The Texans are part of the Ivy League trend, a growing tendency by NFL team to evaluate and bring in players from some of the nation's top academic institutions.
The Texans conducted a private workout for Harvard All-American offensive tackle Cole Toner and tight end Ben Braunecker, sending offensive line coach Mike Devlin and tight ends coach John Perry to Massachusetts to audition them. They played with Baltimore Ravens starting fullback Kyle Juszczyk for the Crimson along with other NFL players, including the Indianapolis Colts' Zack Hodges.
The last four Harvard players drafted are six-time Pro Bowl center Matt Birk, special teams ace Isaiah Kacyvenski, New York Jets free agent quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and Juszczyk.