USC's Solomon Byrd, in an upset, finds his way onto NFL draft board

The USC Trojans are collecting more NFL draft picks on Day 3, but they are coming from unexpected sources. After Jarrett Kingston went off the board at No. 215 thanks to the San Francisco 49ers, Solomon Byrd was selected at pick No. 238 by the Houston Texans. Byrd was a decent player — nothing spectacular — for the Trojans. He did not have a memorable or imposing 2023 college football season. He was part of a bad USC defense under Alex Grinch. If you asked NFL draft experts whether Byrd was going to land on the draft board at all, most probably would have said no. If Byrd was going to be an NFL draft pick, however, everyone agreed it would be in the seventh round at the very back end of the draft. Still, this is an upset. The Houston Texas took a flier on Byrd and want to see what he can do.

If there is good news for Byrd beyond the draft pick itself, it is that he lands in Houston under a defense-first coach, DeMeco Ryans. Maybe Ryans can develop Byrd in ways USC could not.

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