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2006 Draft Critique

G

GTFan

Noob
So, some people are rating our 2006 draft as being in say the top 5 in the NFL. I wouldn't go that far. You DO have to factor injuries into the equation, and unfortunately, that makes Spencer a complete non-factor in 06 and worse, he's a HUGE ? for '07 and beyond. And I hope to goodness Winston is our future RT, but the fact that he was taken at the same time Spencer was and couldn't beat out Wiegert is not that encouraging. Daniels got off to a smoking start, but at this pt, if Putzier had gotten every snap that Daniels got, I think the numbers would be the same. Lundy showed promise, but bottom line is he's being outplayed by Dayne. And Anderson...we could've gotten a CB even in the 7th round that would have immediately been our nickel DB once P-Bust went down.

And yes, I did think that Ryans would be this good (I'm a UA alum). Who is the 2006 SEC defensive player of the year? Whoever it is, you draft them by the 2nd round if you can.

So, unfortunately, from the '06 draft we have an AMAZING 2nd round MLB, a 1st overall who needs to get healthy before we can assess, two 3rd OL who are question marks and 4-7 that may not be better than the free agents that were signed relatively cheap.

Which is to say that I have complete confidence that Smith and Kubes will combine a stellar 07 draft that ACTUALLY considers and complements the 07 FA signings the team just had! What a novel concept.

2006 Draft rating: B- at best due to the key injury to Spencer and the duplication of certain draft picks with our FA signings.
 
We got:

A player at the biggest need position on the team who grades in the top 5 rookies - that's what you expect from a team with a #1 overall, and that's what we got (DeMeco)

A player at a need position who was NFL average this year, but shows signs of potential dominance. That's probably a little better than one expects from pick #33 (Mario)

Two O-linemen - again a critical need - both of whom carried late 1st-round grades.

A starting TE who has been at least NFL average - on the second day!

Eric Moulds and Kevin Walter

A runningback who we had to start for several games - not bad for a 6th, half the time those guys don't make the roster.

As for the cheap factor, Putzier's cap number next year is over 1.5 million. Daniels' is 0.5 million. Not counting the guys signed midseason, Wali is the lowest-paid Texan. A non-1st round rookie is almost always the cheapest option for anything. Morlon Greenwood's cap number is 2.5 times that of DeMeco's. Kailee Wong's is 2 times. Heck, DeMeco doesn't take up much more cap room than Sage Rosenfels. Even #1 overall Mario Williams has only the 10th highest cap number on the roster, under guys like Wong, Weigert, Payne and Davis.


Grade A
 
Considering we had the first pick of ever round except the 5 (no pick) and 7th (comp pick), the '06 draft still leaves me wanting a tad more. I still see the first pick of the second day as a huge pick and view Putzier and Daniels as duplicate players. Again, Dayne and Lundy are duplicates. The Spencer pick is full of great intentions but if he never plays again, it still hinders this draft grade like Boselli did. And Winston is still a big question mark, which is to be expected at this pt in his development. However with the Marcus McNeils of the world, there is no doubt. Which is to say I would trade both Spencer and Winston for one McNeil in a heartbeat.
 
I have never seen one slightest shred of the faintest beginnings of any reason to believe Spencer will never play again.

You need 2 TEs on your roster - some would say 3. With Bruener a FA this year, maybe Daniels and Putzier are our guys.

You certainly need more than one RB - and Lundy and Dayne have significantly different styles. I HAVE seen evidence to suggest that Dom Davis will never play again. I don't believe it quite yet, but it's out there.

It's quite feasible that Marcus McNeill would have accomplished little if he played for the Texans. SD uses a totally different offensive-line scheme, and McNeill would be blocking for the Lundy/Dayne hybrid instead of Tomlinson (the best player in the NFL - period).

I would never advise getting into the cherry-picking of past drafts. There's only been one semi-perfect draft in all history, and that was because back then teams didn't really know how to game the draft.
 
Sure, I agree. I don't like the hindsight people who keep bringing up DJ vs TJ and I still think Babin could have been worth the picks we gave up. But I was screaming at the TV for Ko Simpson in the 4th and still do. Yes, we need 2 good TEs and 2 RBs but that's more of a luxury a 2-14 doesn't have. I would still say there could have been some 06 draft decisions in light of the FA signings that would put us in a little better position going into the 07 FA and draft.
 
2006 was the best draft in Texans history period.

