The selection of Marlin Klein is a big moment for football in Germany. In the USA, however, the signing of the tight end is viewed much more critically. But how well does the talent fit in with the Houston Texans and what are his chances of playing time in the NFL?

It was one of the biggest surprises in this year’s draft: The Houston Texans selected Marlin Klein with the 59th pick in round two – even though many experts saw him more as a third- or fourth-round pick.

This makes the Cologne native the third-highest drafted German NFL player after Björn Werner (pick 24) and Sebastian Vollmer (pick 58). At skill positions, there has not yet been a German talent to hear his name called earlier. In the USA, however, many draft experts are extremely critical of the early selection of the 23-year-old.

“The most confusing pick of the entire draft so far” – draft experts tear Klein pick apart

Jared Koch, Texans reporter for “Sports Illustrated”, for example, gave the pick a C grade. He wrote: “He’s not quite as spectacular as some other potential tight ends who might make a bigger impact in the passing game. However, he fills a big need that Houston desperately wanted to fill in the early-to-mid rounds of the draft.“

And further, ”At the same time, there’s no question that seeing Klein’s name ahead of some other big names at the position is pretty surprising, and that makes the decision to take him with a pick in the top 60 seem a bit excessive.” According to Koch, it would have made more sense to select Klein in the 80th and 90th picks.

Brent Sobleski, NFL reporter for “Bleacher Report,” also criticized the selection, saying, “Much like their division rival three picks earlier, the Houston Texans jumped the gun a bit in selecting a tight end talent. However, this pick makes more sense because Klein offers more potential since he came to football late.” Still, he gave the pick a D grade.

Mel Kiper Jr, draft analyst for “ESPN”, had even stronger words: “Honestly, this pick was even worse than Boerkircher. He wasn’t even in my top 150 and barely made my top 10 tight end list. Klein hasn’t really gotten it together yet and needs to work on his strength in tackling situations and blocking.“

Mike Renner, draft analyst for ”CBS Sports”, went one step further. He rated the German’s selection as a D- and the worst of the second round. He wrote: “The most confusing pick of the entire draft so far. The Texans not only have a slew of recently drafted tight ends on their roster, but also Dalton Schultz and recent signee Foster Moreau.“

And further: ”Klein may be a little intriguing due to his rookie football role, but he’s a little too stiff to be considered a promising route runner.”.