HOUSTON – When Oregon offensive tackle Josh Conerly Jr. met formally with the Texans at the NFL scouting combine, he made a strong impression.
Now, the All-Big Ten Conference and first-team All-American selection is set to meet with the defending AFC South champions again.
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Conerly has multiple draft visits, including the Texans, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Commanders, Cincinnati Bengals, Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans Saints and the Chicago Bears. He met formally at the combine with a dozen teams, including the Texans, New York Jets, Tennessee Titans, New England Patriots, Las Vegas Raiders, Commanders and the San Francisco 49ers
The Texans are overhauling their offensive line after trading Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil to the Washington Commanders, signing veteran left tackle Cam Robinson, trading Kenyon Green to the Eagles, cutting offensive guard Shaq Mason, signing guard Laken Tomlinson and trading for guard Ed Ingram.
As coach DeMeco Ryans said at the combine, the Texans are “hitting the reset button” across the offensive line.
Conerly is regarded as one of the top offensive line prospects in the draft and is a projected first-round draft target. The Texans currently hold the 25th overall selection.
Conerly (6-foot-5, 311 pounds) is a Seattle native who was a five-star recruit for the Ducks. He earned a full-time starting job by his sophomore year and continued to develop into a powerful, consistent blocking presence over the past two seasons blocking for Dillon Gabriel and, previously, for Denver Broncos starting quarterback Bo Nix.
At the combine, Conerly displayed outstanding athleticism. He ran the 40-yard dash in 5.04 seconds with an impressive 1.71 10-yard split. He had a 34 1/2 inch vertical leap and an 8-7 broad jump. Conerly has run the 40-yard dash under five seconds in training.
“I think I’m pretty agile and able to be used in all schemes,” Conerly said at the combine. “I help out in a lot of different ways because you can get the ball out on the edge. I’m really good in gap and zone schemes. It doesn’t really matter. I bring a lot.”
Conerly, who has 33 1/2 wingspan with 10 3/8 hands, said he emulates several offensive linemen, including Rashawn Slater, Tunsil, Tyron Smith, Penei Sewell and Garrett Bolles, among others.
Conerly switched to offensive line in high school from the defensive line and he loves the switch.
“I know what everybody else on the field is doing,” Conerly said. “Playing those other positions, that always helped me understand what they’re doing.”
Conerly showcased his skills again at the Senior Bowl all-star game.
“It was a great week for me,” Conerly said. “I got out in front of teams and displayed my talents.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com.
