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General draft thoughts.

ObsiWan said:
I'm wondering (hoping actually) if O'Brien's offense is going to a version of the WCO, where short, quick passes to RBs and TEs in the flat and via screens will be used to move the chains instead of the traditional 3/4 yds and a cloud of dust.

IF that's so, then that explains why they picked guys who can catch and make the first tackler miss (and get 5-7 ydes) instead of running Miller up the butt of the guard hoping he can get those 3 yds.

Granted, that's obviously a total guess on my part but it's the only way I can make sense of the picks.

There's two ways to keep Watson healthy: 1) build this all-pro O-line we'd all like to see or 2) do like Brady does and get the ball out in 2 secs or sooner.

It's a different way of thinking.
...and since TK isn't here someone has to do it.
:D
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:thinking: Great minds think alike
 
DocBar said:
I honestly think OB believes in the Belichick way of making do with JAGs at virtually every position except QB. We will see how good OB is at coaching up "his guys" moving forward. It's actually kind of neat that all Gaine could draft was middle and late round guys, with Smith being very poor in the middle rounds. I'm still mad as hell that Smith traded away the 2nd to save McNair some $$. Chubb would've been a pretty good pick for the Texans....cue CnD with health concerns in 3...2...1...
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..3,2,1,......Chubb was initially reported to have sustained a bad PCL tear. In fact, Chubb tore his PCL, ACL, LCL and MCL in his left knee and suffered extensive cartilage damage too. He made a remarkable recovery, but has developed ankle problems since he returned. The type of injury his knee sustained will have placed years of wear on that knee and emperically make him a high re-injury risk.......and the NFL will be less kind to it than it was in college. A RB's longevity always benefits by coming into the League with "fresh legs." Time is not on his side. As he was picked at #35, it's all a mute point anyway as concerns the Texans.
 
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I love how hard some of y’all think finding a serviceable RB is. When cuts start happening, good RBs are the first to go. If things are as dreadful as we think they are, they will sign an RB when a decent one gets cut. Watson can make an average RB look good.
 
DBCooper said:
Dude you know if Miller is on the team O’Brien is going to run him up the butt!
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Stop smushing my dream offense

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House of Pain said:
I love how hard some of y’all think finding a serviceable RB is. When cuts start happening, good RBs are the first to go. If things are as dreadful as we think they are, they will sign an RB when a decent one gets cut. Watson can make an average RB look good.
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That is a possibility.
Texans have some money this year so they should be able to afford one but having two high paid RB's on a team is not good cap management.
They will have to get one on the cheap and good ones won't be cheap.
 
bah007 said:
Swanson should make the roster in whatever role Ervin was supposed to be filling. He's not super fast or athletic but he's smooth. Seems to have good vision, good zone runner in college.
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Swanson seems like he sticks it up in there (settle down people, that's a football term). Sometimes attitude and willingness can trump size and strength.
 
I didn't see much from Swanson's Youtube highlights to make me think he's going to do much for us.
 
Lucky said:
Swanson seems like he sticks it up in there (settle down people, that's a football term). Sometimes attitude and willingness can trump size and strength.
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Closer to Slaton in terms of style, body type than Ervin from what I can tell at the moment.
 
CloakNNNdagger said:
..3,2,1,......Chubb was initially reported to have sustained a bad PCL tear. In fact, Chubb tore his PCL, ACL, LCL and MCL in his left knee and suffered extensive cartilage damage too. He made a remarkable recovery, but has developed ankle problems since he returned. The type of injury his knee sustained will have placed years of wear on that knee and emperically make him a high re-injury risk.......and the NFL will be less kind to it than it was in college. A RB's longevity always benefits by coming into the League with "fresh legs." Time is not on his side. As he was picked at #35, it's all a mute point anyway as concerns the Texans.
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I knew I could count on you, Doc. :D
 
Texansballer74 said:
Lol I think he was joking. But to Blue credit, he did show some improvements.
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Blue has had his moments for sure. He's deserving of a roster spot until Foreman shows whether he is healthy or not. Not too fond of the RB depth chart with Lamar Miller and guys coming off major injuries. At worst, Blue can get the team out of a game by virtue of knowing his assignments (particularly pass blocking...not fond in having a rookie UDFA as last line of defense for DW4 in crunch time) and getting what the plays are designed to get provided the blocking is good. He will not create in spite of a bad OL but he will not embarrass himself either.
 
