HOUSTON (SportsRadio 610)- If the Texans were interested in drafting Notre Dame tackle Blake Fisher, they didn’t show it.
After meeting with the team at the NFL’s scouting combine in Indianapolis, Fisher’s contact with them was minimal outside of a Zoom call a couple of weeks ago, so he did not expect to hear his name called when the Texans were on the clock with the 59th pick on Friday.
“You can kind of sense like, ‘Ok, this team could be in play, but I really didn’t get any signs from them,” Fisher said.
Of the five offensive line positions, Fisher has only played tackle, and with bookends Laremy Tunsil and Tytus Howard already in tow, there was no reason for Fisher to expect a call from the Texans.
“I think we've always been a big believer you can't have enough tackles on your football team,” Texans general manager Nick Caserio said Friday. “You need three or four tackles that you feel can go out there and play.”
Tunsil missed three games in 2023 while Howard only played in seven, and every snap he took came at guard. The Texans instead started veteran George Fant at right tackle for 13 regular season games plus both playoff games. 27-year Charlie Heck started the other four.
Howard is expected to move back to tackle in 2024. “Tytus is honestly one of the better tackles in the league,” Caserio said, but Fant rejoined the Seahawks last month, leaving just Heck and free agent signee David Sharpe.
“You all have seen his play,” Caserio said. “At some point they're going to have to play. Even going back to 20222, we had to play multiple tackles. (Tunsil) didn't play, had to move Tytus over. Charlie played. You're going to need tackles. Can't have enough good ones on your team.”
Now that he is part of the Texans, what should they expect from Fisher?
“My game? Just dominant,” Fisher said. “Always looking to find work. Always looking to find ways to help the boys next to me, and then on top of that, just finish.”
Fisher is the first true freshman to ever start at left tackle in Notre Dame history, but he spent the last two seasons playing right tackle, opposite fifth overall pick, Joe Alt. He has never played inside before, and Caserio says the Texans did not Fisher with the intention of moving him inside.
“You always want to put a player in a position to accentuate the things that he does well, and not just force feeding a guy. There's too many examples, too many times that you do that, it's not fair to the player. We'll see how it goes. Blake's experience specific to him is as a tackle. Treat him as a tackle. We always say they're a tackle until they're not.”
Tunsil, 29, and Howard, 26, are under contract through the 2026 season.
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