No. 32: Texans' best draft class

[Tailgate]

ESPN is seeding all 32 teams determined by each teams best draft Class. Then they are going to have a tournament based on these seeds. Its no secret ours is 2006... yet despite that class of 3 confirmed and 4 potential pro bowlers, we still landed the bottom seed while being the youngest franchise in the NFL.

Anyway.... here is ESPNs breakdown of our draft history,etc:

http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/insider/news/story?id=4008044

TEXANS' BEST CLASS: 2006

Despite cries of protest from the Bayou City as the Houston Texans passed on Reggie Bush and local star Vince Young, their best draft class was in 2006 when they bolstered the defense with the additions of Mario Williams and DeMeco Ryans.

LB Mario Williams (Round 1, 1st overall, North Carolina State): Regardless of how well Williams plays for the Texans, this pick will be remembered as the time the Texans passed on Reggie Bush and local product Vince Young. After recording just 4.5 sacks in his rookie year, Williams has reached double digits in sacks each of the past two years. He was named to the All-Pro second team in his second year, when he recorded 14 sacks.

LB DeMeco Ryans (Round 2, 33rd overall, Alabama): Ryans made a bigger opening splash than Williams. He was named Defensive Rookie of the Year for the 2006 season when he recorded 155 tackles. In his second season, he joined his teammate on the All-Pro second team. Ryans has led the team in tackles in each of his first three seasons. To this point, Ryans rates as the best player drafted by the Texans in terms of NFL career performance.

TE Owen Daniels (Round 4, 98th overall, Wisconsin): Daniels has been a consistent second target for the Texans over the last two seasons. He has caught 133 passes for 1,630 yards while starting every game over the last two campaigns. Daniels made his first Pro Bowl appearance in 2009 as a replacement for Antonio Gates.

HONORABLE MENTION
MORE ABOUT THE TEXANS' DRAFTING: (since 2002)
Category No.
Hall of Famers drafted 0
MVPs 0
Off. players of the year 0
Def. players of the year 0
All-Pro first team 2
All-Pro second team 3
Pro Bowl selections 7
Off. rookie of the year 0
Def. rookie of the year 1

Other than the 2006 draft class, the Texans don't have another draft haul with more than one player who earns points in our rankings.

2003: WR Andre Johnson (Round 1) leads this draft class on the strength of his three Pro Bowl appearances. LB Antwan Peek and OL Seth Wand (both Round 3) each had one season when the started all 16 games. They took a flier on QB Drew Henson in the sixth round, but he didn't play a game in Houston.

2005: WR Jerome Mathis (Round 4) earned six points in his rookie year on the basis of his play as a return specialist, as he was named first team All-Pro and appeared in the Pro Bowl. DB C.C. Brown (Round 6) started 44 games over his first season before an injury-ravaged 2008 campaign.

Best Picks: LB DeMeco Ryans (2006) followed up his defensive rookie of the year campaign by making the second team All-Pro in 2007; Andre Johnson (2003) led the league in receiving yards (1,575) last season; DL Mario Williams (2006) should continue to develop after making the Pro Bowl and being named second team All-Pro.

TOP TEXANS DRAFT PICKS OVERALL

Rank Player Position Draft Year Points
1. Andre Johnson WR 2003 13
2. DeMeco Ryans LB 2006 7
3. Jerome Mathis WR 2005 6
4. Mario Williams DE 2006 5
5. Owen Daniels TE 2006 2
6. Jabar Gaffney WR 2002 1

Honorable mention: The team's short history doesn't yield enough players to fill out a top 10 list. The Texans have had eight first-round picks, and six of those netted no points. (David Carr, Dunta Robinson, Jason Babin, Travis Johnson, Duane Brown, Amobi Okoye).

 

[TexansLucky13]

Well you know your point system is flawed when Jerome Mathis is in front of Mario Williams....

 

[bah007]

I like how they prefaced it with this: "Despite cries of protest from the Bayou City..." instead of this, "Despite cries from ESPN and the rest of the media..."

 

[TheRealJoker]

ESPiN really wishes Mario was a bust...

 

[alphajoker]

They took a flier on QB Drew Henson in the sixth round, but he didn't play a game in Houston.

This was my favorite part. I mean...duh! I don't think the Texans were ever planning on having him play a game in Houston. If anything, they made out by getting a 3rd pick for him from the Cowputas. But, of course, they neglected to add that little detail.

 

[bah007]

This was my favorite part. I mean...duh! I don't think the Texans were ever planning on having him play a game in Houston. If anything, they made out by getting a 3rd pick for him from the Cowputas. But, of course, they neglected to add that little detail.

In their defense, I bet they don't even know that.

They really do not follow us at all.

 

[ObsiWan]

I don't have an issue with us being seeded #32 because, when you think about it, we've had the fewest drafts of any team in the league. what I DO have an issue with is there isn't any mention of Steve Slaton. How can he not even get an honorable mention when they listed the Texans' Top Picks?!?
Dumb.

 

[TimeKiller]

ESPiN really wishes Mario was a bust...

I think it's more of the "Reggie, since we spent so much money making you famous...could you at least get some tough yards like a real RB? We can't set-up games like we can a career in show business."

 

[TexanAddict]

So, in the first two segments, they state that Demeco is our best draft pick, but rank Andre first in the last one. I love Demeco, but Andre is without a doubt the best player ever drafted by this team. Now, if they are factoring in where they were drafted, then I can see how Demeco might edge Andre.

