Draft Prospects?

[ET80]

Well, this would be a year to dive into this discussion, because it looks like we're going to end up with one of the worst records in the league. But, well...I think we know Cleveland will find a fun way to spend this pick.

So, the Texans will start our draft sometime after pick 64. What are some positions we're looking at? Who are some names to be mindful of?

[Apollo Stallion]

Rick Smith's draft history suggests that a 3rd round pick will unlikely result in anything more than initial hype about what a steal we got followed by a redshirt season on the bench or IR from a college injury we missed, a 2nd season where he shows why other teams let him fall, a 3rd season when he's supposed to break-out only to flop again before getting cut before or during the 4th season.  I haven't done my due diligence thus far, but I get to just skip any chance of the easy consensus top 50 players on anyone's board and plug in the position we left wide open and get to go straight to "name players from about 8 glamour programs" that fall on draft day because of injury, attitude, red flag measurable, or combine measurable that doesn't match the tape. I'd look to middle of the depth chart college talent that get some highlights/stats in a few cupcake games or nondescript players drafted on the reputation of the college at that position rather than anything they really did to distinguish themselves.

But hey, where would we be without Donta Foreman, Braxton Miller, Jaelen Strong, Posey, Slaton, and Jacoby Jones sustained offensive contributions, all those holes opened by Antoine Caldwell and Brennan Williams, the punishing pass rush of leaders like Louis Nix and Sam Montgomery, and the stifling coverage of Antwan Molden. Let us not forget the utterly forgettable contributions of Earl Mitchell and "break out star" CJ Fiedorowicz who has 810 yards and 6 tds thru 4 seasons aka blocking TE production without the blocking.  The biggest success story was Brendan Brooks who was allowed to walk as he was hitting Pro Bowl form to save less money than it cost us to have Tony Bergstrom have a good seat on gameday.  Seriously, our PLAN is to let Rick Smith rebuild a team STARTING in the 3rd round with this track record - 14 picks - 9 complete flops, 1 legit starter (for 3 seasons), 2 replacement level starters (for 3 seasons), 1 good season from Slaton followed by a killer, some good returns by Jacoby followed by 2 killers, and about 1 promising play every other game from Foreman.

That being said, if we actually had a competent college scouting department we could have something like these finds from the early 3rd round this year that have been huge difference makers for playoff bound teams.  

• Alvin Kamura - RB - Saints #67
• Cooper Kupp - WR - Rams #69
• Pat Elfien - C - Vikings #70

[Texansfan713]

On ‎11‎/‎12‎/‎2017 at 10:28 PM, EliteTexan80 said:

Well, this would be a year to dive into this discussion, because it looks like we're going to end up with one of the worst records in the league. But, well...I think we know Cleveland will find a fun way to spend this pick.

So, the Texans will start our draft sometime after pick 64. What are some positions we're looking at? Who are some names to be mindful of?

My needs in order

 

LT

RT

RG

LG

S

TE

 

I'm hoping we address OL during the draft because we need OL'men to play right now.  Don't want to ruin Watson's career early. I think we can get a decent TE with one of our mid round picks.  Let's be real, anybody that comes in cant be worse than Ryan Griffin, Stephen Anderson or Fido right?

[Pastor Dillon]

We should have 3 3rd round picks I think, with a comp pick. I am good with using all of them on linemen. rebuild the line. Keep Davenport, Mancz, Martin and probably Clark. Then I would draft 2 Guards and a tackle. I would then try and sign a LT in free agency. 

I dont think TE is a need. We can role with Anderson, CJ and Griffin if they are all healthy.

I want a 6th or 7th round QB prospect. Maybe even a guy who sits on the practice squad for a year, but he has to be a guy with Watson's skill set. JT Barrett or someone. 

I think we should use Hal and Jackson as our Safeties. Johnson has a CB spot locked down, bring back Joseph at a huge reduced rate to play nickle and sign a CB in Free Agency and our secondary will be decent. Pick up an OLB in the 4th round. 

So i would go

3rd - OG

3rd - OG

3rd - T

4th - OLB

6th - QB

7th - D-line

 

I think thats right, as far as what we have to work with. We might possibly trade back at the top of round 3 and pick up another 4th. 

[Texansfan713]

18 minutes ago, Pastor Dillon said:

We should have 3 3rd round picks I think, with a comp pick. I am good with using all of them on linemen. rebuild the line. Keep Davenport, Mancz, Martin and probably Clark. Then I would draft 2 Guards and a tackle. I would then try and sign a LT in free agency. 

I dont think TE is a need. We can role with Anderson, CJ and Griffin if they are all healthy.

I want a 6th or 7th round QB prospect. Maybe even a guy who sits on the practice squad for a year, but he has to be a guy with Watson's skill set. JT Barrett or someone. 

I think we should use Hal and Jackson as our Safeties. Johnson has a CB spot locked down, bring back Joseph at a huge reduced rate to play nickle and sign a CB in Free Agency and our secondary will be decent. Pick up an OLB in the 4th round. 

So i would go

3rd - OG

3rd - OG

3rd - T

4th - OLB

6th - QB

7th - D-line

 

I think thats right, as far as what we have to work with. We might possibly trade back at the top of round 3 and pick up another 4th. 