Thorn said:
Blue is mediocre, which also means he isn't bad. And we've had some bad ones pass through here.
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Blue has been mediocre on average, but he's actually had some really nice performances sprinkled within those performances. Blue nor any of Texans RB's have had the luxury of a good OL during the O'Brien term. But those few very nice performances came behind those not so good OL's which leads me to believe that we as fans haven't really seen what Blue could do behind a better OL. I'm not saying he's destined for 1K season but I feel pretty good about him being on the roster to spell Foreman and Miller.
 
My general thoughts on our draft:

By all accounts that I read, from team sources, we went into the draft with three priorities: Safety, OT and TE. We accomplished these needs with our first three picks.

Justin Reid was a surprise dropped into our lap. A(-)

Martinas Rankin is a solid pick. B

Jordan Atkins was a surprise selection no one anticipated, a pick taken over more popular choices. I notice that Sports Illustrated gives this selection an A(-); I think because they consider this player a good fit for Watson. I agree but I’m giving the selection a B(-).

Keke Coutee is another good fit for Watson and for our offense and will be a dynamic play maker both on offense and special teams. B

Duke Ejiofor seems to be another well regarded surprise which dropped into our lap. B

The last three selections I lump together as solid, late round, average picks. C

So despite not having picks in rounds one and two, we had a good draft which filled needs with possibly as many as 5 rookie contributors. Add to this a couple of UDFA signings, in particular OL and WR, and I give our draft a solid, overall B.

Nice job.
 
DocBar said:
This has been a very different draft experience for me. I've done next to no research on any player except the QBs and have absolutely no idea what to expect out of the guys drafted. I read what everyone posts, but all I can do is hide and watch. Neither pumped up or Debbie downer on any of the picks. Kinda makes OTAs and TC even more interesting to me.
Mayfield was my favorite QB in this draft and it's pretty cool that I'm working in the Cleveland area and can follow his development.
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Mayfield was my favorite player as well.
 
My thought is Crennel picked up perfect guys for his system and OBrien is still trying to figure out what his system is.
 
Per Todd McShay Top 10 Drafts

Houston Texans
I don't know that many more teams did more with less than Houston. The Texans didn't pick until No. 68 -- because of the Deshaun Watson and Brock Osweiler deals -- but I loved the value they got. Justin Reidcould be a starting safety (especially after Houston lost Marcus Gilchrist) and I had a late first- or early second-round grade on him. Martinas Rankin is raw but will compete for a spot on the offensive line and I'd expect him to win a starting guard spot. Jordan Akins isn't going to be a starter, but he can be a No. 2 pass-catching tight end. Keke Coutee seemed to be in the end zone every time I turned on the tape and held a coveted spot on my All-Satellite team. And Jordan Thomas has football character questions, but good traits. A great draft, especially considering their first-round pick was basically Watson.
 
infantrycak said:
And they may. Seems a poor choice.
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Cant wait to find out,

He played LT very well in the SEC. Kinda reminds me of a smaller Cam Robinson who started at LT last yr after most of these same pundits said he was a RT or OG only. Lets let the competition between Davenport (Who I dont think Gaine is totally sold on or he wouldn't have said Rankins is a LT.) and Rankins have a fierce competition for the LT spot. May the best man win.
 
CloakNNNdagger said:
Henderson said he prefers RT over LT (which is good since he is not an NFL LT). Kelemente was never intended to be a LT.....rather an inside player. Rankins is the only player that has been signed with the intention to compete with Davenport.
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Correct. They have to have a competition. Davenport hasn't earned the right to go into a season as the starter. I do think whoever loses the LT job ends up starting at RT by midseason.
 
