2011?

[painekiller]

What are our needs?
FS - never been addressed
NT - also never addressed
OL- Time to start stock piling some talent.
WILL - Depth and future upgrade
CB - you never have enough CBs
QB- back up / future?
RB - You never have enough RBs

Walters has us taking

24 Houston Texans: Jared Crick, DT, Nebraska
The Texans had major problems at defensive tackle in 2009, but aside from drafting Earl Mitchell in the third round, they failed to address the position. They may fix things in the 2011 NFL Draft.

and

55 Houston Texans: Nate Potter, OT, Boise State
If Duane Brown doesn't improve his play this season, the Texans may search for some left tackle competition in the 2011 NFL Draft.

DraftSite.com has us taking

15 Houston Houston Robert Quinn* DE UNC 6' 5" 260
and
47 Houston Houston Ron Johnson WR USC

I am starting the watch list:
Deunta Williams, FS, North Carolina
Ras-I Dowling, CB, Virginia
Rahim Moore, FS, UCLA
Mike Pouncey, C/G, Florida
Patrick Peterson, CB, LSU
Mark Ingram, RB, Alabama
Aaron Williams, CB, Texas
Prince Amukamara, CB, Nebraska
DeAndre McDaniel, S, Clemson
Casey Matthews, LB ,Oregon
Jared Crick, DT, Nebraska
Brandon Harris, CB, Miami
Bruce Carter, OLB, North Carolina
Curtis Brown, CB, Texas
Stefen Wisniewski, C/G, Penn State
Will Hill, FS, Florida
Rashad Carmichael, CB, Virginia Tech
Blake Gideon, FS, Texas
Nate Potter, OT, Boise State
Kris O'Dowd, C, USC
Chris Culliver, FS/KR, South Carolina
Rodney Hudson, G, Florida State

[painekiller]

Here is an early mock from DraftSite.com

15 Allen Bailey DT Miami 6' 4" 288
47 Kendric Burney CB UNC 5' 9" 180
79 Jerrod Johnson QB Texas A&M 6' 5" 243
111 Jonathan Freeny DE Rutgers 6' 3" 250
143 Leonard Hankerson WR Miami 6' 3" 215
175 Harvey Unga RB BYU 6' 0" 239 (is going to be in the Supplemental draft in July)
207 Jeff Wills OT Minnesota 6' 7" 355


Cherry picking cuz I just don't see most of these guys as the types Kubiak drafts.

15 Mike Pouncey OG Florida 6' 5" 320
47 Kristofer O'Dowd OC USC 6' 5" 300
79 Jerrod Johnson QB Texas A&M 6' 5" 243 (I'm a little biased here but I like this kid, and coming here would give him time to be groomed)
111 Butch Lewis OT USC 6' 5" 290
143 Jermale Hines S Ohio State 6' 2" 210
175 Thomas Weber K Arizona State 6' 1" 207
207 Ryan Donahue PT Iowa 6' 3" 180

I admit I do not know most of the guys yet, but you can see a pattern in my thinking, OL OL OL, then special teams. I think Brown is gone, and I think Rackers will be gone before this time next season.

[painekiller]

A new mock is up from Draftsite.com

22 Prince Amukamara CB Nebraska 6' 1" 205
54 Chimdi Chekwa CB Ohio State 6' 0" 190
86 Jabaal Sheard DE Pittsburgh 6' 4" 260
118 Markus White DE Florida State 6' 4" 260
150 Marcus Gilbert OT Florida 6' 5" 320
182 Kyle Adams TE Purdue 6' 4" 252
214 Aaron Corp QB USC 6' 3" 200

That is one of the worse mocks ever.

I currently think the team is going to need to draft OG/OC, S, OT, DE, MLB, WR, QB .

Outside the OG/OC and S all the guys are to upgrade the depth/rotational guys. This team is finally at a point where the 1st rounder should not be handed the spot to play.

I am assuming that the CB, RB and DT position are full for now with young guys that should mature.

Any thoughts from you guys?

