ESPN Bloggers mock draft, April 2 2012 (round 1 only)

[GP]

Love this idea, btw. Each blogger, Kuharsky blogs about AFC South, for example, chooses players. So there's a guy drafting for each of the four teams he blogs about, which means he knows their true needs in the draft based on his coverage and knowledge of those teams and what the teams need to compete with divisional opponents.

Much better than a guy like Mayock or Kiper who would have know all 32 teams inside and out.

Kuharsky has us selecting Reuben Randle, WR out of LSU. 6' 2" and 210 lbs. with a little over 900 yards receiving and 8 TDs in 2011.

Analysis: Randle's size will make him a nice target for Matt Schaub and the Texans, and he brings a lot of upside to an offense that's already quite good. (Paul Kuharsky)

link to article (round 1 mock).

[GP]

Peter Konz (Center) went two spots later to the Packers at #28.

Kendall Wright went to the 49ers at #30.

That's two players I think the Texans would take ahead of Randle if Knoz or Wright were available at #26 for us. I just don't know much about Reuben Randle...yeah, he comes from a traditional "vertical passing attack" system at LSU, but 6' 2" and 210 is NOT the beast WR I think he's being made out to be.

Thoughts?

[Section516]

Originally Posted by GP

Peter Konz (Center) went two spots later to the Packers at #28.

Kendall Wright went to the 49ers at #30.

That's two players I think the Texans would take ahead of Randle if Knoz or Wright were available at #26 for us. I just don't know much about Reuben Randle...yeah, he comes from a traditional "vertical passing attack" system at LSU, but 6' 2" and 210 is NOT the beast WR I think he's being made out to be.

Thoughts?

Wright just does not fit the mold of a Kubiak WR..

Jacoby Jones 6'2 215
Andre Johnson 6'3 230
Kevin Walter 6'3 220
Bryant Johnson 6'3 210
LeStar Jean 6'3 215
jeff Maehl 6'1 185 - shortest/lightest WR

Wright is 5'10 180.

Not saying impossible, just not sure if that is a Kubiak WR.

[XI CMURDER IX]

Originally Posted by GP

Peter Konz (Center) went two spots later to the Packers at #28.

Kendall Wright went to the 49ers at #30.

That's two players I think the Texans would take ahead of Randle if Knoz or Wright were available at #26 for us. I just don't know much about Reuben Randle...yeah, he comes from a traditional "vertical passing attack" system at LSU, but 6' 2" and 210 is NOT the beast WR I think he's being made out to be.

Thoughts?

Randle would be solid for a long time to come. I don't think he would be a starter right away, but put him at #2 behind A.J. for a while and they will get good production out of him. We won't find the next Andre Johnson this deep in the draft, but we can certainly upgrade the other gaggle of wide receivers.

I don't know much on Konz though, the only way I see the Texans taking him is if they know he can play both center and guard.

EDIT: I went in to look at Randle's scouting report, and automatically found this as a red flag in the Kubiak system.

Inconsistent effort as a blocker. Has the size and enough strength to wall defenders off if he gets into position and works at it. More physical as a route runner than he is as a blocker. Competitive when the ball is in his hands.

If Kubiak and the bunch can get him to block, he might just be the best option for us.

[Rey]

Originally Posted by Section516

Wright just does not fit the mold of a Kubiak WR..

Jacoby Jones 6'2 215
Andre Johnson 6'3 230
Kevin Walter 6'3 220
Bryant Johnson 6'3 210
LeStar Jean 6'3 215
jeff Maehl 6'1 185 - shortest/lightest WR

Wright is 5'10 180.

Not saying impossible, just not sure if that is a Kubiak WR.

I think most teams in the NFL have bigger WR's...

That said, Kubiak held onto David Anderson for a long time and he is not nearly as talented as Wright is. Also, Trindon Holiday? Kubiak drafted and is trying to turn him into a contributor...

At the end of the day, talent trumps size. I don't know how the Texans have these guys rated, but if they have a smaller guy rated higher than a bigger guy I hope they don't take a less talented guy simply because he's bigger. Take a bigger guy because he's better.

[TimeKiller]

Kubiak has selected 3 WRs as far as I can remember.

David Anderson- small, sucked and stuck around waaay to long.
Jacoby Jones- small (school), sucks and is sticking around waaay to long.
Dorin Dickerson- huge, sucked and got the boot entirely too early.

Please explain to me what the "mold" consists of!

[Lucky]

Originally Posted by TimeKiller

Kubiak has selected 3 WRs as far as I can remember.

He also traded draft picks for Eric Moulds and Kevin Walter. Both very large WRs. And if you go back to his days as Broncos OC, he had good sized wideouts in Rod Smith and Ed McCaffery. Kubiak prefers to play traditional WCO WRs, who are generally 6'+, 200+ lbs.

[steelbtexan]

He brought in a big FA WR this yr.

Bryant Johnson

[Jackie Chiles]

Randle is a really interesting prospect. Good size, good production when you take into account the guys throwing him the ball, very good hands, smooth athleticism. Didn't run great at the combine but was in the low 4.4s at his pro day and I thought he played really fast. From what I have seen he looks good after the catch. He is really young and also played QB in high school so he has room to grow as a WR. 31 inch vertical is pretty poor but outside of that I can't find too much wrong with him.

