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Grade The Texan's Draft

O.G.

Waterboy
My opinion, I would grade us as a B+, since we did fullfill some positions that we need immediate help in. What does everyone Else Think?
 

ojthecat

Waterboy
I would have to give us an A+. Call me a homer but I think that we rocked with our choices and if it were up to me I would give CC a big fat bonus.

:spot:
 
D. Just being real here. Like I've said recently, I'm not gonna rip the TJ pick anymore, I'll let his play speak. Every pick other than Mathis after that however, was a total shamjob. Multiple highly rated players at positions of need were passed on for no-namers and guys who mirror our weaknesses.
 

DRIFTAWAY

Rookie
WildBlackBear32 said:
D. Just being real here. Like I've said recently, I'm not gonna rip the TJ pick anymore, I'll let his play speak. Every pick other than Mathis after that however, was a total shamjob. Multiple highly rated players at positions of need were passed on for no-namers and guys who mirror our weaknesses.
You keep saying we passed on all those quality guys. But all the other teams also passed on them, so have you ever stopped and wondered there is something wrong with them!!! they have a lot more information then you do inside that war room.
 

TigerBait

Waterboy
My opinion, as well as anyone elses, does not count in this situation. But CC seems to have gotten the guyz that he wanted, or he wouldnt have drafted them. So i give it a A.
 

ojthecat

Waterboy
WildBlackBear32 said:
D. Just being real here. Like I've said recently, I'm not gonna rip the TJ pick anymore, I'll let his play speak. Every pick other than Mathis after that however, was a total shamjob. Multiple highly rated players at positions of need were passed on for no-namers and guys who mirror our weaknesses.
Just because we didn't take DJ with our number 1 pick does not mean that we had a bad draft.

We got a dt that is fast and capable of tying up linemen that is what we needed.

We got a running back that should push DD for the starting job.

We now have one of the fastest recievers in all of football.

We got a fast LB that should provide depth.

This draft rocked we are better now than we were 2 days ago. I beleive that we can now challange for the Divsion.
 

done88

Waterboy
C THJis was very average draft. Which is what was expected. This is the worst part of the growing pains. When you are not good enough to make the playoffs but too good to get a starter in the draft. Cass said it was going to be an average draft and it was. The good news is that instead of the draft being the high light of the season hopefully it will be the playoffs.
 

nunusguy

Hall of Fame
ojthecat said:
We got a dt that is fast and capable of tying up linemen that is what we needed.
We got a running back that should push DD for the starting job.
We now have one of the fastest recievers in all of football.
We got a fast LB that should provide depth.
This draft rocked we are better now than we were 2 days ago. I beleive that we can now challange for the Divsion.
You need to include PB in our 2005 Draft because he represents our second
and one of our third round picks.
 

Nawzer

Alienz
I would give us a B+. This was a weak draft and I think we were able to fill some holes that needed to be filled. T.J. gives us a young athletic defensive lineman who can challenge Walker for his starting spot. Once again, it's important in a 3-4 for the lineman to push forward so that your linebackers can make plays. We got younger on defense but we got faster with guys like Morlon Greenwood and Antwaan Peek starting for us. If T.J. and our d-line does what it's supposed to then our speedy linebackers will make plays for us. The more I think about this pick the more I like it. Vernand Morency is a good pick because D.D. and Hollings have a habit of getting injured. Morency is a D.D. type of a back who can come in and start for us if D.D. is injured. Not only that, we now have legit backup who can give D.D. a breather. Hollings hasn't done anything and I doubt he will and J.Wells is a goal line back. Jerome Mathis play Div II ball and it'll take him a bit to run better routes, but I see him contributing immediately as a kick returner and a no.4 receiver. I think he will be a very dangerous slot guy. Teams will not leave him alone which will make A.J. even more dangerous. I like the rest of the picks with the o-linesman from Arizona State. I think he can learn and he can play multiple position so that's definitely a plus. Don't know much about Ceandris Brown but I trust C.C. knows what he's doing. I liked the Pettway pick because I've seen him play and he's a fast linebacker. All in all a pretty solid draft but C.C. better hope that T.J. becomes a good player for us otherwise watch out for the backlash he will suffer specially if D.J. turns out to be a stud. But I really think T.J. was a good pick because we desperately needed to improve our pash rush attack and now guys like Gary Walker have an extra incentive to play better.
 