[painekiller]

Draftsite.com has a new mock up:

20 Michael Floyd* WR Notre Dame 6' 3" 220
52 Chykie Brown CB Texas 6' 0" 190
84 Mason Foster ILB Washington 6' 2" 244
116 Ted Laurent DT Mississippi 6' 0" 305
148 Kevin Riley QB Cal 6' 2" 221
180 Devin Newsome S San Jose State 5' 10" 185
212 Chris Carter OLB Fresno State 6' 2" 230

A much better mock based on position then the last one. WR in the 1st is unlikely unless something unforeseen happens, trying not to jinx anyone here, but I am getting real close. And you never have enough CBs.

1st round guys I am watching:
Mike Pouncey OG Florida 6' 5" 320
Prince Amukamara CB Nebraska 6' 1" 205
Von Miller OLB Texas A&M 6' 3" 240
Anthony Castonzo OT Boston College 6' 7" 295
Demarcus Love OT Arkansas 6' 5" 305
Dont'a Hightower* ILB Alabama 6' 4" 250
2nd rounders to watch:
Deunta Williams S UNC 6' 2" 205
Kristofer O'Dowd OC USC 6' 5" 300
Stefen Wisniewski OC Penn State 6' 3" 297
Jerrod Johnson QB Texas A&M 6' 5" 243

[cland]

Should a new CBA be agreed to--and I hate to say it out loud after all the resources this team has poured into the DL with middling results--but I think it will be time for Bob to pull out the purse for the highest rated FA DT available. 2011 should see a boon to the FA market after so many (~200) were signed as RFA's due to the rules for 2010.

If that's the case then I agree that the BAP from FS, C, G, DT (to groom) should be at the top of the Texans board.

[Roy P]

I put the date in my title simply to allow the flexibility to change my mind.
These are the guys I'll be watching. I don't know what Butch Davis is doing, but he's getting some very talented recruits to play football at a 'basketball' school. Yes, I'll be watching UNC whenever I can this season. Here's my list of players at positions I would be interested in drafting....

OLB Travis Lewis Oklahoma 6'2" 232
OLB Bruce Carter North Carolina 6'3" 230
OLB Dontay Moch Nevada 6'1" 240
OLB Chris Walker Tennessee 6'1" 240
OG Justin Boren Ohio St 6'3" 320
OG Ben Ijalana Villanova 6'4" 320
OG John Moffitt Wisconsin 6'4" 325
S DeAndre McDaniel Clemson 6'0" 212
S Deunta Williams North Carolina 6'1" 210
S Rahim Moore UCLA 6'1" 195
DT Jerrell Powe Mississippi 6'2" 330
DT Jarvis Jenkins Clemson 6'3" 310
DE Greg Romeus Pittsburgh 6'5" 270
DE Robert Quinn North Carolina 6'5" 270
DE Da'Quan Bowers Clemson 6'4" 285
DE Ryan Kerrigan Purdue 6'4" 265
CB Ras-I-Dowling Virginia 6'2" 200
CB Kendric Burney North Carolina 5'9" 190
CB Brandon Harris Miami 5'11" 195
OT Clint Boling Georgia 6'5" 310
OT Jason Pinkston Pittsburgh 6'4" 310
OT Demarcus Love Arkansas 6'5" 315

[Nconroe]

Not even one guy from any of the Texas schools? anyways, always lots of fun to see how the needs and draft rankings develop. thanks for the update.

[painekiller]

Pre-Season Watch List

QB Jake Locker, 6-3, 225, Washington
QB Andrew Luck, 6-4, 235, Stanford
QB Ryan Mallett, 6-7, 250, Arkansas
QB Jerrod Johnson, 6-5, 245, Texas A&M
QB Case Keenum, 6-1, 210, Houston

RB Mark Ingram Alabama
RB John Clay, 6-2, 247, Wisconsin
RB Jacquizz Rodgers, 5-7, 195, Oregon State

WR Julio Jones, 6-4, 215, Alabama
WR A. J. Green, 6-3, 210, Georgia
WR Jon Baldwin, 6-5, 220, Pittsburgh
WR DeAndre Brown, 6-5, 230, Southern Mississippi (X)