 

[dalemurphy]

I refuse to get sucked into another b*tch session about our national coverage! I refuse to get sucked into another b*tch session about our national coverage!I refuse to get sucked into another b*tch session about our national coverage!I refuse to get sucked into another b*tch session about our national coverage!I refuse to get sucked into another b*tch session about our national coverage!I refuse to get sucked into another b*tch session about our national coverage!I refuse to get sucked into another b*tch session about our national coverage!I refuse to get sucked into another b*tch session about our national coverage!I refuse to get sucked into another b*tch session about our national coverage!I refuse to get sucked into another b*tch session about our national coverage!I refuse to get sucked into another b*tch session about our national coverage!I refuse to get sucked into another b*tch session about our national coverage!I refuse to get sucked into another b*tch session about our national coverage!I refuse to get sucked into another b*tch session about our national coverage!I refuse to get sucked into another b*tch session about our national coverage!I refuse to get sucked into another b*tch session about our national coverage!

 

[WolverineFan]

I don't have an issue with us being seeded #32 because, when you think about it, we've had the fewest drafts of any team in the league. what I DO have an issue with is there isn't any mention of Steve Slaton. How can he not even get an honorable mention when they listed the Texans' Top Picks?!?
Dumb.

I find it disrespectful, but at the same time we are the youngest franchise in the NFL. Almost every other franchise has put somebody in the Hall of Fame and we have only run about 7 drafts in our entire history. Not suprised to see Mario being disrespected by ESPN once again though. He will have to go through it for his entire career because ESPN has a full hard-on for Reggie and they always will.

 

[Polo]

Jerome Mathis is our third best draft pick of all-time y'all

 

[BigBull17]

I find it disrespectful, but at the same time we are the youngest franchise in the NFL. Almost every other franchise has put somebody in the Hall of Fame and we have only run about 7 drafts in our entire history. Not suprised to see Mario being disrespected by ESPN once again though. He will have to go through it for his entire career because ESPN has a full hard-on for Reggie and they always will.

Where do all those Lions drafts rank? They were awful.

 

[hadaad]

Where the frick is Domanick Davis/Williams? Dude was a stud.

 

[WolverineFan]

Where do all those Lions drafts rank? They were awful.

They will always get a free pass because they drafted Barry Sanders. Always.

 

[BigBull17]

They will always get a free pass because they drafted Barry Sanders. Always.

I guess... Like we'll always get killed for passing up Jesus?

 

[mattieuk]

I like how they prefaced it with this: "Despite cries of protest from the Bayou City..." instead of this, "Despite cries from ESPN and the rest of the media..."

That was the exact same first thought I had.

As for the rest. Well, its all pretty much crap. AJ is obviously our best draft pick, and Mario is obviously a better pick than Mathis (despite their flawed points system).

They seem to have missed out:
- Steve Slaton
- Domanick Williams
- Dunta Robinson

And then there are other 'value' picks, that have been a good selection, for the round they've been taken in for (e.g. Anderson and Winston).

What this article is, is ESPN's 'Look We Can Count Up Pro Bowl Trips Without Watching Game Tape!!!' Awards 2009.

 

[WolverineFan]

I guess... Like we'll always get killed for passing up Jesus?

To be honest, yes. As long as Reggie Bush is in the NFL we will get killed for not taking him. It is now admitted by many analysts that we made the right move by taking Mario, but that hasn't stopped them from criticizing us for the move. We passed on the godsend, Reggie Bush, and we will always pay for it concerning the media. That's my take on it anyway.

 

[Jackie Chiles]

The system that they use takes into account individual awards to measure points (including hall of fame induction). The points for each award varies. Our 2006 draft has had a very nice start with some pro bowls, all pros, and a defensive ROY. They, or any of our other drafts for that matter, have not had enough time to write a full resume (Not that any of our other drafts even come close). You cannot compare what our guys might do in their careers to other teams draft classes who have guys that were 10 year pro bowlers or hall of famers. In 2006 we probably had one of the best drafts for any team in recent history so if ESPN decides to do something similar in 15 years then we will have moved up dramatically.

 

[ObsiWan]

Originally Posted by BigBull17
Where do all those Lions drafts rank? They were awful

They will always get a free pass because they drafted Barry Sanders. Always.

Barry Sanders, Billy Sims, Lem Barney, Charley Sanders,... the list goes on.

If you look at the criteria for ranking, there's no where else we could be but 32. Very little history.

Super Bowl loss (1 point)
Offensive rookie of the year (2 points)
Defensive rookie of the year (2 points)
Pro Bowl (2 points)
Super Bowl win (3 points)
AP All-Pro Second Team (3 points)
AP All-Pro First Team (4 points)
AP Defensive Player of the Year (6 points)
AP Offensive Player of the Year (6 points)
AP Most Valuable Player (8 points)
Hall of Famer (15 points)

so I wouldn't call it a "free pass"; shoot, Barry Sanders probably has enough pts by himself to counter everyone we've ever drafted

10x Pro Bowl selection (20 pts)
6x First-Team All-Pro selection (24 pts)
4x Second-Team All-Pro selection (12 pts)
1997 Co-NFL MVP (8 pts)
1989 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year (2 pts)
2x NFL Offensive Player of the Year (12 pts)
Hall of Fame (15 pts)

we just don't have enough draft history to compete with any team that's drafted someone with a career like that. But like Jackie said, check back in a decade or so after AJ and DeMeco and Mario and SS have hung 'em up. If they have the kind of careers we all hope they do, we'll be higher.

and btw, looking at the pt system it wouldn't surprise me to see the Steelers or Niners at the very top of this ranking

 

[imatexan]

Wow.What a terrible article.

How can dunta not have any points?