2002

1 1 David Carr QB Fresno State
2 33 Jabar Gaffney WR Florida
2 50 Chester Pitts G San Diego State
3 66 Fred Weary G Tennessee
3 83 Charles Hill NT Maryland
4 99 Jonathan Wells RB Ohio State
5 136 Jarrod Baxter FB New Mexico
5 153 Ramon Walker SS Pittsburgh
6 173 Demarcus Faggins CB Kansas State
6 190 Howard Green DT Louisiana State
7 229 Greg White DE Minnesota
7 261 Ahmad Miller DT Nevada-Las Vegas

C-

2003

1 3 Andre Johnson WR Miami
2 41 Bennie Joppru TE Michigan
3 67 Antwan Peek OLB Cincinnati
3 75 Seth Wand T N.W. Missouri
3 88 Dave Ragone QB Louisville
4 101 Domanick Davis RB Louisiana State
6 192 Drew Henson QB Michigan
6 214 Keith Wright DT Missouri
7 217 Curry Burns DB Louisville
7 233 Chance Pearce C Texas A&M

B-


2004

1 10 Dunta Robinson CB South Carolina
1 27 Jason Babin OLB Western Michigan
4 122 Glenn Earl SS Notre Dame
6 170 Vontez Duff DB Notre Dame
6 175 Jammal Lord FS Nebraska
6 200 Charlie Anderson OLB Mississippi
7 210 Raheem Orr LB Rutgers
7 211 Sloan Thomas WR Texas
7 248 B.J. Symons QB Texas Tech

C

2005

1 16 Travis Johnson DE Florida State
3 73 Vernand Morency RB Oklahoma State
4 114 Jerome Mathis WR Hampton
5 151 Drew Hodgdon C Arizona State
6 188 C.C. Brown SS Louisiana-Lafayette
7 227 Kenneth Pettway LB Grambling

D
 
Yes, 06 is the best which still means the previous drafts deserve a C. In the '02 draft, the NFL did all they could to help the Texans, but yet what did they come away from with what 12 picks, including 5 on the first day. Oh well...
 
The two seasons prior to coming to Houston, Putzier posted 36 and 37 catches, respectively, for 572 and 481 yards and a total of 2 TDs. Those were his best two seasons, and he played them in Kubiak's offense. Those were his third and fourth seasons in the NFL.

In his rookie year, OD has posted 34 catches, 352 yards, and 5 TDs in what has turned out to be an anemic passing game the past 8-10 weeks. I guess I'm not sure how you see OD and Putz being equal. OD's already matched Putzier's best seasons (exceeded them, IMO, since TDs are a big TE stat) as a rookie.

The only picks that I'm iffy on are Lundy and anderson and they were taken so late in the draft, I don't even really care.

Grade: A
 
GTFan said:
Considering we had the first pick of ever round except the 5 (no pick) and 7th (comp pick), the '06 draft still leaves me wanting a tad more. I still see the first pick of the second day as a huge pick and view Putzier and Daniels as duplicate players. Again, Dayne and Lundy are duplicates. The Spencer pick is full of great intentions but if he never plays again, it still hinders this draft grade like Boselli did. And Winston is still a big question mark, which is to be expected at this pt in his development. However with the Marcus McNeils of the world, there is no doubt. Which is to say I would trade both Spencer and Winston for one McNeil in a heartbeat.
Click to expand...
The one thing that you fail to see in your coparison of these TE's is the fact that OD is a much better blocker. I think he runs routes better than Putzier as well and he is a rookie. Most people that I know feel Owen Daniels is the best TE to come out of the draft. He is the rare guy with the ability to do everything that the position requires and does them all well.
 
beerlover said:
2006 was the best draft in Texans history period.

2002

1 1 David Carr QB Fresno State
2 33 Jabar Gaffney WR Florida
2 50 Chester Pitts G San Diego State
3 66 Fred Weary G Tennessee
3 83 Charles Hill NT Maryland
4 99 Jonathan Wells RB Ohio State
5 136 Jarrod Baxter FB New Mexico
5 153 Ramon Walker SS Pittsburgh
6 173 Demarcus Faggins CB Kansas State
6 190 Howard Green DT Louisiana State
7 229 Greg White DE Minnesota
7 261 Ahmad Miller DT Nevada-Las Vegas

C-

2003

1 3 Andre Johnson WR Miami
2 41 Bennie Joppru TE Michigan
3 67 Antwan Peek OLB Cincinnati
3 75 Seth Wand T N.W. Missouri
3 88 Dave Ragone QB Louisville
4 101 Domanick Davis RB Louisiana State
6 192 Drew Henson QB Michigan
6 214 Keith Wright DT Missouri
7 217 Curry Burns DB Louisville
7 233 Chance Pearce C Texas A&M