OT Gabe Carimi, 6-6, 325, Wisconsin
OT Clint Boling, 6-5, 305, Georgia
OT Nate Solder, 6-8, 310, Colorado
OT Jason Pinkston, 6-4, 300, Pittsburgh
OT Derek Sherrod, 6-5, 305, Mississippi State
OT DeMarcus Love, 6-5, 315, Arkansas
OT Lee Ziemba, 6-7, 320, Auburn (XK)
OT Marcus Gilbert, 6-5, 325, Florida
OT Orlando Franklin, 6-6, 320, Miami
OT Chris Hairston, 6-6, 325, Clemson
OT *Josh Oglesby, 6-6, 330, Wisconsin (X)
OT Anthony Castonzo, 6-6, 295, Boston Colle
OT Nate Potter, OT, Boise State

OG Mike Pouncey, 6-4, 320, Florida (C)
OG Justin Boren, 6-3, 320, Ohio State
OG John Moffitt, 6-3, 325, Wisconsin
OG Rodney Hudson, 6-2, 290, Florida State
OG Alan Pelc, 6-5, 325, North Carolina
OG *James Wilson, 6-3, 320, Florida
OG Mike Berry, 6-3, 325, Auburn (XK)
OG Ben Lamaak, 6-4, 320, Iowa State
OG Dom Alford, 6-3, 335, Minnesota (OT)
OG Thomas Claiborne, 6-3, 325, Boston College
OG Steve Schilling, 6-4, 305, Michigan
OG David arkin, 6-5, 300, Missouri State

OC Kris O'Dowd, 6-4, 300, Southern California (X)
OC Stefen Wisniewski, 6-2, 305, Penn State (OG)
OC Alex Linnenkohl, 6-2, 305, Oregon State
OC Ben Lamaak, 6-3, 320, Iowa State
OC Zane Taylor, 6-2, 305, Utah
OC Colin Baxter, 6-3, 295, Arizona
OC Kevin Kowalski, 6-2, 300, Toledo
OC Dan Wenger, 6-3, 305, Notre Dame

DT Marvin Austin, 6-2, 305, North Carolina
DT *Jared Crick, 6-5, 285, Nebraska
DT *Marcus Fortson, 6-2 310, Miami
DT Stephen Paea, 6-1, 295, Oregon State
DT Jarvis Jenkins, 6-3, 305, Clemson
DT Adrian Taylor, 6-4, 295, Oklahoma

ILB Casey Matthews, 6-2, 235, Oregon
OLB Von Miller, 6-2, 240, Texas A&M
OLB Akeem Ayers, 6-4, 255, UCLA
OLB Bruce Carter, 6-3, 230, North Carolina

CB Patrick Peterson, 6-1, 210, LSU
CB Ras-I Dowling, 6-1, 200, Virginia
CB Prince Amukamara, 6-0, 200, Nebraska
CB DeAndre Morgan, 5-9, 170, North Carolina State
CB Kendric Burnley, 5-9, 185, North Carolina
CB Aaron Williams, 6-0, 190, Texas
CB Rashad Carmichael, 5-9, 195, Virginia Tech
CB Curtis Brown, 6-0, 185, Texas
CB Daven House, 5-11, 180, New Mexico State
CB Brandon Harris, 5-10, 195, Miami
CB Trevin Wade, 5-10, 185, Arizona
CB Jimmy Smith, 6-1, 210, Colorado
CB Chris L. Rucker, 6-1, 195, Michgan State

FS Rahim Moore, 6-0, 195, UCLA
FS Deunta Williams, 6-1, 210, North Carolina
FS Chris Culliver, 6-0, 190, South Carolina
FS Jermale Hines, 6-1, 215, Ohio State
FS Will Hill, 6-1, 205, Florida
FS Jeron Johnson, 5-10, 195, Boise State
FS Jaiqwaun Jarrett, 6-1, 195, Temple
FS Robert Sands, 6-4, 220, West Virginia

SS DeAndre McDaniel, 6-0, 210, Clemson
SS Mark Barron, 6-1, 210, Alabama
SS Tyler Sash, 6-0, 210, Iowa

