Houston Texans 2012 draft primer By Stephanie Stradley

[Lady.Gaga.3000]

Originally Posted by BullNation4Life

This is how I would go with the draft...

LB (need depth, get a 4 man rotation on the outside)

Darryl Sharpton was one of if not the best special team players and has shown to be a capable backup. He was actually spotting LB for rest earlier this year before he got injured. So I would move this down to round 5-6.

[ObsiWan]

Originally Posted by GP

Getting a bit back to the topic here:

My positions I see us drafting at, in the early rounds (in no particular order):

(A) WR...but only if a guy is there that fits what Kubiak and Dennison want.

(B) Some form of an o-lineman. Not sure what position, but I think Kubiak sees that he cannot rely on backups and expect Foster/Tate to get their yards consistently against good defenses. This will be an ugly pick that Texans fans frown at, but it will be a wise investment if they can find this year's o-line version of JJ Watt or Brooks Reed, depending on which round we get an o-lineman in.

(C) TE. Yeah, I said it. I peg TE as a pick somewhere in the first three rounds. Kubiak's bread is buttered with a quality TE beating defense's LBs and making them pay for it. If a play-making TE is available, look for Kubiak to grab the guy.

I think the first three rounds will be very deliberate and very focused on certain positions. I think rounds 4 and beyond will be whatever is on the board that Kubiak thinks shouldn't still be there for us but IS and he'll cherry pick the best player at our spot every time.

Also, I think Wade Phillips is not as big of a player in this year's draft. He was allowed every pick but one (the TJ Yates pick in round 5) in last year's draft...so he will provide Kubiak his list and he'll be there to lobby for "his guy" each round, but I think Kubiak loads up on offense this year.

WR, O-Line, and TE. Make a splash in the first three rounds like we usually do, and these three positions will pay off for a team already stocked up pretty good on defense due to Wade's home run effort last year.

I actually like your TE idea. It fits what we do very well. It can't hurt to have a big target in the red zone. Plus, if Dreessen leaves via F/A we need someone else in the queue behind O.D. and Graham (maybe to push Graham).


TEs I like (that could be still around in rd 3):
Ladarius Green, LA-Lafayette
6'-6"/235-240
Runs a 4.6 40 according to NFL Draft Scout
Michael Egnew, Missouri
6'-5"/250
Runs a 4,60 40 per NFL Draft Scout

I hope we snag a WR in the 1st and whoever Wade wants in the 2nd. Or we could flip those if Mario is lost to F/A.

I ain't a draftnik but from what I've read and the mocks I've seen, I think this draft is deep enough in WRs we could get a Dwight Jones (or equal) in the second round. He's good enough to press K.W. for the #2 spot and push J.J. off the roster.

So I wouldn't go for a TE any earlier than the 3rd. It's not a dire need compared to WR and backfilling for Mario. Neither is O-line for that matter - but I won't gripe if they decided to upgrade the OG spot.

After the 3rd, we go with the BPA for depth and maybe one of those guys becomes our new PR.

[Brisco_County]

I do think we're going after a WR in the first round, but no more after that. We have a couple of receivers coming off the practice squad who can fill the other needs: Jeff Maehl and Lestar Jean. Maehl is well suited for underneath routes (remember, best three cone drill in combine history), and he was on the active roster against the Titans. Lestar was becoming a favorite of Kubiak's before being placed on IR.

For the second round, we'll get another OLB for rotation with Reed. Yes, I think Mario will not be a Texan.

Third round, O-line. Depth is needed.