Keep Texans Talk Google Ad Free!
Venmo Tip Jar | Paypal Tip Jar
Thanks for your support! 🍺😎👍

2015 Texans Talk Mock Draft SELECTION

Status
Not open for further replies.
Thanks to all who kept this thing going over the weekend during stoppage time.

Next up: Last of round 6. PM picks if you are getting close. (Within 5)

28(204) Ravens (from Cowboys) (bah007/WolverineFan) -- On the clock. 7:50AM.
29(205) Colts (NCTexan) --
30(206) Packers (WolverineFan) --
31(207) Colts (NCTexan) --
32(208) Titans (from Patriots) (NCTexan) --
33(209) Seahawks (compensatory) (bah007) --
34(210) Packers (compensatory) (WolverineFan) --
35(211) Texans (compensatory) (Blake) --
36(212) Steelers (compensatory) (Lucky) --
37(213) Packers (compensatory) (WolverineFan) --
38(214) Seahawks (compensatory) (bah007) --
39(215) Rams (compensatory) (beerlover) --
40(216) Texans (compensatory) (Blake) --
41(217) Chiefs (compensatory) (Texan4Ever) --
 
With the #204 pick the Baltimore Ravens select...

Adam Shead - OG, Oklahoma

158090047-adam-shead-of-the-oklahoma-sooners-blocks-gettyimages.jpg
 
TexansFTW said:
I'm a big fan of this guy as an end of round 5 pick. I think he can see a lot of quality field time and USC generally produces some good LBs.
Click to expand...

I agree. He has productive film and he's a solid athlete. I think he would be a strong fit as a weak side ILB in our defense.
 
beerlover said:
I'm not sure how I feel about his haul?
Interesting if Ray falls to #16 sure seems like BPA.
Texans land their future #1 WR & replacement for Andre Johnson.
Really like Walford, but would Texans go TE in 3rd rd, back to back drafts?
Ryan seems like an O'Brien like player, hard nosed, productive no nonsense.
Good Center prospect to compete for reps.
Not sure about Pullard? Seems like practice squad material behind Cushing, Dent, Tuggle, Mohamed, Tarpinian & Bullough. Unless Texans go elite talent for position they have plenty of depth here already.
Click to expand...

Texans draft not finished, but I don't see how anyone (not saying you) could be upset about getting one of the drafts premier speed pass rushers to replace Reed, a top wide out to replace Andre, and some TE help. I was not pleased with our TE production last season. We have competition at center now and some young athletic linebackers. And now Ray Drew to learn from and backup JJ Watt.
 
I'm not choosing a side here, but I can understand where BeerLover is coming from. This is all JUST MY OPINION though, and I respect where all of yall are coming from too though.

First Pick:

The drafting of Shane Ray sucks for me because that would mean we don't believe in one or both of Clowney or Merciless.

Brooks Reed was supposed to be moved inside last year and his days as an OLB were supposed to be over as a Houston Texan before the Clowney injury. Now to draft ANOTHER OLB in the first means either Merciless is a bust and we're giving up on him OR the organization fears Clowney is a bust and we're giving up on him. I say ANOTHER because this would be 3 OLBs in the first round in the last 3/4 years.

If this pick happens, I'm sorry, I can't get excited because to me it just shows we had a glaring hole at a position I thought we MIGHT have been OK at. I think we should stop focusing on replacing Brooks Reed so much, as this wasn't even supposed to be his job to be replacing last year.

2nd round

Now we get Perriman. I absolutely get the pick. He falls to you in the 2nd and we have a glaring hole there with Hopkins and a bunch of decent to scrub rated slot WRs then you gotta take the pick. FYI - I don't think Shorts is anything more than a slot in today's NFL and should only be started as a #2 purely out of lack of other options.

Even with me agreeing with the pick, I'm scared. Very scared. I absolutely HATE guys that jump 1-2 full rounds because of combine performances. No one was screaming from the rooftops about this guy before the combine, but today everyone analyzes the same film they thought was pretty good during the season and now today loves the hell out of it. Sorry, but I'm scared. I get it, and would do the same, but that doesn't mean I like it.

3rd round pick

We get another 3rd round TE. Everyone points at our TE position and says "it sucks, replace it." Why doesn't anyone point the finger at the guy throwing to the TE position though when evaluating the TE? Ryan Fitzpatrick is a loser. He's a target locker, not a progression mover. For as smart as he is, he just can't think fast enough on a football field.

There is a reason Stevie Johnson was a 1000 yard receiver on the Bills w/ Ryan Fitzpatrick, but with any other QB he is just a jamoke on the football field. He was getting peppered with the ball 140+ times a season. Fitz locks in on his #1 or #2 WR at the start and either waits for them or scrambles for 5 yards on 3rd and 8, he doesn't know anything else. His TE and/or slot WRs are dead to him at the start of each and every play.

Finally, I see everyone clamoring for the 2 TE set thing, but why did we go out and grab so many slot WRs if we plan to run 2 TEs? You aren't running 2 TEs and 3 WRs and leaving the RB off the field unless you are down by 40 every game, and I think this defense AKA JJ Watt is good enough to not allow that. Although this can definitely change too... but we still have G Graham under contract.

I really like Ryan in the 4th, but let's be real, it's Rick Smith. He will draft some UDFA prospect rounds 4-7 and leave serious talent on the board. I expect guys like Gordon Freeman, Cloud Strife, Master Chief, Link or other non-real world football names to be called at this point in the draft.
 
The Green Bay Packers select Alani Fua - OLB, BYU

He lacks the production that you expect from someone of his physical ability. Has top notch measureables and a great skill set but never broke out unlike his predecessors Ezekiel Ansah and Kyle Van Noy.
 
31(207) Colts (NCTexan) -- on the clock 9:40am - 11:40am
32(208) Titans (from Patriots) (NCTexan) --
33(209) Seahawks (compensatory) (bah007) -- PM'd
34(210) Packers (compensatory) (WolverineFan) -- on deck
35(211) Texans (compensatory) (Blake) -- in the hole
36(212) Steelers (compensatory) (Lucky) -- PM'd
37(213) Packers (compensatory) (WolverineFan) --
38(214) Seahawks (compensatory) (bah007) --
39(215) Rams (compensatory) (beerlover) --
40(216) Texans (compensatory) (Blake) --
41(217) Chiefs (compensatory) (Texan4Ever) -- PM'd
 
Colts select Damien Wilson, ILB, Minnesota.

Not sold on him at the position, but seems worth the chance this late in the draft.
 
TexansFTW said:
If this pick happens, I'm sorry, I can't get excited because to me it just shows we had a glaring hole at a position I thought we MIGHT have been OK at. I think we should stop focusing on replacing Brooks Reed so much, as this wasn't even supposed to be his job to be replacing last year.
Click to expand...

This is not directed at you specifically, but to everyone on the board. I have seen a ton of discontent on the idea of drafting another pass rusher #1. We've done so quite frequently over the years and it has routinely failed. The bigger problem (to me) is people who are blind to the problem at OLB because of the investment we have previously made.

OLB is (clearly) one of the weakest positions on this roster. Hands down. I don't care about the investment we've made thus far. It clearly hasn't worked. Now we have Clowney coming off major surgery and Mercilus has 1 year left on his contract.

Who are the other guys at the position? John Simon, Kourtnei Brown, and Jason Ankrah? That's pathetic. Simon was drafted by Baltimore and cut after 1 year because their other depth guys were better. Brown is a 4 year vet who has yet to play in an NFL game. Ankrah was undrafted and has also never played an NFL game.

What happens next year if Clowney doesn't recover and Mercilus walks in FA? What's the plan then?
 
The Green Bay Packers select Brandon Bridge - QB, South Alabama

Complete developmental prospect. Ball of clay that combines ideal size, arm strength, and mobility with awful mechanics and erratic accuracy. To me, he's basically this year's Logan Thomas except you are taking him 2-3 rounds later and giving him a chance to develop.
 
35(211) Texans (compensatory) (Blake) -- on the clock 10:15am - 12:15pm
36(212) Steelers (compensatory) (Lucky) -- PM'd
37(213) Packers (compensatory) (WolverineFan) -- on deck
38(214) Seahawks (compensatory) (bah007) -- PM'd
39(215) Rams (compensatory) (beerlover) -- in the hole
40(216) Texans (compensatory) (Blake) --
41(217) Chiefs (compensatory) (Texan4Ever) -- PM'd
 
WolverineFan said:
What happens next year if Clowney doesn't recover and Mercilus walks in FA? What's the plan then?
Click to expand...

Definitely fair.

IFF that happened, we'd clearly be in trouble. We'd have little to no pass rush as we often have from the edges for the last several years minus Barwin's breakout year under Wade.

Most teams that value a player highly generally find a way to keep them IMO. If we valued Mercilus we would find a way to keep him. That's why we always hear that expression "let him walk". Obviously sometimes you can't control if a player is willing to test the open market and another team just has a number you can't meet, but I think most franchises can realistically keep certain players if they really like and value them and that player isn't seeking Darrel Revis kind of long term deal and money, which I HIGHLY doubt Mercilus will be looking for without a JJ Watt season this year.

If this team was a perennial playoff contender I get always thinking to the future, but we have so many holes to address DLine/Pass Rush in the first every year for 6/10 years and really only have one guy to show for it. If we were stacked everywhere else though, I'd get it, but we aren't... we suck in a lot of places.

That 9 win season last year is deceptive as hell IMO. We realistically beat up on 8/9 teams(games) that were 4 or less wins. And yes, I consider the Bills with EJ Manuel as the starting QB a 4 win team. We got blood coming out all over this Bull's body, and I just want to patch up some blood gushing holes before I start upgrading my bandaids.

All that said though, I totally get where you're coming from, and we all think differently, and I respect that. It probably all goes back to the old "BPA vs Greatest Need" everyone fights about every year.

Let me reverse the question now though since I answered yours.... What if Clowney does recover and Mercilus plays pretty good to great?
 
WolverineFan said:
What happens next year if Clowney doesn't recover and Mercilus walks in FA? What's the plan then?
Click to expand...

Exactly. Just read the Mercilus thread to check the temperature on picking up his 5th round option. Its ice cold. The Texans have not picked up his option and its a whopping 8 million.

We don't have a plan B, and waiting until you have a massive hole at a critical position isn't always the best idea.
 
TexansFTW said:
Let me reverse the question now though since I answered yours.... What if Clowney does recover and Mercilus plays pretty good to great?
Click to expand...

First off, MSR. Second...

If Clowney recovers then that's great. Hopefully he will be able to live up to expectations as the #1 pick and be the dominant force across from Watt that we all want. That being said, the odds of his recovering to full form AND living up to expectations are not good.

As for Mercilus. The better he plays this year, the less chance we have of keeping him next year. I haven't looked up the FA market for edge rushers next year but I would imagine Mercilus would be pretty high up there if he has a good year next season. We are already up against the cap. We can't afford to get into a bidding war over him.

In that case, Clowney looks great so we let Mercilus walk. Who's the other OLB and the reserves? Our defense would basically be Watt & Clowney with no depth behind them and we will also be replacing Cushing & Joseph and maybe Crick.

The defense could end up being a mess in a year or two. My main point wasn't to promote taking an OLB. Merely to point out that we still need to seriously address the position despite the previous heavy investment that we've already put into it.
 
I understand the need to take a DE/OLB, but if we take Ray who is going to be the SOLB? I don't trust Ray in the run game or in coverage. To me, he's another Mercilus. He can rush the passer but I don't feel that he'll do the other stuff near as well as Reed
 
WolverineFan said:
This is not directed at you specifically, but to everyone on the board. I have seen a ton of discontent on the idea of drafting another pass rusher #1. We've done so quite frequently over the years and it has routinely failed. The bigger problem (to me) is people who are blind to the problem at OLB because of the investment we have previously made.

OLB is (clearly) one of the weakest positions on this roster. Hands down. I don't care about the investment we've made thus far. It clearly hasn't worked. Now we have Clowney coming off major surgery and Mercilus has 1 year left on his contract.

Who are the other guys at the position? John Simon, Kourtnei Brown, and Jason Ankrah? That's pathetic. Simon was drafted by Baltimore and cut after 1 year because their other depth guys were better. Brown is a 4 year vet who has yet to play in an NFL game. Ankrah was undrafted and has also never played an NFL game.

What happens next year if Clowney doesn't recover and Mercilus walks in FA? What's the plan then?
Click to expand...

I say draft two. Either at 16 and later or Nate orchard and a Deion Barnes
 
JB said:
I understand the need to take a DE/OLB, but if we take Ray who is going to be the SOLB? I don't trust Ray in the run game or in coverage. To me, he's another Mercilus. He can rush the passer but I don't feel that he'll do the other stuff near as well as Reed
Click to expand...

I would play Mercilus at SOLB in that scenario. He's actually been a good edge defender against the run and is adequate in coverage. His problem has been a lack of production as a pass rusher while playing in primarily a pass rushing role.
 
WolverineFan said:
Second...

The defense could end up being a mess in a year or two. My main point wasn't to promote taking an OLB. Merely to point out that we still need to seriously address the position despite the previous heavy investment that we've already put into it.
Click to expand...

For sure. Good stuff and I hear you. Just because the money was spent doesn't mean it was spent wisely, let's spend it again, but wisely this time. I get you.

And yeah, it's not easy to keep a quality pass rusher that beasts out their final year. I guess at least you get comp picks. I think that if we really value Merciless we can keep him, but we really valued Mario too and couldn't keep him so time will tell.

WolverineFan said:
Our defense would basically be Watt & Clowney with no depth behind them and we will also be replacing Cushing & Joseph and maybe Crick.
Click to expand...

Our D has basically been just Watt and the rest of the JAGs for a while now, lol, but I hear you. Anyways, good stuff.
 
Blake said:
Texans draft not finished, but I don't see how anyone (not saying you) could be upset about getting one of the drafts premier speed pass rushers to replace Reed, a top wide out to replace Andre, and some TE help. I was not pleased with our TE production last season. We have competition at center now and some young athletic linebackers. And now Ray Drew to learn from and backup JJ Watt.
Click to expand...

Not intended to derail mock draft selection thread just merely my opinion of your draft so far & no it isn't done. see you just selected Ellis McCarthy, DT UCLA. What a physical specimen. Saw him dominate as a freshmen, saw great potential, then injury, inconsistency in games, production dropped now boom or bust. Like I said & continue to say, don't know how I feel about your Texan selections, check all the boxes for size, speed & potential but not at least in my book character or work ethic. Of course if selected I will be behind them 100% & hoping for the best but other than O'Brien (whom I trust) I'm just a confused, frustrated Texan fan waiting for something else bad or unforeseen to happen. The only homerun hit by this organization has either left the building (Andre Johnson) or is carrying the team on his shoulders (JJ Watt) which led me into mock drafting back in 2004 not knowing just how frustrated & disillusioned I would become 11 years later with progress :inneganned:
 
infantrycak said:
Please expound. Right now we are at $30.6 mil under with our biggest FAs next offseason being Brandon Brooks and Whitney Mercilus.

For comparison:

Texans $30.6
Colts $27.1
Hags $38.8
Tacks $19.7
Click to expand...

You're right. For some reason I was thinking this year's cap with next year's Free Agency. Got crossed up. I don't think that discredits my point though.

Are you willing to make that kind of investment in Mercilus? Brian Orakpo just got $8M a year over 4 years with $13.5M guaranteed. Mercilus is not that level of talent but he's been much more durable than Orakpo and has had similar production as he's actually been on the field. Everson Griffen got $8.5M a year over 5 years with $19.5M guaranteed. It shows what the market is for the top edge rushers available in FA. I would imagine Mercilus' FA price will be in that ball park if he's coming off a good 2015 season. You willing to make that jump?
 
37(213) Packers (compensatory) (WolverineFan) -- On the clock 11AM.
38(214) Seahawks (compensatory) (bah007) --
39(215) Rams (compensatory) (beerlover) --
40(216) Texans (compensatory) (Blake) --
41(217) Chiefs (compensatory) (Texan4Ever) --
 
JB said:
I understand the need to take a DE/OLB, but if we take Ray who is going to be the SOLB? I don't trust Ray in the run game or in coverage. To me, he's another Mercilus. He can rush the passer but I don't feel that he'll do the other stuff near as well as Reed
Click to expand...

I think the way to go is to take Ray/Dupree Rd.1 and Orchard Rd.2 so that the need at LB will be filled with true talent. Orchard will be an upgrade over Reed. He can rush the passer on par with Mercilus, better than Reed and can cover TE's better than any LB currently on the roster. Orchard is a former WR with extremely long arms and good speed. He's a playmaker in the Jamie Collins mode. You've got to have great LB's to run a 3-4.

The current state of Texans LB corps is lacking at best.
 
beerlover said:
Not intended to derail mock draft selection thread just merely my opinion of your draft so far & no it isn't done.
Click to expand...

This thread needed some juice anyway, it was good for it IMO. Derailed it, yes, but juice driven into it, definitely succeeded.

We had become like 6 guys drafting for 32 teams and this thread was becoming more chore than fun for a minute.

Anyways, I wanted to ask a bunch of questions after the draft, that was one of them, I'll save my others though since we are close.

beerlover said:
which led me into mock drafting back in 2004 not knowing just how frustrated & disillusioned I would become 11 years later with progress
Click to expand...

Holy crap, I hear you man. Mock drafting has been a blessing and a curse for sure. My knowledge has increased exponentially (although many of you may disagree, lol), and with it my bitterness and hatred of the moves the organization makes.

Back in the day I used to be all "in the Texans I trust, they must know more than me". Now I'm just throwing nachos at my friends' TVs having a "sheet" fit.

I'll butcher this quote likely, but I heard somewhere something like "those that acquire the greatest knowledge are generally those that become the most unhappy when they see things for what they really are"
 
WolverineFan said:
You're right. For some reason I was thinking this year's cap with next year's Free Agency. Got crossed up. I don't think that discredits my point though.
Click to expand...

I wasn't trying to. Just figuring out which of us had our wires crossed on that side point.

I would imagine Mercilus' FA price will be in that [$8-8.5 mil] ball park if he's coming off a good 2015 season. You willing to make that jump?
Click to expand...

How good a season? As I said in his thread, right now I see his market at $3-4 mil. He'd have to have a 13+ sack season I'd think to get into that ballpark. If it looks like it's primarily the result of scheme - no. If it looks like it's clicked for him and will continue, I'd certainly be in the bidding.
 
infantrycak said:
How good a season? As I said in his thread, right now I see his market at $3-4 mil. He'd have to have a 13+ sack season I'd think to get into that ballpark. If it looks like it's primarily the result of scheme - no. If it looks like it's clicked for him and will continue, I'd certainly be in the bidding.
Click to expand...

No idea on how good a season. That was just the hypothetical that was thrown out there in earlier discussion. I will say that Orakpo had 11.5 sacks over the last 3 years and got $8M a year and $13.5M guaranteed from Tennessee. Notice that Washington had no intention of matching anything near that. That may be the case for us next year. We are familiar with Mercilus and his limitations. Other teams do not share that familiarity and one could very likely come in with an offer way above our expected market value.

FA is not a tame beast. Hell, Erik Walden got $4M a year over 4 years and $8M guaranteed from Indy and he only had 8 career sacks in his 5 year career to that point. To compare, Mercilus has 18 sacks over 3 years. On that scale his value is way beyond $3-4M per year. Everson Griffen had 17.5 sacks over 4 years before he got $42M from Minnesota.
 
JB said:
I unde rsta nd has zeroothe need to take a DE/OLB, but if we take Ray who is going to be the SOLB? I don't trust Ray in the run game or in coverage. To me, he's another Mercilus. He can rush the passer but I don't feel that he'll do the other stuff near as well as Reed
Click to expand...

I don't think ray should be picked before the mid twenties. I love his hustle but he has zero pass rush moves and he isn't very good at a stopping the run. If he doesn't beat his guy off the snap the only way he's getting a sack is if the play breaks down and the qb scrambles his direction.

Watch the Florida game this year. He had three sacks. Two were where he just flat out got the jump on the OT. One was where the qb scrambled his way. Other than that he didn't do anything worth noting. I would love anyone to watch that game and tell me anything he did in that game shows he's worthy of an early first round pick.

Not saying he sucks. He has the tools to be good but he needs a lot of work. No way I take him with our pick at 16.
 
mussop said:
I don't think ray should be picked before the mid twenties. I love his hustle but he has zero pass rush moves and he isn't very good at a stopping the run. If he doesn't beat his guy off the snap the only way he's getting a sack is if the play breaks down and the qb scrambles his direction.

Watch the Florida game this year. He had three sacks. Two where where he just flat out got the jump on the OT. One was where the qb scrambled his way. Other than that he didn't do anything worth noting. I would love anyone to watch that game and tell me anything he did in that game shows he's worthy of an early first round pick.

Not saying he sucks. He has the tools to be good but he needs a lot of work. No way I take him with our pick at 16.
Click to expand...

If Ray was as rounded as you want him to be, I doubt he would be available at #16.

Also I don't really think an argument is valid when it starts with "besides those 3 sacks he didn't do anything."

All I know is this guy is like a firecracker off the line.
 
39(215) Rams (compensatory) (beerlover) -- On The Clock
40(216) Texans (compensatory) (Blake) --
41(217) Chiefs (compensatory) (Texan4Ever) --
 
Blake said:
39(215) Rams (compensatory) (beerlover) -- On The Clock
40(216) Texans (compensatory) (Blake) --
41(217) Chiefs (compensatory) (Texan4Ever) --
Click to expand...

give me a minute. Rams have not had a selection in like three rounds or 96 picks.
 
Rams select - Karlos Williams, RB, 6006 230, 4.48 FSU

Karlos+Williams+Florida+State+v+Auburn+wgXJPZizv-ol.jpg


Rams need RB help, someone to compliment Tre Mason who can now be better utilized moving him around to create mismatches while Williams can become the three down bell cow back.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top