P Drew Butler, 6-2, 205, Georgia

[painekiller]

Draftsite.com has a new one. They have us missing the playoffs

15 Prince Amukamara CB Nebraska 6' 1" 205
47 Orlando Franklin OG Miami 6' 7" 318
79 Sam Acho DE Texas 6' 3" 258
111 James Cleveland WR Houston 6' 1" 205
143 Spencer Paysinger ILB Oregon 6' 3" 266
175 Chris Culliver S South Carolina 6' 0" 190
206 Cameron Higgins QB Weber State 6' 2" 195


MY cherry pick, I know it's early but the 1st pick is a no brainer
15 Mark Ingram* RB Alabama 5' 10" 215
47 Kristofer O'Dowd OC USC 6' 5" 300
79 Jerrod Johnson QB Texas A&M 6' 5" 243
111 Kyle Hix OT Texas 6' 7" 320

[Roy P]

Originally Posted by painekiller

143 Spencer Paysinger ILB Oregon 6' 3" 266

I'm wondering where we'd play a 266lbs LB. Would we move Cushing to the WILL? That's the interesting pick to me that I don't see the Texans ever making.

[painekiller]

Originally Posted by Roy P

I'm wondering where we'd play a 266lbs LB. Would we move Cushing to the WILL? That's the interesting pick to me that I don't see the Texans ever making.

When Bush was in Arizona, they had Pace who weighed in at 270. In 2007 Pace was an OLB and had a 107 tackles. Dansby was listed as 255, He also had over 100 tackles in 2007. So big LBs seem to be in Bush's background.

Johnny Holland on the other hand has a history of small quick LBs.

BTW IMO draftsite never has our picks right. They do not seem to care about the teams preferences.

[Roy P]

Originally Posted by painekiller

When Bush was in Arizona, they had Pace who weighed in at 270. In 2007 Pace was an OLB and had a 107 tackles. Dansby was listed as 255, He also had over 100 tackles in 2007. So big LBs seem to be in Bush's background.

With that in mind, I'd be curious about moving Connor Barwin to the SLB (6'4" 257lbs) compared to Calvin Pace (6'4" 265lbs) and sliding Cushing to WLB (6'3" 259) compared to Dansby (6'4" 250lbs).

Just a thought.

[painekiller]

Originally Posted by Roy P

With that in mind, I'd be curious about moving Connor Barwin to the SLB (6'4" 257lbs) compared to Calvin Pace (6'4" 265lbs) and sliding Cushing to WLB (6'3" 259) compared to Dansby (6'4" 250lbs).

Just a thought.

I have always thought Connor Barwin should be a SAM. And that would mean moving Cushing to WILL, oh my. That should make us better against the run but hurt us in the passing game.

What If we went 3-4, then we could have Barwin, Cushing, Ryans and Diles all on the field at one time.

[Roy P]

Originally Posted by painekiller

I have always thought Connor Barwin should be a SAM. And that would mean moving Cushing to WILL, oh my. That should make us better against the run but hurt us in the passing game.

What If we went 3-4, then we could have Barwin, Cushing, Ryans and Diles all on the field at one time.

It might hurt having Barwin on the field in the passing game on 1st or 2nd down, unless he's blitzing. On 3rd down, I'd put his hand on the ground and play him like a DE, just like now in our Nickle packages.

For what it's worth, we aren't built for a 3-4 because we don't have a NT. Okam doesn't have what it takes mentally to play the 2-Gap NT. Now, if we had drafted B.J. Raji or Dan Williams or somebody of that ilk, then what you are suggesting might be easier to implement. Not really sure there is a NT going to be available in the upcoming draft (Phil Taylor - Baylor??). The following draft either for that matter (D'Angelo McCray - Eastern Illinois??). So, do you feel like the team is better by removing Okoye and inserting Diles leaving Cody to play NT?

[Keith]

Originally Posted by painekiller

And that would mean moving Cushing to WILL, oh my. That should make us better against the run but hurt us in the passing game.

Care to check who led the team in interceptions as a rookie in 2009?