F-minus67

Veteran
For this coming season I give it a C-, other that Johnson and maybe Mathis there are no other rookies who have a shot at starting. But for the future I give it a B, all these can play and will play given time to mature. And when you add in the trade for Buchanan, someone who is close to making the pro bowl. Overall I'll give the entire draft a A-.
 

MojoMan

Hall of Fame
If the Texan's inside linebackers show significant improvement on the field over last year, I will gladly give this draft an A.
 
ojthecat said:
Just because we didn't take DJ with our number 1 pick does not mean that we had a bad draft.

We got a dt that is fast and capable of tying up linemen that is what we needed.

We got a running back that should push DD for the starting job.

We now have one of the fastest recievers in all of football.

We got a fast LB that should provide depth.

This draft rocked we are better now than we were 2 days ago. I beleive that we can now challange for the Divsion.
When did I say anything about DJ??? In fact over the past two weeks, I've said that I was starting to lose love for DJ. We took a DT, yes it's a position of need, however it's also a guy most people grade out to a very late first to mid second rounder. A guy who has character issues on a team that prides itself on weeding troublemakers out. The RB will push DD??? If we're gonna go by Age, this RB will retire BEFORE DD. The LB is fast and he does provide depth. Peek does the same thing. Cheatwood. Chamberlin. Polk. All depth guys. Don't you think it'd be much smarter to take a player at a dry position like DL or S?
 
F-minus67 said:
For this coming season I give it a C-, other that Johnson and maybe Mathis there are no other rookies who have a shot at starting. But for the future I give it a B, all these can play and will play given time to mature. And when you add in the trade for Buchanan, someone who is close to making the pro bowl. Overall I'll give the entire draft a A-.
Ditto. Morency should be able to fill in as a spot starter since D.D. will probably miss a game or two.
 

royce1054

Rookie
I dont believe any will start this season. Johnson, Mathas, Morrency will prob see the most time. The rest will prob be special teams or fighting for a spot.
 
L

lucky13

Guest
some good, a lot of bad.

first for the bad- unless johnson is the next warren sapp, this was a terrible pick. there were proven productive players at need positions everywhere, esp. OL. the texans are a team that can't afford too many more overpayments like babin, hollings, joppru, ragone, ... and yet he reached. seemingly an act of desperation.

fwiw, i actually like the morency pick, as i liked the domanick davis pick. hollings can't play. the hollings pick will join tony boselli in the texans' hall of shame. i don't recall if cedric houston was still available- i would prefer houston over morency.

now for the good- perhaps the texans are finally dropping their faith-based system for screening players. in the long run, this will help a lot. unfortunately, the very poor job they have done in recent drafts means they might not have much more time to prove themselves.
 

Grid

All Pro
Overall: B-

Travis Johnson: A- "We are upgrading the speed of our defense, and trying to generate a pass rush, that is why this pick gets an A-. We needed a young talented Dlineman to start working with. Walker and Payne are both up in years and getting injury prone. They are making alot of money and most likely will not be around in a season or two. Travis Johnson looks like he can be a two cap tackle with a bit of practice, and with his speed and athletic ability, could possibly be very good at collapsing the pocket and flushing out the QB for our OLBs. I would give this pick an A+ but he has had some injury issues and could POSSIBLY have some attitude issues. However, I think he will be a future starter for us and has the potential to be a playmaker in the front seven. "

Vernand Morency: C- "We needed depth at RB, that is a given. Hollings is NOT showing anything to make me beleive he will work out for us, and while I personally think Wells is a good 2nd string RB and change of pace back, the coaches obviously dont. Morency provides a bit of speed (according to those "in the know") as well as some of the shiftyness that is DD's staple. However, again, there are attitude issues, and he is another small back that is very DD like. A change of pace, by definition, is something that is different from the norm.. DD is the norm, and Morency isnt very different. Additionally, a big back that can pound the ball would have been better able to take advantage of a tired defense in the 3rd and 4th quarter.. or.. possibly help to tire the defense out in the 1st and 2nd so that DD could take advantage of it in the 3rd and 4th. Morency could possibly be a good RB for us, but he could just as easily share the same reliability issues that DD has."

