Albuquerque – Former University of New Mexico running back Jarrod Baxter was selected by the expansion Houston Texans with the first pick (136th overall) in the fifth round on day two of the NFL Draft. Baxter was the 7th of 13 draft picks for the Texans, and was the fourth fullback taken in the draft. Baxter will join former Lobos Larry Davis and Casey Tisdale on the Texans roster.
Baxter rushed for 907 yards and scored 11 touchdowns his senior season, and leaves UNM as the Lobos’ 7th all-time leading rusher with 2,090 career rushing yards. He is the 10th Lobo player to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a career. Baxter was a two-time team captain, and was voted team MVP in 2001.
The Texans selected Fresno State quarterback David Carr with the first pick of the draft, and selected Florida wideout Jabar Gaffney and San Diego State lineman Chester Pitts in the second round. Running back Jonathan Wells from Ohio State was taken just ahead of Baxter in the fourth round.
In other draft day news, linebacker Gary Davis signed a free agent contract with the Baltimore Ravens.
Houston Texans Draft Recap
|1 (1) |David Carr | QB| Fresno State||2 (33) |Jabar Gaffney |WR | Florida||2 (50) |Chester Pitts| OT| San Diego State||3 (66)| Fred Weary| OG |Tennessee||3 (83)| Charles Hill |DT |Maryland||4 (99)| Jonathan Wells| RB| Ohio State||5 (136)| Jarrod Baxter| FB| New Mexico||5 (153) |Ramon Walker| S| Pittsburgh||6 (173)| DeMarcus Faggins| CB| Kansas State||6 (190)| Howard Green| OT| LSU||7 (212)| Lavar Glover| DB| Cincinnati||7 (229)| Greg White| DE| Minnesota||7 (261)| Ahmad Miller| DT| UNLV|