The Houston Texans have officially slimmed down their roster to a select 53 names rolling into the 2026 season after a long training camp and preseason.
And within the results of who was able to make the Texans' roster, there were a lot of expected outcomes that wound up coming to fruition . There were also several cuts and elevations to the roster that caught many by surprise as well.
That's the nature of cutdown day. Based on what the coaches are seeing behind closed doors and throughout a long offseason process to be on the doorstep of Week 1, they found the best 53 players fit to make it on past the roster trimmings of Sunday.
And within those players the Texans did call up to the 53-man roster, these three guys were the ones that stood out as the most surprising of them all:
Jul 31, 2026; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans offensive lineman Sam Hagen (76) during training camp at Houston Methodist Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The Texans clearly proved to value tackle depth heading into Week 1 of the regular season. They decided to roster a staggering five tackles following their 53-man cutdown, which is notably higher than many projections had Houston finalizing their roster. And the most surprising in that mix is UDFA rookie Sam Hagan out of South Dakota State.
As for the reason why the Texans wanted to bring on that extra depth at tackle, it's easy to pinpoint: their potential starting right tackle Braden Smith is going to miss some time into the season with a foot injury he suffered in practice last week, and adding another guy at the positon doesn't hurt.
Hagan, who's started over 40 games in college between North Dakota and South Dakota State, was someone who performed well in camp, and now gets the call-up to be the Texans' OT5 for the time being.
Aug 13, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Trey Lance (5) runs from Houston Texans defensive end Sabastian Harsh (94) in the first quarter at Reliant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
After the Texans decided to bring in Jadeveon Clowney earlier this training camp, it became clear that their DE3 duties had been filled on the depth chart, and the remaining defensive end room would be battling to be the DE4 heading into the season.
And many expected that the best bet to claim that role was Dominique Robinson , the former four-year Chicago Bears edge rusher the Texans signed earlier this offseason. But Houston went in a different direction: signing NC State UDFA Sebastian Harsh to be their fourth defensive end.
Harsh played well in the preseason, finishing his two-game sample size with four tackles, one tackle for loss, a sack, and a pass deflection, and now gets rewarded in the form of a call-up to the 53-man roster.
Jul 30, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans cornerback Collin Wright (37) during training camp at Houston Methodist Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The reason for the surprise behind Collin Wright's elevation to the 53-man roster isn't because of a lack of talent or anything he didn't show in training camp.
In fact, when the Stanford UDFA was on the field earlier this month, he was one of the bigger standouts within this secondary, seeing notable praise stem from Derek Stingley and DeMeco Ryans as a playmaker and a ball hawk.
But Wright saw his preseason disrupted relatively quickly. He would suffer a soft tissue injury after his first exhibition game against the LA Chargers, and would proceed to miss the following practices and two preseason games before roster cuts. It became far from a certainty that he had shown enough in his limited reps, yet clearly, he has.
It's a credit to the belief the Texans have in Wright and what he's shown since arriving on the team back in April. Now, he's in line to be Houston's CB5, and likely a core piece on special teams.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/texans/onsi as Texans' 3 Most Surprising Players to Make 53-Man Roster .