Jerome Mathis: C- "Well we did need a young WR to give us the speed and big play ability opposite of Andre Johnson, but is this really the guy? at 5'11", 181lbs I doubt he is the kind of WR who is gonna jump up and TAKE the ball from the CB. More than likely he will depend on his speed to distance himself and make the catch in the open field. Another knock against him is his hands. He doesnt catch the ball with his hands, but instead uses his chest to "Cradle" the ball. How long will it take him to be able to catch one of Carr's rockets on the fly? The good news is that he may not be our future #2 guy. it is entirely possible that we could make Gaffney or Armstrong our #2, and bring out Mathis on passing downs to give us that deep threat. Either way, this is not the kind of impact player I would expect to make a big difference on our Offense."

Drew Hodgdon: A- "One of our better picks. Hodgdon looks to be a very promising Center or Guard for us. He has good size (despite what the scout reports say) and actually seems to have all the agility and ability in open space that you would want from an interior lineman in a zone blocking scheme. If you look at the Denver Oline, many of their linemen are SMALLER than Hodgdon, but seem to posses those same characteristics that he does. The biggest concerns listed for him seem to be his lower body strength, our weight training program will cure that quickly. He could be getting reps for us as soon as the middle of next season I think. Either way, this was a good pick to get an interior lineman to groom for the future."

C.C. Brown: B- "Looks like he could come in and be an immediate impact on special teams with his athletic ability. at 6'0" 206, with a 4.46 40, I am thinking this could possibly be our FS of the future. We are, obviously, looking to replace our old expansion draft veterans with youthful player of our own choosing, and CC looks like he fits the "speed requirements" of our defense perfectly. However, he is very much a small school prospect, and will likely need AT LEAST a couple seasons before he can do anything more than special teams. "

Kenneth Pettway:D+ "It seems that our F.O. enjoyed picking Babin last year and decided to scout the small schools ALOT this year. To their credit though, they seem to have found some nice prospects. But im not sure this is one of them, and I am not sure what we plan on doing with this guy. At 236 pounds, he is not an OLB, and judging by his workout numbers he is a workout warrior so adding weight to him probably isnt an option. Chances are, he is an ILB.. but he apparently has not much experience in coverage and looks uncomfortable dropping into coverage. If I had to put money on one of our draft picks not making the team.. it would be this guy. I sure hope im wrong though"



I see 3 starters coming out of this draft. Johnson, Hodgdon, and C.C. Brown. I see 2 depth players in Jerome Mathis and Vernand Morency. and I see 1 bust in Pettway. Looking at our past drafts.. 3 starters is the Norm.. so, this draft would be no better or worse than any past draft we have had. I guess that my score of 81(B-) fits then.
 

Vinny

shiny happy fan
Patriot said:
3) If they don't improve the offensive line, some of us are going to continue seeing the Boselli expansion draft pick as insane. Does anyone recall that we could have picked Willie Roaf,
There is a lot to pick apart but I'll leave it at this one item. Roaf wasn't on the expansion list. He was taken off for medical reasons I believe.
 

Grid

All Pro
bah.. now all that writing is gonna be ignored cause its in the middle of someone elses thread :)

as my neice would put it

"fartneiners"
 

Nawzer

Alienz
lucky13 said:
some good, a lot of bad.

first for the bad- unless johnson is the next warren sapp, this was a terrible pick. there were proven productive players at need positions everywhere, esp. OL. the texans are a team that can't afford too many more overpayments like babin, hollings, joppru, ragone, ... and yet he reached. seemingly an act of desperation.