B-


2004

1 10 Dunta Robinson CB South Carolina
1 27 Jason Babin OLB Western Michigan
4 122 Glenn Earl SS Notre Dame
6 170 Vontez Duff DB Notre Dame
6 175 Jammal Lord FS Nebraska
6 200 Charlie Anderson OLB Mississippi
7 210 Raheem Orr LB Rutgers
7 211 Sloan Thomas WR Texas
7 248 B.J. Symons QB Texas Tech

C

2005

1 16 Travis Johnson DE Florida State
3 73 Vernand Morency RB Oklahoma State
4 114 Jerome Mathis WR Hampton
5 151 Drew Hodgdon C Arizona State
6 188 C.C. Brown SS Louisiana-Lafayette
7 227 Kenneth Pettway LB Grambling

D
Click to expand...

What this list tells me is if there has not been changes in the staff that scouts offensive and defensive linemen something is wrong
 
I was at a friends office on Friday when he went out to a site that rates NFL players.

ryans #3 on the list of all linebackers

owens #17 for all tight ends

super mario #34 of all defensive lineman maybe should drop the super but still 34 out of over 240. not bad for a rookie

and spencer would have been high except for the injury

with numbers like this I grade the 06 draft an A

Thanks to Kubiak this team is moving in the right direction
 
for the first time we didnt waste picks on ridiculous 'project' players. every player was picked lower than they should have. good stuff all around.
 
2005's draft wasn't too bad. At least all 6 are still in the league. Drafting Morency was brilliant; trading him this year was the dumb move.
 
bigbrewster2000 said:
The one thing that you fail to see in your coparison of these TE's is the fact that OD is a much better blocker. I think he runs routes better than Putzier as well and he is a rookie. Most people that I know feel Owen Daniels is the best TE to come out of the draft. He is the rare guy with the ability to do everything that the position requires and does them all well.
Click to expand...

I completely agree. OD is the real deal and total package; Putzier is just a pass-catching TE. I'd take OD over Putz 10 times out of 10...no question!
 
i'm giving this draft an A+. we addressed needs first day and attempted to upgrade areas on the second day.

mario williams - went on a sack streak early in the season and was a major factor in atleast 3 of our wins. "making plays" is a term defensive linemen dont get a lot of air time for, but mario's made some big ones. tipped pass to end the game versus miami, fumble forced against indy (allowing us a lead and to run the ball ... the ONLY way to beat peyton), and beating a double team to force a sack/intentional grounding against the browns to ice the game (and take the team lead in sacks this year if he gets credit for it). injuries slowed him down and reduced his playing time, so there was more available even as a rookie with technique problems. IMO it's still too early to give mario a fair evaluation, but he has shown the ability to start games on fire and really turn up the entinsity in the 4th quarter. bonus points for crushing eli manning ... if cook doesnt fumble we're 7-9.

demeco ryans - DROY. even if the rest of the draft busts, we have the anchor at MLB for the franchise ... extra credit points given.

charles spencer - it's entirely unfair to blame drafting choice on his freak injury, you're searching for ways to nit-pick. spencer's one of the best offensive tackles i've seen, and you can hold me to that. provided he comes back healthy, we have landed our franchise tackle in the 3rd round ... most teams cant even claim to have a franchise LT.

eric winston - a project, but we knew that going in. has started several games because of injury and has shown great progress. while he hasnt proven he's starter ready yet IMO, he's deffinately earned his place in the NFL. most rookies cant say that, and only a handful of offensive linemen as rookies are even close. tell me that you'd rather have bedell starting before having trouble with this pick.

owen daniels - was competing with ALL tightends in touchdowns for most of the season. i wanted a safety with this pick too, but that doesnt change how well this kid's played. nor does saying someone else could've done what he did ... because someone else didnt.

wali lundy - a 6th round runningback. say that outloud before passing judgement. 4 TD's and close to 500 yards in a 4 back rotation. great production from the 6th round.

david anderson - a 7th round pick. kick returner in a pinch and the only time the ball was thrown his way he turned a 13 yard pass into a 27 yard gain (bouncing off of new england's great tackling). 7th rounders are throw away picks in most cases, this kid will play.


of course all of this can change in a few seasons, but as of right now we did fantastic. since you're not convinced that we had a top 5 draft, please tell me the 5 teams ahead of us.
 
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