Christian Covington to Houston Texans: Full Draft Pick Breakdown

The Houston Texans did their research on this year’s late-round draft prospects. On Saturday night, the Texans drafted someone who was likely to be the No. 1 pick in the CFL draft, defensive lineman Christian Covington.

With a year left of draft eligibility, Covington, a native of Vancouver, Canada, probably could’ve been a top-rank pick in the NFL, too. Instead electing to leave Rice a year early, Covington entered the draft knowing he had a chance to fall into the late rounds, and now he’s got a chance to prove he could be a steal.

The Texans obviously saw something in Covington that was special, because no one really expected them to draft a defensive lineman this year. You could point to Covington’s knee injury in 2014 for the reason other teams stayed away, but with such strong experience at the position, it’s not hard to see why the Texans saw positives.

Covington is known for his vision and rarely takes his eyes out of the backfield. He’s got a great stance and can break down the quarterback’s pocket from an inside lane. As a run defender, Covington gets into the gap to bring the ball-carrier down, which isn’t hard since he’s got huge 33-inch arms.

Matching up against tight ends and lead blockers, Covington looks at his best. He gets really low in his pads, and as long as he’s running in a straight line, he does have some speed behind him. Most of Covington’s strength comes through his lower body, so if he can add some muscle up top, knee injuries and discomfort should become less likely.

Since rookie minicamps start on Friday, the Texans will likely give Covington’s knee the once-over sometime next week. Since he is so aggressive, Covington does have the tendency to lose his balance sometimes and let offensive tackles get underneath him, so it’s important the Texans medical staff makes sure his knee is flexible and strong.

If Covington does pass that test like he should and moves into minicamp and impresses, it’s likely we could be hearing a lot about him during practices and into training camp. The Texans don’t need help on the defensive line, but with Louis Nix and Tevita Finau both sharing only three years of experience between them, there is definitely room for a rookie to come in and make an impact.

For years, Covington’s dream has been to make the NFL, and since battling a knee injury and also playing a handful of games with a cast on his right hand, he’s definitely showed resilience to earn an opportunity.

Although the Texans had some blockbuster picks in the first few rounds, selecting Covington could really be Rick Smith’s chance at saying he found a “steal” in 2015.