now for the good- perhaps the texans are finally dropping their faith-based system for screening players. in the long run, this will help a lot. unfortunately, the very poor job they have done in recent drafts means they might not have much more time to prove themselves.
What in the world are you talking about?!!! We haven't done a good job of drafting recently?! We've been in existence for 4 years only!!! And C.C. has already made draft picks that turned out to be brilliant. For example, Domanick Davis, Jabbar Gaffney, DeMarcus Faggins, Ramon Walker, Jonathan Wells, Antwaan Peek are all major contributors on our team. As for Travis Johnson. He doesn't have to be the next Warren Sapp for this to be a good pick. He was a solid player at FSU and even though he didn't have great numbers, his job is to rush the passer so that our linebackers can make plays!!!
 

TigerBait

Waterboy
Patriot said:
I give them a D-

Here's a few thoughts...

1) The fact we drafted a RB that will push DD for a starting job does not speak well of the draftee...it speaks lowly of DD. (which is why I would have traded up to get Benson...but thats me)

2) Since they didn't move up, they should have taken DJ...period.

3) If they don't improve the offensive line, some of us are going to continue seeing the Boselli expansion draft pick as insane. Does anyone recall that we could have picked Willie Roaf, you know - a healthy OT thats started every game for the past 3 years? Oh yeah...pro bowl appearances and stuff too. Personally, I don't really think there would have been that much help at offensive line coming out of this draft, even if drafting an O-Liner at every chance. I don't see an Orlando Pace anywhere in the draft.

4) I'm still waiting for the David Carr pick to earn its keep.

5) The Texans should adopt a "punt on first down" offensive scheme next year.

;)
Did you even watch the games last year? In regards to your spectacularly comedical last comment, about the "punt on first down" offensive scheme; Yes our offense did turn the ball over, more than we should and in vital parts of the game definetly, but offense was the least of our problems last year. We were ranked 15th in overall offense, that without an experience OL (in terms of playing together), a durable back, and a compliment to AJ that could take coverage away from him. On the other hand our defense did force turnovers, but that was with no inside pass rushing force. Not to mention we did not have a great year stopping the run which is heralded with the 3-4 defense. We had about the 29th overall defense and that compared to our offense is abismal.
 

Vinny

shiny happy fan
Roaf fails physical, off expansion draft list
NFL.com wire reports

METAIRIE, La. (Feb. 7, 2002) -- The New Orleans Saints were forced to withdraw Willie Roaf, who is coming off major knee surgery, from the NFL expansion draft list after the seven-time Pro Bowl tackle failed to pass a physical.

The physical was administered by an independent doctor approved by the NFL who concluded that Roaf would not be ready to play by June 1, the mandatory date outlined by league officials for players eligible in the expansion draft.

Roaf underwent reconstructive surgery on his right knee Nov. 27 and has admitted that personal problems have caused him to lag behind in his rehabilitation.

"Willie took a physical, but he did not pass," Saints coach Jim Haslett told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "So we took him off the list."

Each NFL team was required to submit a list of five players eligible to be selected by the Houston Texans in the Feb. 18 expansion draft.
http://www.nfl.com/teams/story/NO/4972496
 

ojthecat

Waterboy
Patriot said:
It doesn't really matter...my point wasn't so much that Roaf was the greatest thing ever...it was that Boselli was a wasted pick. At this point, it's safe to say anyone who played 1 down since the expansion draft would have been a more beneficial pick. Get my drift?
;)
That just shows your ignorance on the whole Boselli issue, We all know that if we did not pick him we would not have gotten Walker and Payne they were all a package deal from Jasksonville.

Why don't you just go back to your NE board and leave us alone.
 

Grid

All Pro
Patriot.. taking Bosselli was part of the deal to get Gary Walker and... who? cant remember now... Seth Payne?

Either way.. taking Bosselli allowed us to also get a couple of players who made a huge difference for us early on. People need to get over Bosselli.



And people also need to get over the left side of our Oline.

We need to make an F.A.Q. that we can point people towards when they bring up the same tired old subject. I am so tired of defending the same things over and over and over and over and over.
 

