It seems as though now that the shock is wearing of we can get an objective view of what we did in the draft. Updated: May 4, 2006 Despite passing on Bush, Texans drafted well By Jeremy Green Scouts Inc. Archive "The NFL draft is a time of excitement, but it's also a time of long days and nights as you prepare for the big weekend. It can be a tough transition for some teams moving from the season into the postseason. However, for teams with stability, that transition can be much easier. That can't be said for the nine new head coaches (excluding Kansas City's Herm Edwards) this season. The majority of them were hired in late January to early February, giving them only two to three months to put together coaching staffs and prepare for the NFL draft. While a lot of the new head coaches did a solid job, three really stood out from the others. The new staffs for the Texans (despite the Reggie Bush misstep), Jets and Packers separated themselves from the pack. They all had a concise plan and stuck to it. The majority of those plans were based on past experiences with other organizations and they did an excellent job of taking that plan and executing in a different environment. Houston Texans There are varying trains of thought on how the Texans did in the draft. Some experts feel that passing on Bush automatically makes anything they did in the draft seem insignificant. I am in the group that feels that passing on Bush was a huge mistake. However, I would not consider their overall draft to be poor. Even though they passed on Bush, it would be hard to argue that defensive end Mario Williams will not have an impact. This team had three major goals going into the draft, and it was able to accomplish two of them. Under their old regime, the Texans ran a 3-4 scheme and ranked near the bottom of the NFL in sacks. With the switch to the 4-3 scheme, the team desperately needed to find a pass-rushing 4-3 defensive end. Williams will fill that void. Kevin C. Cox/WireImage.com Bush was enticing, but the Texans needed an impact defender like Williams. They came back in the second round and drafted DeMeco Ryans. Ryans is an athletic outside linebacker who will be an every-down player once he gets comfortable in the scheme. I think the Williams and Ryans selections say that the Texans know they must get a lot faster on defense if they are going to compete with the Colts. After their first two selections, they stayed away from the defensive side of the ball. Their last five picks were all on offense, and I think this is where you really see the Gary Kubiak influence on this football team. The Texans had major issues on the offensive line and they will be changing their schemes. Kubiak would like to build this offensive line in the mold of his old team, the Denver Broncos. To do that, he added two athletic linemen in Eric Winston and Charles Spencer at the top of the third round. The tight end also will be a staple of their new system. In the top of the fourth round they added a solid "move" tight end in Owen Daniels. Daniels is a versatile player who can play from the backfield, on the line or in the slot. Kubiak would like to use a lot of two-tight end sets, and Daniels, along with free agent Jeb Putzier, will give Houston a solid 1-2 punch. The Texans and Kubiak passed on potentially the best player in the draft. Still, they had a pretty impressive draft class. "
