I agree with your point. I just don't have faith that either Winston or Mariota are going to be a Franchise QB. And the risk if they are a bust is too great.

I'm not convinced that either Winston or Mariota is the real deal. If they are, there's no way they are lasting to the #16 pick but if they DO happen to get to the #16 pick and we decided we don't want the risk, I'm *immediately* on the phone with Philly, Cleveland and a few others on what they would give for a trade down. SOMEBODY is going to want to jump in and grab them. Then the only question becomes what price is enough for us to pull the trigger on a trade.

I routinely get offers in Fanspeak (again, not exactly real life) to trade down into the 20-23 range for a 1st and a 2nd and I usually accept because Jaelen Strong is usually available (IMO, he's equal to Parker) and then I have the ability to add another very strong player like an ILB, a S, or a C without waiting for the third round.

The results are rather satisfying.

Walter has his newest mock up with a few of the extra picks in it. But most of the picks have not changed.

16 Houston Texans: Todd Gurley, RB, Georgia
51 Houston Texans: Phillip Dorsett, WR, Miami 82 Houston Texans: Sean Hickey, OT/G, Syracuse 116 Houston Texans: Henry Anderson, DE/DT, Stanford 152 Houston Texans: Cody Riggs, CB, Notre Dame 174 Houston Texans: Xzavier Dixon, DE/OLB, Alabama

DraftTek.com

16 Jaelen Strong Arizona St WRF 6'4" 205
51 Denzel Perryman Miami ILB 6'0" 240
82 David Johnson Northern Iowa RBF 6'4" 250
116 Charles Gaines Louisville CB 5'11" 175
152 Tyler Kroft Rutgers TE 6'6" 240
174 Leterrius Walton Central Michigan DT34 6'5" 319
194 Xavier Williams Northern Iowa DT43 6'3" 309
211 Kenny Bell Nebraska WRF 6'1" 197
216 Ray Drew Georgia DE34 6'4" 276
235 Xzavier Dickson Alabama OLB34 6'3" 265

These drafters must not be Alfred Blue fans. Our star RB is too banged up so let's use our top draft pick on a banged up RB??? :confused: Let someone else take that risk. We don't need to. If we *must* draft a RB in the first, trade down and get Gordon.

Unless we go get some good veteran to fill AJ's shoes, then my pick in the first has to be Parker or Strong, hopefully Strong. Jaelen is a similar receiver to AJ in several ways and simply lacks the polish. Those who remember AJ his first few seasons remember the drops and the failures to get open at key moments. Strong will struggle with acceleration, just like AJ did but, otherwise, he's the full package and not a head case like some of the wideouts. He's bigger and faster than Devante Parker, just not as quick off the snap.

Of the guys further down the draft board, my eye is on Antwan Goodley of Baylor. He has kick return experience, lightning fast and a boxer's mentality so despite being 5-10, he's perfect for special teams and sneaking into 4-wide packages when someone tries to cover him with a safety. He'll be the deep threat opponents didn't see coming.

I do want an ILB in the first two rounds and am not totally worried if that player is McKinney, Perryman, Kendricks or Anthony but my reading is that Perryman is the worst of these in coverage.

So, the Draftek guy is much closer to what I want than Walter. I want us to go WR-ILB in the draft. We need to add a center if we don't add a free agent and I'd like to see some D-line and secondary help plus a tight end.

RB is way down my list and so is OT since we just shelled out money for Newton. Had we let Newton walk, I would probably put RT as a second-day priority.

I may be wrong on this, I believe DraftTek uses local guys for each city to get a better feel for the teams needs. That is a Texans fans comments in the quoted area of the 2nd post.

That would explain the better coverage of needs on DraftTek compared to Walters.

I am a huge fan of these 2 players. It would not surprise me if Anderson went in the 2nd round and Dorsett lasted until the 3rd.