CaptainPatriot

Waterboy
I give a D With the Texans being last in the NFL in sacks on both sides of the ball. Plus Sharper is gone! How the Texans going to stop the run now?You have to address it. Look at Dallas they had D-Line issues they addressed it. PATS had O-Line issues they addressed it. This was a band-aid
draft for the Texans. Have a problem giving up a 2nd rounder for a disgruntle CB when there are 2 good CB`s here already. Is Glenn on his way out? That 2nd pick could have been used for O-Line or another D-Line:confused: and still could have picked up Mathis!!! At least Mathis will make the losses this yr exciting!
 

Vinny

shiny happy fan
Patriot said:
From that same article that disqualified Roaf...

Wouldn't Wally Williams would have been a better choice than Boselli?

lol
No, because we wouldn't have gotten 2/3rds of our defensive line with Williams (no package deal with him) who played his last game in 2002. Knowing what you are talking about would be helpful when you are being critical of our moves.
 

ojthecat

Waterboy
CaptainPatriot said:
Have a problem giving up a 2nd rounder for a disgruntle CB when there are 2 good CB`s here already. Is Glenn on his way out? That 2nd pick could have been used for O-Line or another D-Line:confused: and still could have picked up Mathis!!! At least Mathis will make the losses this yr exciting!
Dude we are in the same division as the Colts we can not have enough Cover corners and Glenn is getting up there in age and cap dollars. Giving up a 2 to get a corner that is ready to start.... Priceless
 
L

lucky13

Guest
excuse me, but this spin about boselli ignores the rules of the expansion draft. the jaguars could only pull one of walker and payne back. and, of course, there is the matter of boselli's monstrous salary and the texans early refusal to aggressively pursue FAs because of boselli's money. picking boselli was a disaster, plain and simple, and everyone outside houston recognizes it as such.
 

Grid

All Pro
Patriot said:
Ahh yes...and think how much worse we would have been without Payne's pains and Walker.

<sarcasm off>

Actually...I do like Walker.

........ ok.. your a troll. No one could be that stupid without doing it on purpose.

Im done replying to you :)
 

Vinny

shiny happy fan
lucky13 said:
excuse me, but this spin about boselli ignores the rules of the expansion draft. the jaguars could only pull one of walker and payne back.
that was the whole deal...they agreed to pull neither if we take Boselli.
 

ojthecat

Waterboy
lucky13 said:
excuse me, but this spin about boselli ignores the rules of the expansion draft. the jaguars could only pull one of walker and payne back. and, of course, there is the matter of boselli's monstrous salary and the texans early refusal to aggressively pursue FAs because of boselli's money. picking boselli was a disaster, plain and simple, and everyone outside houston recognizes it as such.
Yes, however we had a deal with Jacksonville if we agreed to take Boselli they would put and leave both Walker and Payne on the list. And sure we could have gone ahead and taken walker or payne but then we would have only gotten one and Jacksonville would never deal with us again.
 
it was lookin like an alright draft till i heard the news of glenn....IMO thats gonna be a major set back to our secondary even thoough we have Pb someone needed to mentor him like glenn did for D-rob. IMO
 

Davis37

Rookie
Quote by Grid
Jerome Mathis: C- "Well we did need a young WR to give us the speed and big play ability opposite of Andre Johnson, but is this really the guy? at 5'11", 181lbs I doubt he is the kind of WR who is gonna jump up and TAKE the ball from the CB. More than likely he will depend on his speed to distance himself and make the catch in the open field. Another knock against him is his hands. He doesnt catch the ball with his hands, but instead uses his chest to "Cradle" the ball. How long will it take him to be able to catch one of Carr's rockets on the fly? The good news is that he may not be our future #2 guy. it is entirely possible that we could make Gaffney or Armstrong our #2, and bring out Mathis on passing downs to give us that deep threat. Either way, this is not the kind of impact player I would expect to make a big difference on our Offense."

I think that you're way off about Mathis... He may not have great hands, but that can be cured quickly. Look at AJ. His hands werent that good his rookie year, but worked on it hard in the offseason and now his hands are amazing. Im sure he can help Mathis out on that. Also, Mathis ran a 4.28 40... I dont think hes gonna have to outjump any CB... Hes gonna catch the ball in the endzone and wonder what happened to that slow CB that was trying to cover him. He is .03 slower than Randy Moss. I think he will be the #2 reciever next season.
 

