The Texans are expected to sign fifth-round defensive lineman Thomas Booker on Thursday after agreeing to terms with him on a four-year contract, according to a league source.
Booker reunites with former Stanford teammate Davis Mills, the Texans' starting quarterback.
"This is something that I've dreamed about since I was in middle school so this has been years, if not a decade in the making," Booker said during the draft. "I'm so excited to get down to Houston, help the team out, become a contributor any way I can, and again, link up with my college QB Davis."
The versatile Stanford standout visited the Texans prior to the NFL draft and did the Baltimore Ravens' local prospect day. He had Zoom meetings with the Tennessee Titans, Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots.
Booker (6-foot-3, 301 pounds) had 59 tackles, five for losses and a sack last season. He had 159 career tackles, 20 1/2 for losses, 9 1/2 sacks, eight passes defensed, one interception and a forced fumble.
At the NFL scouting combine, he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.94 seconds with a 7.33 three-cone drill and bench pressed 225 pounds 31 times.
"I think the Texans see me as a three-technique, a disruptive three-technique," Booker said. "The defense runs through that three-technique, so I want to be able to be that guy, that premier player that keeps the engine rolling in the Houston Texans defense. Let everything else come."
He was an all-state selection at Gilman High School in Baltimore and a track team captain, winning the state title in the shot put.
He was a finalist for the William V. Campbell award, the academic Heisman award. His father played college football at Wisconsin.
He's enthused about playing for Lovie Smith.
"It's so exciting," Booker said. "This is a team with so many possibilities to go up from. I'm just excited to add to that locker room in any way I can, culture-wise, football-wise, off the field as well. So this is something I'm super excited about, specifically with the coaching staff, with Lovie, with my D-line coaches. Getting to talk to them at the top-30 visit is one of the best things I got to do the entire offseason, so I'm excited to get working with them and grind."
Aaron Wilson is a Pro Football Network reporter and analyst and a contributor to Sports Talk 790.
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