I get what you're sayin', but I'm just sayin'.

[painekiller]

Originally Posted by Keith

Care to check who led the team in interceptions as a rookie in 2009?



I get what you're sayin', but I'm just sayin'.

And I get what you are saying. Cushing is our best pass cover LB, he needs to be in our nickle, I am almost thinking that our nickle should be Cushing and Diles over Ryans, they are both better in pass coverage than Ryans.

As to my oh my comment, you don't see many 260 lb WILLs in the NFL. That would be some brute force coming off the free side.

[Roy P]

DE Greg Romeus Pittsburgh 6'5" 270
CB Patrick Peterson* LSU 6'1" 211
DE Robert Quinn* North Carolina 6'5" 270
OLB Travis Lewis* Oklahoma 6'2" 232
OLB Bruce Carter North Carolina 6'3" 230
DE Da'Quan Bowers* Clemson 6'4" 285
OT Demarcus Love Arkansas 6'5" 315
S Rahim Moore* UCLA 6'1" 195
DT Jarvis Jenkins Clemson 6'3" 310
OT Jason Pinkston Pittsburgh 6'4" 310
S DeAndre McDaniel Clemson 6'0" 212
DT Jerrell Powe Mississippi 6'2" 330
CB Davon House New Mexico St 6'0" 190
OLB Greg Jones Michigan St 6'1" 235
CB Ras-I-Dowling Virginia 6'2" 200
OLB Dontay Moch Nevada 6'1" 240
CB Brandon Harris* Miami 5'11" 195
OG John Moffitt Wisconsin 6'4" 325
OG Ben Ijalana Villanova 6'4" 320
S Deunta Williams North Carolina 6'1" 210
DE Ryan Kerrigan Purdue 6'4" 265
CB Kendric Burney North Carolina 5'9" 190
CB Rashad Carmichael Va Tech 5'10" 182
WR Ronald Johnson USC 5'11" 190
OG Justin Boren Ohio St 6'3" 320
OT Clint Boling Georgia 6'5" 310
WR Titus Young Boise State 6'0" 170
OLB Chris Walker Tennessee 6'1" 240
WR Matt Szczur Villanova 5'11" 200
TE Virgil Green Nevada 6'4" 242

There are some Juniors on my watch list who I think could come out in this draft. If I were to handicap a 'mock' draft from this list it would look something like this:

DE Greg Romeus
DT Jarvis Jenkins
OG John Moffitt
CB Rashad Carmichael
OLB Chris Walker
WR Matt Szczur
TE Virgil Green

[Blitzwood]

1. Jared Crick, DT, Nebraska 6-6 295 ***or*** Bruce Carter, OLB, N. Carolina, 6-3 235
2. Curtis Brown, CB, Texas 6-0 190
3. Broderick Green, RB/FB, Arkansas 6-2 250
4. Clint Boling, OT, Georgia 6-5 315
5. Mark LeGree, FS, App. St., 6-0 200

[painekiller]

Season Watch List

QB Jake Locker, 6-3, 225, Washington
QB Andrew Luck, 6-4, 235, Stanford
QB Ryan Mallett, 6-7, 250, Arkansas
QB Jerrod Johnson, 6-5, 245, Texas A&M *** I like this kid, would be a nice project
QB Case Keenum, 6-1, 210, Houston *** I like this kid, would be a nice project

RB Mark Ingram Alabama
RB John Clay, 6-2, 247, Wisconsin
RB Jacquizz Rodgers, 5-7, 195, Oregon State

WR Julio Jones, 6-4, 215, Alabama
WR A. J. Green, 6-3, 210, Georgia
WR Jon Baldwin, 6-5, 220, Pittsburgh
WR DeAndre Brown, 6-5, 230, Southern Mississippi (X)

