Coming into the draft, the Houston Texans had a lot of questions that needed to be answered if they planned on having success during the 2022 NFL season.

Where would offensive lineman Tytus Howard lineup to begin the season?

Who will be the starting guards for head coach Lovie Smith?

Those are just a couple of concerns added to the plethora of things that the organization has on its plate. General manager Nick Caserio plugged at least one of the holes on Thursday when he took offensive lineman Kenyon Green from Texas A&M University with the 15th pick in the draft.

“He’s been a really productive, consistent player,” said Caserio. “He played tackle. He played guard. I would say he is probably a better guard than he is a tackle. I think he is probably more of an inside player, but we’ll put him in the mix.”

If any player outside of the second overall pick and Michigan native Aidan Hutchinson (Detroit Lions) had fate on their side, it would be Green. The five-star recruit grew up right outside the Houston city limits in Humble, Texas, and attended Atascocita high school.

“This is a blessing staying in Houston,” Green said to the media after being drafted. “I am a hometown kid. I am ready to work because I know where my roots are now, so I am ready to come to work, keep my head down and grind.”

The 2018 Touchdown Club of Houston Offensive Player of the Year committed to Texas A&M University, where he started all three years. He was a two-time Consensus All-American (2020,2021) and a finalist for the Lombardi Award (2021).

“Local kid, so I’m sure all of the Texans, fellow Texans, will be happy about that,” said Nick Caserio with a smile on his face at his press conference after the first round. “He’s a real solid kid. I would say blue collar, humble, soft-spoken, lunch pail. Shows up; doesn’t say much. Just kind of works his ass off and wants to play football.”

“That fits the profile of what we want from the players that walk in this building. I have a lot of respect for the A&M program, what they’ve done down there, what Jimbo (Fisher) has done down there.”

One thing that stood out to the Texans about Green is his ability to play multiple positions along the offensive line, like Tytus Howard. He is a natural run blocker with functional strength but also has the footwork and agility to be a dominant interior pass protector for a long time in the NFL.