Draft Wrap-up

[Joshua]

What is draft talk if not an opportunity to make halfass guesses and proudly proclaim today how good (or bad) the Texans did even though no definitive statements can be made for at least a couple of years? Therefore, I thought I would start a thread to recap the draft since there really wasn't one.

Having said that, I'm not a terribly close follower of college football so I'm relying primarily on others to tell me their thoughts on the draft class. My initial thoughts are that our first 3 picks were obvious positions of need so they made sense. Here's hoping they pan out. I also liked the wheeling and dealing we were able to do to grab some extra picks. If I have a complaint, it's not about who we drafted but about the position we put ourselves in going into the draft. We basically had to take a CB and RB in the first 2 rounds. Luckily, the board worked out pretty well for us, but I hate being so needy at a position that our draftboard is driven by this rather than BPA. While it's not my money so it's pretty easy to spend, if we had signed, say, Thomas Jones and maybe either franchised Dunta or signed Bodden, seems like we would have been able to go into the draft without any "must-have" positions. This would have freed us up to take Dan Williams in the 1st and hopefully solve the interior of our DL as well as take a G or C in the second to solidfy that as well.

[HPF Bob]

If I were to give the Texans a grade, I would give them a B-.

We moved down twice to get more draft choices then wound up using those picks on guys who seem to be special teamers or camp fodder. Jackson and Tate were solid picks but not outstanding. We passed over guys who might have given us better help.

Draft grades are what they are - wrong much of the time. But, for now, I'd say B-.

[painekiller]

I agree with you on many points. 1st off it appears that the team went need, and that they ranked the needs RB/CB then DT. Then they went BPA.

2nd I agree with you on the issue is the position they took when they selected BPA. I am not a coach and I did not see every play that Sharpton played, but he appeared to be weak in coverage, yes he flashed to me in the run game, but a backup MLB is not a position of need at the top of round 4. FS, another CB or another RB, maybe an OL player.

I really question this teams love of Studdard and Myers, and the belief that Wilson will return to play 16 games.

Now I do not think that signing Dunta would be a good thing. I think letting him go was the correct decision, Dunta became selfish and put his feelings above the team. I understand being upset about the franchise tag, but if he wanted to be a team leader he would have been in camp before the 3rd preseason game. Since his injury he has not been the player he once was and we needed to upgrade him. Bodden was the next best FA, and he looked bad one season and good the next, that shows me he is a system guy and needs to be with the Pats.

IMO this draft was a safe draft, in the 1st they took the most ready now guy. There are scouts that think he has no more upside due to the high level of coaching he has had, and that McCourty and Wilson will get better as they get coached up. They went safe.

In the 2nd, I think Gerhart will be the better player, but they got some extra picks. Gerhart, or Tate, Sharpton, McManis.
IMO I would have been happier not trading the 93 pick, we could have had Mike Johnson or Brandon Ghee and I like either one of them over Sharpton + McManis. I like McManis, he looks like a steal, but Mike Johnson is a future starter and IMO Sharpton is not. But like always I am probable wrong on Sharpton.

I hope three years from now we look back at this draft and say how great they did. I hope this is our 1983 Bears draft, and we are talking about our Super Bowl champions, but our OL is not Super Bowl worthy and our HC does not get that.

[Bigtinylittle]

Originally Posted by painekiller

II really question this teams love of Studdard and Myers, and the belief that Wilson will return to play 16 games.

CB and RB were huge needs so I can't fault Smithiak for going there first. But I for one am NOT assuming at all that Studdard and Myers will be starters when the season begins. The fact that we didn't sign an OL in the third round tells me that the coaches are expecting Caldwell to step up this year.

One thing that is really intriguing to me right now is what I have heard concerning the pass rushing capabilities of who we DID draft in the third. If Earl Mitchell can slip through the gap between the Center and Guard as well as I am hoping, and if Barwin shows second year growth, we could actually have a decent 3rd down pass rush. I can envision a 3rd down lineup of Barwin and Mario on the outside, and Smith and Mitchell in the middle. Lots of speed there.

[NBT]

Da general gave the Texans draft a B-. Jerome Soloman of the Chronic gave our draft an A.

I remember after last years draft a lot of you were saying the same thing as today. In retrospect I would say the 2009 Draft was pretty darn good, so will this one be. As always it will be a couple of years before we can really tell anyway..

[painekiller]

Originally Posted by NBT

Da general gave the Texans draft a B-. Jerome Soloman of the Chronic gave our draft an A.

I remember after last years draft a lot of you were saying the same thing as today. In retrospect I would say the 2009 Draft was pretty darn good, so will this one be. As always it will be a couple of years before we can really tell anyway..