TheRealJoker said:
Correct. They have to have a competition. Davenport hasn't earned the right to go into a season as the starter. I do think whoever loses the LT job ends up starting at RT by midseason.
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With that competition, we may windup with some pretty fair tackle play. Probably not Pro Bowl level, but hopefully competent play and I would be very happy with that given recent history.
 
First pick was almost a no brainer, if they tried but failed to move up a little bit to get O'Neill, franchise LT.

Second pick was reaction to first selection, took best available tackle prospect, for right side. Back-up plan in case something Davenport doesn't pan out or get injured.

Understand TE picks just not prospect selected this high, think he could have been taken later. Would have traded down for additional picks.

Coutee is probably the highest ceiling of picks. This could wind up being terrific especially if he becomes returner.

Trust @WolverineFan he is the expert on Duke. Can't have too many pass rushers.

Journey man LB/special teams prospect, good for locker room, meh. Get it but from draft perspective not outstanding value, you don't gaine on your competition without taking some risks.

Choose same position with 7th rounder as expected, a corner with good size and hopes he develops, we shall see how good Texans (old) scouting department was with Kelly. I'm telling you right now I still like Michael Joseph more because he is a ball hawk, not as big or fast but direct comp to Bouye when he came out undrafted.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Db6AsfxX0AAtLjP?format=jpg
Grade: Incomplete
 
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General draft thoughts...

Justin Reid
- He's the future at Safety. Hal is signed long term but is a league average player and Mathieu is a one-year rental. I would expect to see Reid operate as a 3rd safety this year and, when we go sub-package, I see him coming in as a deep safety with Mathieu moving down into the box or to the slot. It's very possible he supplants Hal at some point this year and Hal becomes the 3rd safety instead. I really really hope we utilize Mathieu closer to the line of scrimmage. That's where his real value lies as he's an excellent blitzer and is great against the screen game. Hopefully the Reid pick signifies that we won't be using Mathieu as a traditional safety.

Martinas Rankin
- I don't see him as a LT. He doesn't have the length or athleticism (you have to have at least one). I see him as a RT or OG (I think that's his best spot). I don't believe Gaine when he says Rankin was brought in to compete with Davenport at LT. I think they will try it but, IMO, Gaine didn't like the board at OT so he just took the best OL available and is giving lip service about LT for the fans benefit. I think he will serve a bit of a swing role and possibly supplant Henderson at some point this year. I do see him as a big part of our OL down the road though just not at LT. Also, with this pick, we once again see the Texans valuing versatility on the OL. This has been a huge trend under O'Brien. Versatility isn't a bad thing, but our personnel people seem to focus far more on versatility than any other trait when it comes to OL.

Jordan Akins
- I don't dislike Akins. He has good traits and should be a good H-Back for us. My issue is that he likely plays a niche role and he's 26. That's not worth a 3rd round pick to me. Again, good player who should be a useful tool for Watson, but I expect 3rd round picks to be more than role players. I was also enamored with Ian Thomas, who has excellent traits as a Y-TE, and who went just a few picks later.

Keke Coutee
- He looks great on paper with his speed and production but my biggest issue with him is shoddy route running. He got away with it at Tech because of his speed and the Tech offense's penchant for busting guys wide open over the middle of the field with route combinations. He's going to have to make big improvements if he's going to be a starting caliber slot at the NFL level. You have to be able to run routes playing out of the slot because you have to go through multiple levels of the defense. His speed will be an asset downfield, but I question if he will just be a one-trick pony. He could also contribute in the return game though and he can't be worse than Braxton Miller though so there is that.

Duke Ejiofor
- Love this guy. Probably the most advanced pass rusher in the draft after Chubb. Excellent hand usage and can utilize an array of pass rush moves as well as being able to rush from the edge or the interior. I think he's similar to Clowney in that he's more of a DE than a stand-up edge guy. However, unlike Clowney, the issue there is he is a pass rusher first and might struggle to play the run at DE. He will need some coaching up to balance his play style but his pass rushing traits in the 6th round are an absolute steal.

