Texans Trade Up for Powerful Guard Rutledge

On April 24th, the Houston Texans made waves in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft by trading up two spots from their 28th.

Pick. They dealt their 69th and 167 selections to the Buffalo Bills to snag the 26th overall choice and also grabbed.

The Bills is 91st pick in return. Earlier this week, the draft kicked off with some wild surprises, like quarterbacks going early and unexpected runs on wide receivers.

The Texans eyed their shaky offensive line and pounced when the moment hit, jumping ahead to lock in their guy before others could.

Keelan Retledge, a tough guard out of Georgia Tech, brings serious power and grit to the trenches.

He's got that nasty combo blocking down Pat with quick hands and the drive to move defenders off the ball.

Sure, he needs work on balance and anchoring against speed rushers, but his versatility, even snapping at centerfitz Houston's knees like a glove.

Fans are buzzing about whether this shores up the line enough, especially with Laramie Tunsell's future up in the air.

Retledge could back up right away and push for starts, adding depth where it hurts most.

With rounds two through seven still ahead, the Texans hold solid ammo at picks like 38, 59, 91, 106, 100, 41, and 243, though keep wheeling and dealing to build out the roster, so stay locked in for more moves.

Stay locked in with NFL news today, AI powered updates.