APC Mock Draft 2016: Big XII players go to Washington and Houston at picks 21 & 22

Acme Packing Company's 2016 mock draft continues on with picks five and six in round one, as we release the first-round picks over the course of this week. The rules were simple: seven authors were assigned four or five teams apiece, and made the picks for each of those teams whenever they came up. We will pick the first three rounds of the draft.

Now we finally enter the realm of playoff teams, as pics 21 and 22 belong to teams that lost in the Wild-Card Round in January. Both of these picks ended up being prospects on offense from Big XII teams on opposite ends of the standings; one went just 3-6 in conference play, while the other went 7-2 and ended the year ranked 7th in the country.

Round 1, Pick 21: Washington selects OL Cody Whitehair, Kansas State

Here's APC's Doug Moore with his explanation for this pick:

Washington is rebuilding in the right direction. They made sure to retain Kirk Cousins and have made solid draft pick choices recently. While the team did spend their 1st round pick last year on an offensive lineman, Whitehair is a terrific choice. He is a versatile lineman that can theoretically play all five positions on the line (although, he does better on the inside than outside). They have three solid if not really good pieces on the line in Trent Williams, Morgan Moses, and Brandon Scherff. Spencer Long did not do terribly at guard but Kory Lichtensteiger did not perform well at center. Whitehair could easily slot into either of those two roles and be an immediate impact. The team could very well have Matt Jones as their lead back in 2016 and they'll want to make sure they can help sustain both a solid pass and run attack. That starts with the offensive line and if a team has a great offensive line, their offensive is more likely to run smoothly. Besides Whitehair's great talent, his versatility is also a great trait to possess throughout the season.

Round 1, Pick 22: Houston Texans pick WR Josh Doctson, TCU

Jon Barnett represents Houston's front office with this selection, and here's what he has to say about one of APC's favorite receiver prospects:

Houston grabbed Lamar Miller and Brock Osweiler in free agency. Now the Texans are going to look to give DeAndre Hopkins a running mate. Hopkins carried the entire pass catching load for the Texans last year. His targets were so massively ahead of the next closest player in Houston that the team needs to address this to protect his long-term availability. O'Brien will go the Patriot way and opt for hands over speed. This will put Doctson ahead of Will Fuller on their board.

Doctson is 6'2" and has great jumping ability. He is someone repeatedly praised for his work ethic and that is something O'Brien will definitely seek out. The biggest thing is he can out jump defenders and has a great ability to get his hands on the ball. With a young quarterback with only a few starts, not to mention a quarterback new to the team and system, it will be important to have someone besides Hopkins who can just go up and get the ball when Osweiler throws a 50/50 ball.

Mock Draft Summary