[Rey]

Originally Posted by steelbtexan

He brought in a big FA WR this yr.

Bryant Johnson

LOL...

He also brought in Derek Mason who is listed at 5'10" ??????

[Rey]

Originally Posted by Lucky

He also traded draft picks for Eric Moulds and Kevin Walter. Both very large WRs. And if you go back to his days as Broncos OC, he had good sized wideouts in Rod Smith and Ed McCaffery. Kubiak prefers to play traditional WCO WRs, who are generally 6'+, 200+ lbs.

Kubiak wasn't pulling the strings in Denver. He may have had some input, but he was not the one putting the talent on the field.

Lots of teams have and prefer bigger WR's. I don't think that is anything new. As a matter of fact they also prefer bigger players at just about every position.

[Rey]

Originally Posted by TimeKiller

Kubiak has selected 3 WRs as far as I can remember.

David Anderson- small, sucked and stuck around waaay to long.
Jacoby Jones- small (school), sucks and is sticking around waaay to long.
Dorin Dickerson- huge, sucked and got the boot entirely too early.

Please explain to me what the "mold" consists of!

He also drafted 5'6" Trindon Holiday as a WR/Returner...

If he didn't think Small guys could play receiver for him then why the hell draft Trindon and make it a stipulation that he has to be able to contribute as a WR to be on the roster?

[Lucky]

Originally Posted by Rey

He also drafted 5'6" Trindon Holiday as a WR/Returner...

If he didn't think Small guys could play receiver for him then why the hell draft Trindon and make it a stipulation that he has to be able to contribute as a WR to be on the roster?

Holiday was a Coach Joe pick. He felt strongly that Holiday was a game breaker. You could tell by Kubiak's comments in camp that he was never really comfortable with Holiday. Especially as a receiver. Of course, 5'6" is an extreme example and Wright isn't extraordinary short. Just regular short.

The Texans preference for bigger WRs is documented. Maybe they think Wright is soooo talented that they reverse the trend. Maybe. I don't see it happening.

[Lucky]

Originally Posted by Rey

Kubiak wasn't pulling the strings in Denver. He may have had some input, but he was not the one putting the talent on the field.

Rick Smith was also in the Broncos personnel department, If you don't see the influence from their experience in Denver, I don't think you've been paying close attention the past 6 seasons.

[Rey]

Originally Posted by Lucky

Rick Smith was also in the Broncos personnel department, If you don't see the influence from their experience in Denver, I don't think you've been paying close attention the past 6 seasons.

They've spent draft picks on trindon holiday and David Anderson and went out and picked up under 6th Derek mason last year.

Have you been paying attention?

I think almost everyone in the NFL likes bigger wr's. They like bigger players in general.

But that doesn't mean they won't pick up smaller players they think can help them.

[Lucky]

Originally Posted by Rey

They've spent draft picks on trindon holiday and David Anderson and went out and picked up under 6th Derek mason last year.

Have you been paying attention?

You're talking about late round picks. I'm talking about the 26th pick in the draft. See the difference?

Originally Posted by Rey

I think almost everyone in the NFL likes bigger wr's. They like bigger players in general.

And that's why the Texans aren't likely to take Wright in the 1st. Because they like bigger WRs. But, continue to mock away with Wright.

[Rey]

Originally Posted by Lucky

You're talking about late round picks. I'm talking about the 26th pick in the draft. See the difference?
.

Yeah, we have no precedence for that.

But you were the one that brought up kw. We gave up a 7th?

Not sure what your point is. No way is kubiak passing up a more talented wr because the next guy on their board is bigger. That makes 0 sense.

Maybe if they have them rated closely, but you were the one that brought up track record and he clearly has gone after some smaller wr's because he felt they could help the team.

[Lucky]

Originally Posted by Rey

Yeah, we have no precedence for that.

But you were the one that brought up kw. We gave up a 7th?

Not sure what your point is. No way is kubiak passing up a more talented wr because the next guy on their board is bigger. That makes 0 sense.

Yes, Walter was traded for a 2006 7th round pick.

I don't get the assumption that Wright is so much more talented than guys like Randle or Hill. More productive? Well, yeah. He was in a spread offense and saw a lot more balls. As far as physical ability, most would give the edge to Randle or Hill.

[kiwitexansfan]

Originally Posted by Lucky

Yes, Walter was traded for a 2006 7th round pick.

I don't get the assumption that Wright is so much more talented than guys like Randle or Hill. More productive? Well, yeah. He was in a spread offense and saw a lot more balls. As far as physical ability, most would give the edge to Randle or Hill.

FWIW, I am starting to get drawn towards the boom or bust pick with Hill.

Might end up being the next Jacoby Jones, but sometimes you need to roll the dice.

[Rey]

Originally Posted by Lucky

I don't get the assumption that Wright is so much more talented than guys like Randle or Hill.

I've said all along IF THE TEXANS THINK HE IS MORE TALENTED.

What part of that is hard to understand?

If they think he is more talented than some of the bigger receivers that are available, it makes 0 sense to pass on him because he is smaller.

I didn't make any assumptions about Wright. In fact, I think you have a complex about him because I haven't even mentioned his name here but for some reason you keep bringing him up. I have been talking about the Texans taking smaller WR's in general.