OT Gabe Carimi, 6-6, 325, Wisconsin
OT Clint Boling, 6-5, 305, Georgia
OT Nate Solder, 6-8, 310, Colorado
OT Jason Pinkston, 6-4, 300, Pittsburgh
OT Derek Sherrod, 6-5, 305, Mississippi State
OT DeMarcus Love, 6-5, 315, Arkansas
OT Lee Ziemba, 6-7, 320, Auburn (XK)
OT Marcus Gilbert, 6-5, 325, Florida
OT Orlando Franklin, 6-6, 320, Miami
OT Chris Hairston, 6-6, 325, Clemson
OT *Josh Oglesby, 6-6, 330, Wisconsin (X)
OT Anthony Castonzo, 6-6, 295, Boston Colle
OT Nate Potter, OT, Boise State

OG Mike Pouncey, 6-4, 320, Florida (C)
OG Justin Boren, 6-3, 320, Ohio State
OG John Moffitt, 6-3, 325, Wisconsin
OG Rodney Hudson, 6-2, 290, Florida State
OG Alan Pelc, 6-5, 325, North Carolina
OG *James Wilson, 6-3, 320, Florida
OG Mike Berry, 6-3, 325, Auburn (XK)
OG Ben Lamaak, 6-4, 320, Iowa State
OG Dom Alford, 6-3, 335, Minnesota (OT)
OG Thomas Claiborne, 6-3, 325, Boston College
OG Steve Schilling, 6-4, 305, Michigan
OG David arkin, 6-5, 300, Missouri State

OC Kris O'Dowd, 6-4, 300, Southern California (X)
OC Stefen Wisniewski, 6-2, 305, Penn State (OG)
OC Alex Linnenkohl, 6-2, 305, Oregon State
OC Ben Lamaak, 6-3, 320, Iowa State
OC Zane Taylor, 6-2, 305, Utah
OC Colin Baxter, 6-3, 295, Arizona
OC Kevin Kowalski, 6-2, 300, Toledo
OC Dan Wenger, 6-3, 305, Notre Dame

DT Marvin Austin, 6-2, 305, North Carolina
DT *Jared Crick, 6-5, 285, Nebraska
DT *Marcus Fortson, 6-2 310, Miami
DT Stephen Paea, 6-1, 295, Oregon State
DT Jarvis Jenkins, 6-3, 305, Clemson
DT Adrian Taylor, 6-4, 295, Oklahoma

ILB Casey Matthews, 6-2, 235, Oregon
OLB Von Miller, 6-2, 240, Texas A&M
OLB Akeem Ayers, 6-4, 255, UCLA
OLB Bruce Carter, 6-3, 230, North Carolina

CB Patrick Peterson, 6-1, 210, LSU
CB Ras-I Dowling, 6-1, 200, Virginia
CB Prince Amukamara, 6-0, 200, Nebraska
CB DeAndre Morgan, 5-9, 170, North Carolina State
CB Kendric Burnley, 5-9, 185, North Carolina
CB Aaron Williams, 6-0, 190, Texas
CB Rashad Carmichael, 5-9, 195, Virginia Tech
CB Curtis Brown, 6-0, 185, Texas
CB Daven House, 5-11, 180, New Mexico State
CB Brandon Harris, 5-10, 195, Miami
CB Trevin Wade, 5-10, 185, Arizona
CB Jimmy Smith, 6-1, 210, Colorado
CB Chris L. Rucker, 6-1, 195, Michgan State

FS Rahim Moore, 6-0, 195, UCLA
FS Deunta Williams, 6-1, 210, North Carolina
FS Chris Culliver, 6-0, 190, South Carolina
FS Jermale Hines, 6-1, 215, Ohio State
FS Will Hill, 6-1, 205, Florida
FS Jeron Johnson, 5-10, 195, Boise State
FS Jaiqwaun Jarrett, 6-1, 195, Temple
FS Robert Sands, 6-4, 220, West Virginia

SS DeAndre McDaniel, 6-0, 210, Clemson
SS Mark Barron, 6-1, 210, Alabama
SS Tyler Sash, 6-0, 210, Iowa

P Drew Butler, 6-2, 205, Georgia

[Roy P]

If Matt Leinart is renting, then we might want a new QB to grooom. Greg McElroy from Alabama is playing tonight against Penn St. Watch and learn. He's 31-0 since high school. Smart guy.