Trapped

Waterboy
Jerome Mathis also instantly puts Bradford's, Moses, and newly signed Swinton jobs in jeopardy. Hey will/potentially take up the roster spot of 3 ppl.

Great pick up.
 

TigerBait

Waterboy
u know who Mathis reminds me alot of? Lee Evans...correct me if you see no comparison but thats just IMO.

Lee Evans- 5'11'' 197 with a 4.41 40. So hes a little slower...
 

jacquescas

Veteran
FINAL ANALYSIS.

Day 1.

Travis Johnson DE- He will replace Gary Walker in a year or two, until then he will rotate around the line and help with depth. Not to sure how good he can be, but he will stuff the run which we need. Also got a 3rd rounder next year so thats a plus.

Vernrad Morency RB Second round talent in the 3rd round, could be a good compliment to DD. Our highest drafted back ever.

Phillip Buchanon CB 24 year old corner with 3 years NFL experience (since we traded 2 day 1 picks for him i include him in the draft review)

Day 2.

Jerome Mathis WR Another great value pick, and fits a need nicely. Doesn't have to do anything but learn this year with Bradford back for 1 more year.

Hogdon, Brown, Pettway i know nothing about these players, i can't say much. i know there were still some talent left on the board.

Final Grade C+

The Texans basically got a starting corner, a future starting DE, and maybe our number 2 back and 4 reciever. If all those players pan out this would be a very good draft by most team standards, 4 solid contributors. realistically only 2 of these will be making a difference on our roster a couple years down the road. Probably Buchanon, and Johnson
 

DomDavis

Waterboy
CaptainPatriot said:
I give a D With the Texans being last in the NFL in sacks on both sides of the ball. Plus Sharper is gone! How the Texans going to stop the run now?You have to address it
How are we going to stop the run? How are we going to address it? The best solution to that would probably be to draft the best run stopping interior lineman in the entire draft, and that's what we did.
 

texman8

Waterboy
Getting back to the subject of this topic; Draft grade: B TJ will be first step in retooling our DL; next year,go after a NG to groom behind Payne. Buchanon will help with our nickel package and punt return package. Morency will provide depth behind DD. Mathis will give us speed to take pressure off AJ (eventually). Hopefully, the 5th round C from ASU will grow into replacing McKinney.
 

USMC_dude

Practice Squad
TopTexanFan16 said:
it was lookin like an alright draft till i heard the news of glenn....IMO thats gonna be a major set back to our secondary even thoough we have Pb someone needed to mentor him like glenn did for D-rob. IMO

OK, what about Glenn. what did I miss?
 

cadahnic

Rookie
GRADE: C+

TJ- a good player, but we will have to see if he has the heart and character to be an impact player in this league. Should Replace Walker by mid-season.
Morency- He is old, but does not have alot of wear and tear on him so he will be a decent back-up. It is like having two DDs now and that is not bad.
Buchanon- The kid is raw and fast. With Jon Hoke inspiring him he will become a dangerous CB, but he could turn into a problem next year if we dont show him the money
Mathis- A speedster that makes Bradford a June 1 cut and should take over nicely for JJ Moses. Gaff will still be the No.2 but Mathis should provide the deep threat that will help AJ get open.
Hodgon, Brown, Pettway- Hodgon could turn out to be a steal, but the other two kids are nothing more than meatpuppets and possible special team players. Hopefully Starling and Sloan Thomas get their act together and prove they are worthy.

I will upgrade our draft if we pick up Shazor, Means, Munoz, and Brimmer as undrafted free agents.
 

bckey

All Pro
ojthecat said:
That just shows your ignorance on the whole Boselli issue, We all know that if we did not pick him we would not have gotten Walker and Payne they were all a package deal from Jasksonville.

Why don't you just go back to your NE board and leave us alone.
It turned out to be a bad package.
 
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