I am not complaining about the talent of the guys chosen. i am questioning the position targeted and where some of the guys where drafted. I listen to Gil Brandt, and he had our 3rd and 4th rounders lower than we took them.

Based on the history of Rick Smith and this scouting crew, I am not going to doubt the talent of the kids taken, but I will question if we could have waited a round on each of them.

[Roy P]

Originally Posted by painekiller

I listen to Gil Brandt, and he had our 3rd and 4th rounders lower than we took them.

Based on the history of Rick Smith and this scouting crew, I am not going to doubt the talent of the kids taken, but I will question if we could have waited a round on each of them.

I suppose the main reason we (fans, analysts, draftniks, etc.) like to grade the draft is because we want to feel smart. Based upon all of the 'consensus' thought that was available, Earl Mitchell, Corey Peters, Tyson Alualu, and several other players were projected to be drafted later than they were. Perhaps a few fans here would have been fine if the Texans had drafted Alualu instead of Mitchell. However, when the Jags did it in the first round they are obviously 'crazy' to reach for such a player. If he outperforms Amobi Okoye in his rookie year, then perhaps they did themselves a favor.

It only takes one team to like a guy. If Tim Tebow turns into Steve Young, then the Broncos are very smart for taking him. If Colt McCoy become Jeff Garcia, the Browns were astute in letting him 'fall' to them - since most analysts figured he was a top of the 2nd round guy.

This is why I like Drew Boylhart. He doesn't get into the politics of where teams are supposed to take a guy. If I'm honest, Earl Mitchell is probably worth the 3rd rounder we spent, I was just expecting to get a steal and get him in the 7th round (like he was being projected). I was hoping to steal Daniel Te'o-Nesheim, and the question was could I be greedy and get other potential starters before taking him? I would have taken him in the 3rd round where we took Mitchell (#81) but, the Eagles "reached" for him (#86). Boylhart came out and profiled him, after I had put him on my draft board, and gave him a 1st round grade. Similarly, he gave Geno Atkins a 2nd round grade. Personally, I think Atkins will be better than Okoye. Atkins went in the 4th round (#120) after we selected Garrett Graham. So, my point is simple. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Ben Tate was my favorite RB in the draft. I had him ranked lower than Spiller, Mathews, Best, and Gerhart. Why? Because I wanted to have the option to be able to get both.

So, I am not going to get all abrasive about the emperor wearing no clothes. I had Kyle Wilson ranked ahead of McCourty and Devin ahead of Kareem Jackson. What gets me bent out of shape? I had Dan Williams ahead of just about everyone in the draft. If we passed up the opportunity to get Pro-Bowlers in order to get non-descript starters that filled holes then,that irks me.

That's why I make a board, and list who I would have picked as the Texans make their picks. So, I can come back in three years and say whether or not they knew better than me. They should, they get paid better.

[NBT]

Originally Posted by painekiller

I am not complaining about the talent of the guys chosen. i am questioning the position targeted and where some of the guys where drafted. I listen to Gil Brandt, and he had our 3rd and 4th rounders lower than we took them.

Based on the history of Rick Smith and this scouting crew, I am not going to doubt the talent of the kids taken, but I will question if we could have waited a round on each of them.

You do your homework in asessing the talent of a draft, then you strategize about what teams will take who where, then the rest is more or less up to fate. In our case some of the guys we wanted, especially Mathews were taken ahead of us because a San Diego traded up to get ahead of us to take him. I guess we kind of learned a lesson from that, and starting with the second round we started to be a participant in the trade up/down contest. Other than forseeing the events of the first round, I think we did an excellent job. Thus my kudos to Rick and Gary.

[painekiller]

Originally Posted by NBT

You do your homework in asessing the talent of a draft, then you strategize about what teams will take who where, then the rest is more or less up to fate. In our case some of the guys we wanted, especially Mathews were taken ahead of us because a San Diego traded up to get ahead of us to take him. I guess we kind of learned a lesson from that, and starting with the second round we started to be a participant in the trade up/down contest. Other than forseeing the events of the first round, I think we did an excellent job. Thus my kudos to Rick and Gary.

My question is come September how many TE's can you have on the roster and how many can be active on game day? IMO Owen is back, Dreessen is now on notice, Casey has to make the sophomore leap most do, no way they cut a fourth round pick, so what about Hill? Is he a bust already? Are they going to admit after one season they should have taken Casey with the 122nd pick or how about they should have taken Johnny Knox like I was advocating.

The Texans have some the best TEs in the league, I challenge you to find a better group, but we have a FS hole, a DT hole, a middle of the OL hole that is much bigger.