Fanspeak 3/26 with no trades
 

I tried to trade down from 1-16 but could not so this is what my Texans draft might look like without any trades:

1-16 Jaelen Strong, WR, Arizona State. Parker was still on the board but I like Strong slightly better.
2-51 Bernardrick McKinney, ILB, Miss. St. Strong presence that goes sideline to sideline and can pass rush. A great complement to Cushing inside.
3-82 Maxx Williams, TE, Minnesota. Shocked to find him here since he's the consensus best TE in the draft. A slower than expected 40 time at the combine seems to be why he's dropping a little. Still, if this seems unrealistic, I could take 6-7 Jesse James from Penn State as the TE here and be just as happy.
4-116 B.J. Finney, C, Kansas St. I was hoping a better center would fall here but the talent really drops off after Finney.
5-152 Charles Gaines, CB, Louisville Secondary help and someone expected to go sooner than mid-5th.
5-174 (comp) Antwan Goodley, WR, Baylor As mentioned above, this is the late-round WR I want because of his kick-return skills.
6-194 Adrian Amos, S, Penn St. One of O'Brien's kids and provides secondary depth.
6-211 (comp) Miles Diffenbach, G, Penn St. Supposedly, this was one of O'Brien's favorite Nittany Lion players. Gutty but lacking in NFL talent. This regime's Kasey Studdard, he is part sentimental pick and part practice squad emergency material.
6-216 (comp) Malcolm Brown, RB, Texas This is about where I'm looking for third-RB depth. Brown isn't excellent at anything but does everything reasonably well - runs, blocks, catches passes in the flat. What you want from a third-stringer.
7-235 James Castleman, DT, Oklahoma State I meant to address the d-line sooner than this. If I had traded down in the first, I would be grabbing one in the third or fourth.

It is my opinion that the team needs an upgrade at ILB. I was really wanting to sign Sean Weatherspoon or Mason Foster. The Texans re-signed Dent instead.

That being said, I am not excited about this draft class to fill the hole/need. In the 3-4, the player needs to be big enough to shed blocks of OL. He needs to be fast enough to cover TE & RBs. He has to have instincts to get to the ball and tackle once he gets there. In essence, a player that isn't found in this class. McKinney and Anthony have the size, but I am concerned about what BPA we would be passing on to fill a need. My favorite prospects are Ben Heeney, Jake Ryan, and Bryce Hager simply because of the value of when it appears that they will be selected. Now, if we got either McKinney or Anthony in the 3rd, I'll be okay with that.

Well, Gregory will be there at #16 if we want a pot-smoking, dimwitted Edge guy. Always amazed at these idiots that fail a drug test they know full well is coming.

Which means that the top 3 WRs move up draft boards as well as Shane Ray, Bud Dupree, and Eli Harold. Gregory comes off my board in essence, because I won't draft him until the 2nd round now.

I'm more concerned about OLB than ILB since there's usually only one ILB on the field anyway. Of course I do not assume Clowney will play, ever. And for some reason I believe that Cushing will be better next year than last year.

Anthony Chickillo is my "Value pick" but if he is off the board before our 3rd pick and we haven't selected an OLB in the 1st or 2nd, then we are screwed.

I thought that this was interesting and would share. I ran a mock draft where I selected for the Colts since Chuck Pagano isn't getting a contract extension and needs to show that he can be competitive against the Patriots and improve their Defense. It was essentially a "Fill The Needs" Draft. I selected the following:
29 NT Jordan Phillips
61 DE Xavier Cooper
93 OLB Za'Darius Smith
128 OC Mitch Morse
165 ILB Jake Ryan
205 RB Karlos Williams
207 CB Justin Coleman
244 OT Andrew Donnel
255 DE Ray Drew

The reason I am sharing this here is to show who the Computer selected for the Texans:
16 WR Kevin White
51 ILB Stephone Anthony
82 OC Ali Marpet
116 FS Durrell Eskrine
152 OT Tyrus Thompson
175 TE E.J. Bibbs
195 RB Josh Robinson
211 DE Deion Barnes
216 QB Sean Mannion
235 WR Jordan Taylor

I'm not Really happy with my OLB who was available in the 3rd, but the Texans didn't get much in my opinion with Penn State prospect Deion Barnes.

That's not a bad draft. I would certainly be happy with that, especially 1-2.

I noticed that Fanspeak has added the CBS Sports big board, which is one I respect more than most of the ones I've seen.

I did my usual trade down in the first and still had Jaelen Strong on the board to select. Now I had two 2nds and Maxx Williams was still there so I took him along with Denzel Perryman. I've also begun trading back up into the lower third round for my natural 4th, 5th and 6th rounders. This allowed me to get a D-lineman and a center. With the remaining comp picks, I took my usual low-round favorites.