Our tight ends this season have a combined 35 receptions for 435 yards and 1 touchdown.  I'm sorry but that's not going to get it done.  Texans need to upgrade the position.  There has to be a decent pass catching tight end in the draft we can pick. We need to give Watson as many weapons as possible for him to succeed. I'm almost willing to put slot receiver as a need but that depends on how Ellington finishes out the season.  I'm all but ready to call B. Miller a bust.

[ET80]

40 minutes ago, Texansfan713 said:

Our tight ends this season have a combined 35 receptions for 435 yards and 1 touchdown.  I'm sorry but that's not going to get it done.  Texans need to upgrade the position.  There has to be a decent pass catching tight end in the draft we can pick. We need to give Watson as many weapons as possible for him to succeed. I'm almost willing to put slot receiver as a need but that depends on how Ellington finishes out the season.  I'm all but ready to call B. Miller a bust.

I'm willing to let CJ play out for another season before tagging this as a critical need - that concussion really robbed him of time with Watson. Hard to catch passes with Croatian Nicholas Cage throwing the ball. 

Agree on the Braxton Miller assessment - he's simply not a WR, and chasing this pipe dream is a waste of time at this point.

[UKTexans]

With Rick Smith in charge this should probably be a list of "good prospects" and "who we'll actually draft".

I would go 100% offense, weapons and linemen. We aren't going to win a SB next year, but we need to keep Watson alive and developing. 

[jch1911]

I think the reality is that we need to focus on a combination of quality free agent signings coupled with draft prospects.

(1) We should have a ton of cap room this off-season (even more if cut Cushing & Newton)

(2) As has been shown, RS does not have a great track record with 3rd picks (hence my previous discussion of trying to package picks and get into the 1st round)  As I said before and I say again, I much more trust Rick Smith with a 1st round pick than a 2nd or 3rd.  Odd, but true.

[Longhorns90]

3 hours ago, texans_uk said:

With Rick Smith in charge this should probably be a list of "good prospects" and "who we'll actually draft".

I would go 100% offense, weapons and linemen. We aren't going to win a SB next year, but we need to keep Watson alive and developing. 

I think our weapons are fine - we were putting up 30+ a game with Watson, so it's not like we don't have guys who can catch the ball, and we've got a top 10 rushing offense. Offensive line is the A+ priority - we need to keep Watson alive - however, I'd much rather go secondary afterwards so that we're not required to put 40 on the board just to outscore the opponent, because we're awful on the back end. Half of our games this season, we've given up 30+ points - 36 to the Patriots, 42 to the Chiefs, 41 to the Seahawks and 33 to the Rams - and the Jags just missed out at 29, meaning we're just a hair back from the worst scoring defense in the league, and most of the damage is coming through the air, where we're 25th, giving up 350 yards a game to opposing quarterbacks. That's just not acceptable for a team that wants to compete for championships. 

[ET80]

Bumping this - even though we're not picking early, worth talking about the guys on tap.

So, Orlando Brown Jr - once considered a top 20 T - is right now completely bombing the combine. 365 lbs, but only 14x225. Ran a 5.86 40 (yeah). It's crystal clear he's not going to be drafted in the top 32, maybe even not drafted in the top 64. 

You've got to vet this guy out for work ethic concerns, but his tape from Oklahoma shows a really talented T. This drop might put a functional T into our hands...

[Pastor Dillon]

Not dealing with us, but it does deal without picks.

I would love to see the Browns take Barkley at 1, a QB at 4 and then trade back into round 1 to get Ridley. 

I just think it would be really cool to see a team go out there week 1 with a Rookie QB/RB/WR 

[Pastor Dillon]

53 minutes ago, EliteTexan80 said:

Bumping this - even though we're not picking early, worth talking about the guys on tap.

So, Orlando Brown Jr - once considered a top 20 T - is right now completely bombing the combine. 365 lbs, but only 14x225. Ran a 5.86 40 (yeah). It's crystal clear he's not going to be drafted in the top 32, maybe even not drafted in the top 64. 

You've got to vet this guy out for work ethic concerns, but his tape from Oklahoma shows a really talented T. This drop might put a functional T into our hands...

its a no brainer if he is there in the 3rd, but espn has him ranked 13th, that would a historical drop

[ET80]

12 minutes ago, Pastor Dillon said:

its a no brainer if he is there in the 3rd, but espn has him ranked 13th, that would a historical drop

He's having a historically bad day today, I think he sinks pretty low following this.

Anyone remember Teez Tabor last season? Florida CB, projected top 15 guy, then just bombed his combine and workouts? Think he slipped to the late 50s/early 60s afterwards. Detroit picked him up, IIRC.

There have been some crazy drops on guys lately - let's hope Brown is one of them.

[Pastor Dillon]

Just now, EliteTexan80 said:

He's having a historically bad day today, I think he sinks pretty low following this.

 

his 40 time doesnt bother me, but i am concerned about a guy who weighs 348 pounds. His 14 reps are pretty bad too. The guy is in a size class all by himself too. 35 inch arms is crazy, so is 6ft 8. I think his drills will be super important. 

[Pastor Dillon]

just looking around today and 14 reps is the lowest point, but if you look at guys with 35 inches or longer and none of them have done over 19