Jordan Thomas
- Played mostly WR in college out of necessity but has good development traits as a Y-TE. Will be interesting to see how he develops. Almost assuredly a practice squad player to start.

Peter Kalambayi
- Intriguing pick as a depth LB because of his ability to play the edge as well as play special teams. Perfectly fits the physical/athletic prototype for a SOLB but the lack of production is concerning. Stanford does a phenomenal job of developing guys and spitting out NFL ready players so it's very concerning that an athlete of his caliber didn't do more at the school. Still, I like him as a backup edge LB who can play on special teams. His former teammate, Brennan Scarlett, has proven to be a very useful end of roster type for us. Hopefully he can be the same.

Jermaine Kelly
- Throwaway pick just to hit the need at CB. I don't see much to build with here other than the size. He's a pretty average athlete. Would much rather throw a dart at a physical specimen with this pick and hope to develop him.
 
Maybe because of the lack of a first round and second round pick we didn’t see any trades, but it will be interesting to see how much trading we do with the new GM. After Kubiak left we traded a lot of draft picks away and got very little to nothing in return.

It will be interesting to see how and if that changes.

As been discussed previously at length, that has been a silent killer of depth on this team.
 
TexansBull said:
Maybe because of the lack of a first round and second round pick we didn’t see any trades, but it will be interesting to see how much trading we do with the new GM. After Kubiak left we traded a lot of draft picks away and got very little to nothing in return.

It will be interesting to see how and if that changes.

As been discussed previously at length, that has been a silent killer of depth on this team.
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Also, we’ll be armed with the Seahawks’ 2nd round pick to maneuver as we please. Always easier to pull the trigger on a trade down when you’ve got multiple picks in the first two rounds already.
 
Houston Texans
Have you seen Deshaun Watson play? Because the moves Houston made precipitating his arrival — clearing the decks by trading Brock Osweiler, then trading up to select Watson in 2017 — are the reason Houston had no selections until the third round this year.

"I think they are happy to get Justin Reid to fall to them where he did [in the third round]," an insider said. "Then the edge player they took [Duke Ejiofor in the sixth round], there is a reason he fell. He failed his medical for some teams."

Selecting Ejiofor and Stanford outside linebacker Peter Kalambayi in the sixth round caught the attention of one exec.

"I know it was only the sixth round, but the two edge players they took, that was interesting because that didn’t seem like a big need, and I have thought Whitney Mercilus could be a cap casualty at some point," this exec said. "Depending on how those guys do in camp, that will be interesting to watch, maybe on the final cuts. Mercilus’ production has dropped, and his injuries are a big question. It could be moot if Ejiofor gets hurt, but [not] if he flashes in camp and they fall in love with him."
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http://www.espn.com/nfl/draft2018/i...-saquon-barkley-josh-rosen-lamar-jackson-more
 
TexansBull said:
Maybe because of the lack of a first round and second round pick we didn’t see any trades, but it will be interesting to see how much trading we do with the new GM. After Kubiak left we traded a lot of draft picks away and got very little to nothing in return.

It will be interesting to see how and if that changes.

As been discussed previously at length, that has been a silent killer of depth on this team.
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Yeah I don't know why we went on a trade up spree after Kubiak left. That was weird.

Gaine has said he would prefer to trade down and get more picks.
 
TheRealJoker said:
This “insider” who thinks Mercilus could be a cap casualty is clearly Mike Vrabel broadcasting his most wildest unrealistic dreams under the guide of “anonymous insider”.
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I like Merci. He's really come a long way. I hope we don't repeat the Brian Cushing long term contract after injury situation. With that said, we'd be fools to cut him. Not going to get his level of production for the salary we're paying him.
 
PapaL said:
I like Merci. He's really come a long way. I hope we don't repeat the Brian Cushing long term contract after injury situation. With that said, we'd be fools to cut him. Not going to get his level of production for the salary we're paying him.
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We're not cutting him..that stupid report is the first and only time I've ever even seen that mentioned. He doesn't have a outrageous contract and we're not even close to the cap.

Watt with his contract, has a better chance at getting cut if he can't return to form than Mercilus.
 
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