The thought of John Simon or Jason Ankrah playing opposite of Merciless scares me. I like Maxx Williams, but would draft an OLB before TE. I just absolutely need one by the third round and am nervous there is not going to be any to be found when we pick. Maybe I love Anthony Chickillo more than any other GMs, but I am pissed whenever he is off the board when I make my 3rd round pick.

Just wanted to see what I could do with the CBS draft board and committed myself to not drafting Chickillo until the 3rd round. The first couple of times I drafted Phillip Dorsett in the 3rd but couldn't get any decent OLBs in the 4th. This was my favorite Mock draft today :
#16 WR Amari Cooper
#51 TE Clive Walford
#82 OLB Anthony Chickillo
#116 RB T.J. Yeldon
#152 ILB Jake Ryan
#175 NT Derrick Lott
#195 OT Andrew Donnal
#211 CB Craig Mager
#216 WR Antwan Goodley
#235 CB Justin Coleman

Last one for the day:
#16 WR Jaelen Strong
#51 WR Breshad Perriman
#82 OLB Anthony Chickillo
#116 WR Phillip Dorsett
#152 ILB Jake Ryan
#175 NT Derrick Lott
#195 CB Craig Mager
#211 TE Nick Boyle
#216 Damian Swan
#235 QB Shane Carden

I couldn't believe that Perriman was still available after running 4.25 at his Pro Day. Considered taking him @ #16, so snatched him in the 2nd round. With 2 excellent prospects at WR, I thought about Jesse James at #116, but love Dorsett in the slot. We may go 4 or 5 Wide with this draft. Jake Ryan is my value ILB and I love Derrick Lott due to his size and quickness. Mager and Swan provide depth and special teams. I love Carden and couldn't let him go undrafted.

Bob, when you trade down who are people trading up to get?

I think it is more positioning than strategy. The simulator is just simulating what it thinks is a fair trade. It's probably asking too much to ask it to actually target a player since the trade proposal normally comes at the start of the round, not when your team is on the clock.

But that leads into my latest draft which is using the CBS Sports big board and involves three trades to maximize second-day picks, knowing we have comp picks we can't trade with.

1) Traded 1-16 to Pittsburgh for 1-22 and 2-24 (PIT takes Eli Harold, OLB)
2) Traded 2-19 to Green Bay for 2-30 and 3-30 (GB takes D'Joun Smith, CB)
3) Traded 4-17, 5-16 and 6-19 to Seattle for 3-31*

* - I proposed this trade. The other two were computer-generated offers.

That leaves one pick in the first, 2 in the lower 2nd, 3 in the lower 3rd, no 4ths, 1 comp in the lower 5th, 2 comps in the lower 6th and one 7th. It's still 10 draft picks but more of them in the 2nd and 3rd where better quality resides.

With that, I chose:

1-22 (from PIT) Jaelen Strong, WR, Arizona St.
2-24 (from PIT) Maxx Williams, TE, Minnesota
2-30 (from GB) Denzel Perryman, ILB, Miami (FL)
3-18 Lorenzo Mauldin, OLB, Louisville (tweener DE-LB for 3-4 defense)
3-30 (from GB) Eric Rowe, CB-S, Utah (three yrs as FS, played CB as Sr.)
3-31 (from SEA) Andy Gallik, C, Boston College
5-39 (comp) Antwan Goodley, WR-KR, Baylor
6-35 (comp) Joey Mbu, NT, Houston
6-40 (comp) Miles Dieffenbach, OG-C, Penn St.
7-18 Damian Swann, CB, Georgia

This hits pretty much all our needs other than a franchise QB (yeah, right). I think a RB can be found as a UDFA. I don't get many chances to pick Rowe but he's a guy I like as guy with corner and free safety skills - a hard tackler who can fill either need in a pinch. Lacks elite CB skills but could be a FS starter someday. Mauldin is big for a LB (6-4, 260) but has been played as both DE and OLB at Louisville which makes him a good fit in a 3-4 and be insurance if Clowney can't go. Mbu is your traditional fireplug nose tackle who is not a pass rusher but has enough lateral quickness to occupy blockers and stuff the run. Also had two interceptions in college.

I did the same thing and drafted the following:

#24 NT Malcolm Brown
#56 WR Breshad Perriman
#63 CB Kevin Johnson
#82 WR Phillip Dorsett
#94 RB Tevin Coleman
#95 ILB Ben Heeney
#175 DE Derrick Lott
#225 RB Karlos Williams
6-40 CB Justin Coleman
7-18 OL Andrew Donnal

Unfortunately, Chickillo was drafted right after Perriman and before Johnson. I like the idea of the trades you made.

My First 2015 Draft
 

This is one of my favorite times of the year. I've been reading and studying alot of the drafts here and finally decided to do one.

#16 S Landon Collins
#51 OLB Eli Harold
#82 WR Chris Conley
#116 OLB/ILB Jordan Hicks
#152 TE Jesse James
#174 DE Ray Drew
#195 CB Damian Swann
#211 OT Daryl Baldwin
#216 3-4DE Marcus Hardison
#235 WR Mario Alford

UDFA Gabe Wright

I'm a big fan of Landon Collins and would love to add him to the backfield. I can't recall the Texans ever in their existence having a true stud at safety. He has the pedigree and the experience you look for, and with us being in nickle and dime most of the time, it's a no brainer to get BPA at the S position. He can tackle RB's, he can cover TE's, he can do it all.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Pl6_FcMQfQ

Harold is a great OLB with a good motor and plus athleticism.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggykZAy4OvU

Conley is a must add, IMO, great hands, world class speed and athleticism, and is a top notch character that fits what the organization looks for.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmPVipftmes

Hicks has been a stud at Texas, I thought about Kwon Alexander here, but went with Hicks because he's got no prior ACL's.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HdnO8FsAf0

BOb is familiar with Jesse James from his days at Penn State, and finally shoring up the TE position is something he's mentioned.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yg7nTsBWZNg

Drew and Swan are quality SEC players that give us depth, sure tackling, and speed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_jlJGscK_0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alreaQlU3U8

Baldwin was the ROT for Ohio State and did an great job in his first year to play OT, switching over from the DL. He'll be our swing tackle, but mainly provide some great camp competion for DN.

Hardison is a sleeper, but don't think he'll last that long. And Alford is a slot WR, with ST/return potential. He's small (5' 8.5") a real burner, a polishished route runner and scored more TD's this year than Kevin White, his teammate.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOxNV_oVerQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umITie6jAlI

Being that their isn't usually a big market for NT's, and we already have two under contract, I took a flyer on Wright and hope he can either light a fire under Nix, or replace him all together.

I have seen several Mock Drafts where Landon Collins is the Texans pick at #16. To me he is a slight upgrade to D.J. Swearinger and they signed Rahim Moore. I'm not arguing that he isn't going to be a good player, I just am not sure how much better he makes the team.

As for Eli Harold, it won't surprise me to see him drafted in the first round. It would be a pleasant surprise to see him available by the time we draft in the 2nd.

Marcus Hardison may fall to where you have selected him, but I don't see any reason why Gabe Wright would go undrafted.

Texans website has BOB'S wishlist.

1. Special teams, returners and coverers.

2. OL depth

3. WR depth

4. Safety depth

so, we shall see if this list relates to actual draft or not.

Why would they be honest about their draft needs? Nobody else in the NFL tells the truth this time of year?

Let's draft Ted Ginn Jr 2.0. Better yet, let's trade up to do it.

As an aside, if you look at three consecutive years of drafts and have only one player who has provided you with anything nearing good, consistent production then, yes, I do start to wonder about the competence of the general manager.

Yes, that was classic.

I'm beginning to think our GMs just need to read the label. The Texans draft a guy whose last name starts C-L-O-W-N while the Astros draft a pitcher named Aiken first overall who has since needed Tommy John surgery. The previous Astros regime drafted a kid in the first round whose last name started with B-O-G-U-S. How much warning do these folks need to stay away?

