Making a Post-Draft Depth Chart

[HPF Bob]

The official Texans site is of little use but they do have a current roster. I'm not going to bother with the real long shots but this should give us an idea of how we stack up going into training camp. The order is my projection at present.
* - added in draft
^ - added since end of season

OFFENSE (32)
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QB - Ryan Fitzpatrick^, Case Keenum, Tom Savage*, T.J. Yates
RB - Arian Foster, Andre Brown^, Jonathan Grimes, Alfred Blue*, Dennis Johnson
FB - Brad Smelley^, Jay Prosch*
TE - Garrett Graham, Ryan Griffin, C.J. Fiedorowicz*, Zach Potter^
WR - Andre Johnson, DeAndre Hopkins, DeVier Posey, Keyshawn Martin, Alec Lemon, Alan Bonner, Mike Thomas^
OT - Duane Brown, Derek Newton, Brennan Williams, David Quessenberry
OG - Xavier Su'a-Filo*, Brandon Brooks, Cody White, Alex Kupper^
OC - Chris Meyers, Ben Jones

DEFENSE (29)
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DE - J.J. Watt, Jared Crick, Tim Jamison, Jeoffrey Pagan*, Keith Browner
NT - Jerrell Powe^, Louis Nix*, Ricardo Mathews
OLB - Whitney Mercilus, Jadeveon Clowney*, Trevardo Williams, Ricky Sapp
ILB - Brian Cushing, Brooks Reed, Max Bullough^, Mike Mohamed, Justin Tuggle, Jeff Tarpinian
CB - Jonathan Joseph, Kareem Jackson, Brandon Harris, Elbert Mack^, Andre Hal*
S - Kendrick Lewis^, D.J. Swearinger, Shiloh Keo, Eddie Pleasant, Chris Clemons^, Lonnie Ballentine*

SPECIALISTS (4)
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KR - Keyshawn Martin, ???
PR - Keyshawn Martin, ???
P - Shane Lechler
PK - Randy Bullock, Chris Boswell^
LS - Jon Weeks

That's 65 names and obviously some will end up on IR or getting cut. FWIW, the Texans roster has Clowney listed at LB although I suspect he's going to be playing DE and OLB in roughly equal measure. I'm projecting Reed inside just on my own hunch.

There are certainly places where we look to be very vulnerable after the first team. I'm not impressed with the depth, I suspect this is one of the reasons the front office decided to play for the long rebuild rather than expecting a quick return to the playoffs.

Don't get too bothered by the order on the chart. I'm really trying to illustrate what we have going into camp without a lot of the scrub names that will be long forgotten by Labor Day.

[painekiller]

Thanks for putting this together.

[barrett]

Good stuff Bob.

Did Lestar Jean catch on anywhere?

[chuck]

I'm starting to get that itch and it's only May. Crap.

[Nconroe]

Originally Posted by barrett

Good stuff Bob.

Did Lestar Jean catch on anywhere?

Yeah, wondering how much roster change will really occur by Sept, beyond the 10 draft picks? And 65 players shown has to go down by 12 further to reach 53. Gonna be tough for the 90 guys in camp and UDFA rookies but I guess a couple will make it.

Lestar is on with Vikings. Hope it works out for him.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/players...13/lestar-jean

[Keith]

I'm not sure how WR Mike Thomas fell off the face of the NFL Earth after his stint in Detroit. He fizzled there and was cut early in camp, tried out for several teams throughout the fall including the Texans before basically signing as a street FA after the season.

I had been very intrigued by Thomas coming out of college... he looked like an ideal slot candidate. Then he went to Jacksonhelle, which maybe explains something of his career trajectory. The Lions traded for him midseason in 2012 and cut him in camp last year. Say what you will about the prior Lions regime, but I doubt Mensa came calling often.

Given O'Brien seems to be trying to install a version of the Patriots offense with the Texans, there is a definite need for a slot WR. If Andre and Hopkins are on the outside, then who is the slot? Doesn't seem like Posey, and Keyshawn Martin isn't consistent enough to be a lock for the role. Hopefully Thomas resurrects his career here with the opportunity.

[Arky]

Nice job. There might be a few guys from the list of UDFA's getting into the mix after everything shakes out..