Houston Texans rookie Tytus Howard acclimating to speed of practice

Texans first-round pick Tytus Howard is facing a big jump in competition from Alabama State to the NFL in 2019.

The Houston Texans had one of the more surprising first-round picks in the 2019 NFL draft whey they selected Alabama State offensive tackle Tytus Howard. The small-school standout was projected as a Day-2 pick but his raw ability and upside were enough to entice Houston to grab him 23rd overall.

Coach Bill O’Brien talked about Howard’s progress after the club’s offseason team activities and said one of things the rookie is getting used to is the speed and pace of the Texans’ practices.

“I know he’s a very good kid (and) he works very hard,” O’Brien said via the Houston Chronicle. “He’s got good strength, good athleticism. He learns well. He’s just getting acclimated to the speed of how we practice. For every rookie, that’s a big jump. If he continues to work the way he’s been working, he’ll get better every day.”

How quickly Howard can adjust to the speed of the game will be the biggest factor that determines how effective he’ll be as a rookie. In fact, it was the biggest question in his scouting report, too. He didn’t play against NFL-level competition on a regular basis in college and he’s going to experience a pretty steep learning curve in 2019.

Howard said OTAs have kicked off that learning experience.

“It feels pretty good to compete with some of the older guys,” he said. “Just being behind them and watching and learning you can get a feel for how this thing goes. I’m finding out that the game’s a lot faster in the NFL than it was in college. It’s letting me know I still have a lot of work to do.”