#24 WR Devante Parker
#56 DE Henry Anderson
#63 OLB Anthony Chickillo
#82 OL Donovan Smith
#94 WR Tyler Lockett
#95 ILB Ben Heeney
#175 RB Tyler Varga
#211 QB Shane Carden
#216 DB Craig Mager
#235 DB Damian Swann

This DraftTek draft is interesting

16 Jaelen Strong Arizona St WRF 6'4" 205
51 Quinten Rollins Miami (OH) CB 6'0" 203
82 Ameer Abdullah Nebraska RBC 5'9" 194
116 Ben Heeney Kansas ILB 6'0" 231
152 Lynden Trail Norfolk State OLB34 6'7" 269
175 Xavier Williams Northern Iowa DE34 6'3" 309
195 Jesse James Penn State TE 6'7" 254
211 J.J. Nelson UAB WRS 5'11" 160
216 Tevin McDonald Eastern Washington FS 5'11" 200
235 Vince Mayle Washington State WRF 6'3" 219

The kid at 152 is really interesting.
This is his JR highlight reel
And he can play TE

16 NT Malcolm Brown Texas 6' 2 3/8" 319
51 DE Henry Anderson Stanford 6'6 1/4" 294
82 WR Phillip Dorsett Miami 5'10" 185
116 OT Cedric Ogbuehi Texas A&M 6'5" 306
152 ILB Jake Ryan Michigan 6'2" 240
175 RB Tyler Varga Yale 5'11" 222
195 QB Shane Carden East Carolina 6'2" 218
211 CB Craig Mager Texas St 5' 11 1/2" 201
216 RB Zach Zenner S. Dakota St 5' 11" 223
235 WR Antwan Goodley Baylor 5' 10" 209

DraftSite.com has the following 7 round mock with comp picks.

16 Houston Malcom Brown DT Texas 6' 3" 325
51 Houston Hroniss Grasu OC Oregon 6' 3" 300
82 Houston Mario Edwards Jr* DE Florida State 6' 3" 280
116 Houston Ibraheim Campbell S Northwestern 5' 10" 210
152 Houston Josh Harper WR Fresno State 6' 1" 190
175 Houston MyCole Pruitt TE Southern Illinois 6' 2" 250
195 Houston Robert Myers OT Tennessee State 6' 5" 330
211 Houston Antwan Goodley WR Baylor 5' 10" 210
216 Houston Tye Smith CB Towson 5' 10"
235 Houston Gary Nova QB Rutgers 6' 2" 225

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDgAKPjS8EE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZatnTkhT8Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4qdjGrs-4A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGZVKLiIxQ8

Is it a requirement that people who post highlight vids on YouTube have to dub over them with really crappy music that makes you want to puke? Just asking. How does this enhance the impact of what you're watching?

Looks like some of these draft sites are starting to come around to our way of thinking.

4/2 Fanspeak mock
 

Here's my latest using the Fanspeak draft board:

1) Traded 1-16 to Pittsburgh for 1-22 and 2-24.
2) Traded 4-17, 5-16 and 6-19 to Seattle fir 3-31.

1-22, (from PIT) Jaelen Strong, WR, Arizona St.
2-19, Bernardrick McKinney, ILB, Mississippi St.
2-24, (from PIT) Mario Edwards, Jr., DE, Florida St.
3-18, Jesse James, TE, Penn St.
3-31, (from SEA) B.J. Finney, C, Kansas St.
5-39, (comp) Antwan Goodley, WR, Baylor
6-35, (comp) Chris Hackett, S, TCU
6-40, (comp) Malcolm Brown, RB, Texas
7-18, Xzavier Dickson, OLB, Alabama

If the video has the original broadcasters, I will listen to hear the opinion of the players as they are making a play. If it starts with a rap song, I just mute the video.

I saw where Dorsett ran a 4.2 on his pro day. I don't know if 1/10th second means someone is a better player though. I'm sure *somebody* will take him too soon now.

He is a faster Tyler Lockett with bigger hands. The perfect "Wes Welker" slot for this Offense.

YouTube has seemingly odd licensing enforcement on the videos users upload. Perhaps that is an issue with using the broadcast audio? Some of the copyrighted music can be used though sometimes not.

They leave the decision up to the copyright owner. Many are okay with it, considering it free promotion, but not all. From what I understand, YouTube's copyright verification process is pretty impressive. Within minutes of when a video is posted they've identified the song and checked it again the permissions in its database.

@PatDStat: Brett Hundley in Houston to meet with the #Texans in pre-draft visit. http://t.co/OQn4aOH0Kv #NFL #UCLA