And just like that, a surprisingly brisk three hours later, the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft is officially in the books.

If you had “Nick Caserio was obviously going to trade up in the first round. Obviously,” in the pool, please come forward to claim your prize. It’s me, I called it. No, not really, but the Texans did trade up, even if it was a pretty small leap by Caserio standards.

The Houston Texans went into tonight with the 28th overall pick and a glint of hope in its eye. As the draft went on, there were some things that were expected (Fernando Mendoza going first to Las Vegas, Roger Goodell’s exact same opening “c’mon let’s hear it” that he’s given every year since he discovered how truly unpopular he is) and some that weren’t (Carnell Tate to the BESFs, Ty Simpson being drafted by the Rams WHUUUUUT??).

But then the 26th pick rolls around and the Texans decide to trade up with the Buffalo Bills. The Texans gave up their 69th and 167th picks to move up to spots and get Buffalo’s 91st pick.

All of that so the the Texans could draft Keylan Rutledge, a guard from Georgia Tech.

With more about what we can expect from Rutledge, here is the NFL’s scouting report on him as written by Houston’s own Lance Zierlein:

Rutledge is a burly, experienced right guard with excellent contact pop and a rugged field demeanor that will appeal to offensive line coaches. He excels as a drive/combo blocker, where he displaces defenders, but he has the athleticism to operate in all run-blocking concepts. He understands technique but suffers from occasional rough patches due to inconsistent balance and body control. His pass protection range is average, and edge leakage could be a concern against NFL athletes. Rutledge has the toughness to earn a role as a good backup with starting potential.

Works with smoothness and timing on combo blocks up to linebacker.

Generates knock-back pop and creates movement on double-teams.

Sustains blocks for as long as possible and gets his licks in at the end of the rep.

Gets into his pass sets with ready hands to unload on target.

Maintains hand connection when moving with rush attempts on his edge.

Leaning/lunging into pass punch creates early losses for him.

Struggles to sink a sudden anchor when bull rush gets an early lead.

Recovery ability is subpar due to tight hips and heavy feet.

Inconsistent with base width and inside hands as run blocker.

Has issues tagging moving targets cleanly in small spaces.

Judging by Rutledge’s comfort with playing center, as he told ESPN’s Jonathan Alexander he was, one of the selling points, aside from his nastiness on the line, was his ability to play what is undoubtedly now the weakest position of the offensive line.

But wait, we’re not done yet. We have two more days full of fun and adventure and pick-swapping still to come.

As of right now, here are the Texans’ current remaining draft picks: