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The one that got away

Who do you think we'll regret passing on the most?

  • Sauce Gardner

    Votes: 10 26.3%
  • Jermaine Johnson

    Votes: 3 7.9%
  • Ikem Ekwonu

    Votes: 6 15.8%
  • Jordan Davis

    Votes: 1 2.6%
  • Kayvon Thibodeaux

    Votes: 5 13.2%
  • Kyle Hamilton

    Votes: 8 21.1%
  • Evan Neal

    Votes: 2 5.3%
  • Zion Johnson

    Votes: 1 2.6%
  • Nakobe Dean

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Treylon Burks

    Votes: 2 5.3%

  • Total voters
    38
  • Poll closed .

Mollywhopper

Facilitator
Staff member
Jmo, but these guys are the most glaring unchosen between the 3rd and 13th picks that could've been.

In such an instrumental offseason toward the big, big rebuild we're bound to look back and wish on one of these cats.

So, who do you want the most that got away?
 

Mollywhopper

Facilitator
Staff member
Nakobe Dean is still on board for day 2 so doesn’t make a lot of sense in this poll as he could still be selected…

I chose Jermaine Johnson who could’ve been had in a trade up for roughly what Jets paid. Or Linderbaum to solidify interior OL.
Fair point about Dean. Was just scanning through the biggest omissions at each of our picks and Dean at 13 stood out.

The spirit of the question is more though about who you think we should've jumped on when we had the chance immediately post-day 1.
 

Lucky

Ride, Captain, Ride!
Staff member
I liked Jermaine Johnson and I thought he could be a franchise pass rusher. I heard Lance Zierlein say his drop to #26 was "personality" driven.

It wasn't just the Texans that passed on Johnson. Multiple teams that needed a pass rusher also passed. We heard the same issues regarding Thibodeaux, but still went in the top 5.

I was less disappointed about passing on Trevor Penning. I was higher on Penning than most, too be sure. I thought he should have been mentioned with the top 3 OTs on the board, and would have had he played in a Power 5 conference. He tested in the 99 percentile among OTs all time at the combine. Kenyon Green had a poor offseason, but had outstanding college career in the SEC. I thought Green was a top 10 player going into the season. So I'm not super disappointed. I just believe in LTs over OGs.

Johnson is not the last pass rusher on the board. Penning is probably the last LT. The Texans weren't going to fill all holes in one draft. I know that, But to not come up with a edge rusher or LT when they were staring you in the face is a setback. Now, they become needs for a team that wants to compete in 2024.
 
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maverick512000

Hall of Fame
I liked Jermaine Johnson and I thought he could be a franchise pass rusher. I heard Lance Zierlein say his drop to #26 was "personality" driven.

It wasn't just the Texans that passed on Johnson. Multiple teams that needed a pass rusher also passed. We heard the same issues regarding Thibodeaux, but still went in the top 5.

I was less disappointed about passing on Trevor Penning. I was higher on Penning than most, too be sure. I thought he should have been mentioned with the top 3 OTs on the board, and would have had he played in a Power 5 conference. He tested in the 99 percentile among OTs all time at the combine. Kenyon Green had a poor offseason, but had outstanding college career in the SEC. I thought Green was a top 10 player going into the season. So I'm not super disappointed. I just believe in LTs over OGs.

Johnson is not the last pass rusher on the board. Penning is probably the last LT. The Texans weren't going to fill all holes in one draft. I know that, But to not come up with a edge rusher or LT when they were staring you in the face is a setback. Now, they become needs for a team that wants to compete in 2024.
Think the big difference was Thibodeaux personality issues was with bragging and talking about his brand. From what I heard from the NFL draft app talking heads JJ actually had bad interviews with the teams and rubbed a lot of them the wrong way.
 

AcresHomesTexan

No Longer Arlington: Escaped From Jerry's World
Staff member
The have the most athletic CB in the draft and by multiple boards the top rated OG with the potential to get three other players (or position themselves in middle rounds better). I would use the "one got away" if the Texans weren't below average at nearly every position on the field and they needed two or three positions.
 

Lucky

Ride, Captain, Ride!
Staff member
From what I heard from the NFL draft app talking heads JJ actually had bad interviews with the teams and rubbed a lot of them the wrong way.
I'm just not comfortable with passing on superior talent because they "rub the wrong way". If a guy actually has displayed anti-social behavior, OK. No one needs that. Still, unless the player talks about killing kittens and eating puppies in the interview, I wouldn't pass on him for an inferior prospect.
 

Texansphan

Football connoisseur
One got away? There were about 25 other guys we coulda shoulda woulda taken there - including trades.
 

Texansballer74

The Marine
I picked Thibodeaux because we needed a stud pass rusher. Was going to pick Sauce because that’s who I had us drafting at 3. But since Thibodeaux dropped, we should’ve drafted him instead. But as usual we have to go with an injured player no matter who the GM is.
 

welsh texan

You may say I’m a dreamer but I’m not the only one
I'm just not comfortable with passing on superior talent because they "rub the wrong way". If a guy actually has displayed anti-social behavior, OK. No one needs that. Still, unless the player talks about killing kittens and eating puppies in the interview, I wouldn't pass on him for an inferior prospect.
I would think that if you can’t sit in an interview for a multi million quid per year position and at least attempt to present yourself positively then you are going to struggle to hold down that job with millions in the bank be worth that pick.

There always comes a point in the draft where the risk is outweighed by a team being surprised they are able to take a player with the talent level so late on…but it remains to be seen whether that player is or isn’t a problem.

We’ve seen with Tunsil the pros and cons of players who drop in the draft for reasons. Blessed to have a hyper talented LT, but the run game has been inconsistent behind him when he’s healthy and he doesn’t rush back from a bruised pinky.

