an opportunity to move up or down, we'll be flexible, we'll be open-minded and we'll just try to make best use of the resources that we have.
"I would say there's no set formula of going up or going down, and it's very player-specific and very player-driven. If you feel you might be at risk of potentially losing a player and there's a player that you really like, OK, maybe it's worth moving five or six spots and then what's the cost associated with doing that? So again, we are going to have to look at our picks, what we have, what gives us the opportunity to move up. If we want to move down and we think we can move back and acquire the same player, there's some risk involved in that. You try to weigh everything and just try to make a good decision whenever you have to pick."