If you have to have bodies for mini-camp and OTAs then get street FA veterans and some UDFA that can get you through until the injured guys are ready. The way this is working out we are either cutting a 4th round pick or a 4th round pick from last year and/or a solid veteran who is also your long snapper.

Right now it appears that PUP is going to be used on a couple TEs.

[Nconroe]

for sake of discussion,

as long as first two rounds work well, and I like those picks,

third round is good, need to see this,

then hard to complain about 4-7 rounds.

but, what if Casey were the only TE available after training camp, then we would be saying why didn't they forsee this situation. You knew those guys were hurt and might not recover. You should have drafted someone in the lower rounds.

And why hasn't OD signed his tender yet if he plans to come back?

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by Nconroe

then hard to complain about 4-7 rounds.

The LB & CB are solid depth picks (with the backer given a legit opportunity to challenge Ziles at WIL), while the guard and 7th guy are projects, and the LSU sprinter will be given the opportunity to be our primary KR and PR guy.
The Garret Grahmn pick is not so obvious, though I'm sure he wasn't picked just to take snaps in preseason games until the vet TEs get healed-up and ready to play in the RS.

[NBT]

Originally Posted by painekiller

My question is come September how many TE's can you have on the roster and how many can be active on game day? IMO Owen is back, Dreessen is now on notice, Casey has to make the sophomore leap most do, no way they cut a fourth round pick, so what about Hill? Is he a bust already? Are they going to admit after one season they should have taken Casey with the 122nd pick or how about they should have taken Johnny Knox like I was advocating.

The Texans have some the best TEs in the league, I challenge you to find a better group, but we have a FS hole, a DT hole, a middle of the OL hole that is much bigger.

If you have to have bodies for mini-camp and OTAs then get street FA veterans and some UDFA that can get you through until the injured guys are ready. The way this is working out we are either cutting a 4th round pick or a 4th round pick from last year and/or a solid veteran who is also your long snapper.

Right now it appears that PUP is going to be used on a couple TEs.

Heck, I'm not arguing about the number of TE's. If nothing else some of them will make good special teamers. And I wasn't questioning how many TE's we will go in to OTA's with. As a matter of fact when it does come down to cutdown time, and barring injury, the coaches are going to have a helluva time picking who makes the team, who goes to special teams, and who they will have to let go of.

[kRocket]

We led the league in offense without OD so I doubt they have bad feelings about Dreeson unless he can't come back this year. I feel it is a good time to trade OD now that we have good TE's to replace him. He should have nice asset value even coming off an injury, but I realize they can't move him until the doctors sign off on him to play. So they are kinda trapped between a rock and a hard place. Some or all of injured TE's may not come back at all, who knows. Pitts is in the same boat. We won't resign him until he passes his physical and he won't be ready until OTA's at the earliest. Then we may have to compete for him with other teams.

[Roy P]

http://bleacherreport.com/tb/b3WaL

Two-thirds of the guys were captains, 80 percent of them have their college degrees. Over 85 percent have been three-year starters. We have a saying that what we're looking for is a ‘Tough, smart, physical player with high character that has the competitiveness and the passion about the game of football.' That's our motto, and that's what we've found.

http://bleacherreport.com/tb/b3WaQ

Eugene Wilson, Texans free safety: The Texans feel better about Wilson, who was on IR with a foot injury for the last six games last year, than I do. Paired with the physical Bernard Pollard, Wilson needs to prove he can be a consistent and rangy free safety, and show better ball skills as he looks to set a tone for a group of young corners.

The alternative at this point is Dominique Barber and perhaps Troy Nolan, who missed his rookie year with hand injury.

http://bleacherreport.com/tb/b3WaP

I'm surprised so many thought the Texans were looking for a 330-pound nose tackle. A nose tackle is a run-down player. The Texans already have two of those starting — Okoye and Shaun Cody.

The Texans didn't need a defensive tackle to stop the run. They needed a tackle to pressure the passer.

Ideally, Mitchell will come off the bench in passing situations and use his 4.76 speed to harass the quarterback. He'll play next to Smith, who moves inside on passing downs. Williams and Barwin will play on the outside.

If Williams is healthy and Barwin makes the kind of improvement most are predicting, the outside pressure should improve dramatically. The question is what kind of heat Smith can generate playing with Mitchell rather than Okoye on passing downs.

The Texans wanted a defensive tackle who had what can't be coached — quickness off the ball and speed up the field. Mitchell has that. They figure Bill Kollar, who's one of the best defensive line coaches in the league, can teach Mitchell what he doesn't know and hope he's a fast learner.

[NBT]

Specificaly they drafted a DT they hope can put pressure on P. Manning, V.Y., and a guy named Garrard. We have simply got to win more games in our division. Kollar has his work cut out for him.