You also get players with a much worse locker room impact than that. Teams are right to be cautious.
 

maverick512000

Hall of Fame
I'm just not comfortable with passing on superior talent because they "rub the wrong way". If a guy actually has displayed anti-social behavior, OK. No one needs that. Still, unless the player talks about killing kittens and eating puppies in the interview, I wouldn't pass on him for an inferior prospect.
I get it but when a guy falls that far past that many teams that needs what he brings then something there just doesn’t pass the eye test. Even the Jets who ended up getting him passed on him twice before deciding to move up and draft him.
 

Lucky

Ride, Captain, Ride!
Staff member
I would think that if you can’t sit in an interview for a multi million quid per year position and at least attempt to present yourself positively then you are going to struggle to hold down that job with millions in the bank be worth that pick.
I'm not picking on you. But I find it tiresome when regular folks like us try to relate their lives to the NFL. It's laughable. We live in reality, where everything you said is true. The NFL lives in fantasy land, with fantasy money, in a fantasy job that's called a "game".

It takes many things to play this "game". You need freakish athletic ability. That can survive what amounts to 20 car crashes a week. And that person has to want to do this (already a little sick in the head). Have just enough mental acuity to follow a game plan and learn the hand-to-hand combat skills they need to have success.

Now, we want to cookie cutter these guys into a corporate role model? They will be different. Some will be borderline psychopaths, that are willing to let their freak flag fly on the field and in the weight room. Some will just be sociopaths, maybe not able to shine in a corporate interview setting. But the important question is, can they play football better than most people? Can they help win games? Which is why people spend around $200-$250/game just to sit in the stands and have a beer.

At the top of the draft, a team can find another player who can play and not come off as a prick. But if you continue that criteria of selecting players, another team in your division will consistently get the better players without that filter. And you will get your arse whipped on a routine basis. Like the Texans have the past 2 years.

There's the world we live in. Where acting like Lawrence Taylor or Charles Haley leaves you without work and living on the street. And there's the NFL world. Where acting like Lawrence Taylor or Charles Haley can lead to rings, parades, and a whole lotta $$$. NFL teams need to understand what world they live in.
 

TheRealJoker

Hall of Fame
I liked Jermaine Johnson and I thought he could be a franchise pass rusher. I heard Lance Zierlein say his drop to #26 was "personality" driven.

It wasn't just the Texans that passed on Johnson. Multiple teams that needed a pass rusher also passed. We heard the same issues regarding Thibodeaux, but still went in the top 5.

I was less disappointed about passing on Trevor Penning. I was higher on Penning than most, too be sure. I thought he should have been mentioned with the top 3 OTs on the board, and would have had he played in a Power 5 conference. He tested in the 99 percentile among OTs all time at the combine. Kenyon Green had a poor offseason, but had outstanding college career in the SEC. I thought Green was a top 10 player going into the season. So I'm not super disappointed. I just believe in LTs over OGs.

Johnson is not the last pass rusher on the board. Penning is probably the last LT. The Texans weren't going to fill all holes in one draft. I know that, But to not come up with a edge rusher or LT when they were staring you in the face is a setback. Now, they become needs for a team that wants to compete in 2024.
I guess the “smoke screen” was Thibodeaux’s free fall while mock drafts were pushing Jermaine Johnson up to top 10 with several placing him at Texans’ 3. But interview red flags don’t usually come out until after draft like this case.
 

JWTexans

Waterboy
I'm just not comfortable with passing on superior talent because they "rub the wrong way". If a guy actually has displayed anti-social behavior, OK. No one needs that. Still, unless the player talks about killing kittens and eating puppies in the interview, I wouldn't pass on him for an inferior prospect.
That’s the kind of guy I want on a defense
 

TheRealJoker

Hall of Fame
I can't help but think this is a possibility. That said, I haven't looked it up, so I don't know who the agents of our other draft picks are.
This list is for active players. I didn’t know Omenihu was a Mulugheta client. Explains why he was shipped out what seemed prematurely. Purge the team of his clients!

 

Rumps02

Practice Squad
It’s tough. Casserio is going to be criticized heavily for the lack of sexy picks. Hamilton falling to us at 13 could be the one that got away.

Then that leaves you with having to trade back into the 1st to grab Zion, Linderbaum, or Green. And boom there goes a ton of draft capital. Personally, I’m not a fan of turning tackles into guards. We’ve tried that before and failed. The interior.

I’m a big fan of Metchie because he produced at an elite level in a very complex pro-style system under BoB. And he got off to a slow start only averaging 5 receptions per game the first 5 games of the season and averaged nearly 9 recs the last 7.5 games. So if we missed out on addressing the interior o-line we could have traded back from 37 to get Metchie. That may have given us the capital to move up for someone like Cameron Jurgens or Dylan Parham.

So many variables obviously.

We will be looking at Stingley Jr/Pitre vs Garnder/Hamilton for a while. Buckle up…it’s going to be a fun ride.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Decim8

Veteran
For me it be ickey/neal. Im happy with the green pick but i wouldve rather have one of those two. They would've been a good counter to travon walker/jags.
 

gs27

Veteran
I liked the position groups they went after, don't hate any of the picks but IMO better players were available at those positions for the Texans.

3 - Sauce Gardner - I would have preferred going with on-field analysis over traits and speculation.
15 - Trevor Penning - Much more upside with ability to play LT
37 - Stay with Jalen Pitre - Yeah
44 - Alec Pierce - Metchie seems to fit same roll as Cooks. Collins and Pierce on outside with Cooks in slot would give matchup issues.
75 - Leo Chenal - Hybrid LB/safeties are available in FA and later rounds. Chenal is a different breed and the most athletic player in draft.
 
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