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2024 Draft Talk

https://twitter.com/x/status/1783509393285267897

Prospects to consider at No. 42:

Jer’Zhan Newton, DT, Illinois: Defensive tackle is arguably the Texans' biggest need after they did not get a big-name target in free agency. The rub with Newton is that he might not make it to the second round. He’s that good, and there are so few with top-end talent at his position in this draft class. The Texans would likely have to trade into the first round to get him. If he should fall out of the first round, the Texans ought to consider moving up seven spots with the Cardinals at 35 and taking him.

Michael Hall Jr., DT, Ohio State: Hall is a little undersized (6-2, 299), but there are some in the Texans organization who like his talents. At 20, he’s one of the younger players in the draft, so he has time to develop. He had six sacks between the 2022 and 2023 seasons. He’ll probably be drafted somewhere in the 42-60 range, depending on where teams value him. There isn’t a lot of supply at defensive tackle, so he could be drafted earlier than expected.

Braden Fiske, DT, Florida State: Early on, many draft evaluators had Fiske as a late first-round pick, but he’s dropped on some draft boards as of late. He could be available when the Texans pick at 42. The 6-4, 292-pound tackle ran a 4.78 in the 40-yard dash at the combine, which was the fastest of all DTs. I asked an AFC assistant coach about Fiske, and he said, “The guy plays like his hair is on fire every snap. He plays hard, and you know what you are getting when he walks in the door.” The most common criticism I’ve seen is his shorter-than-normal arm length (31 inches), which could hurt his ability to get off blocks in the NFL.

Ennis Rakestraw, CB, Missouri: Most mock drafts have Rakestraw as a late day one or early day two pick. CBS Sports’ Ryan Wilson told me he’d be shocked if Rakestraw fell all the way to 42, but it’s not out of the question. I posed this question to Wilson, though. If Edgerrin Cooper, Max Melton and Kamari Lassiter are all on the board, who is he taking? He said Rakestraw. “Rakestraw is undersized and wasn’t an elite tester, but his game reminds me of (Seattle's) Devin Witherspoon in that he plays cornerback like a linebacker,” Wilson said. The Dallas native is 6-foot, 187 pounds.

Kamari Lassiter, CB, Georgia: I picked Lassiter for the Texans in my first two mock drafts after they traded their first-round pick to Minnesota for No. 42. He is expected to be available at No. 42 and maybe even 59. The Georgia cornerback, who is 6-foot, 180 pounds, didn’t have many interceptions or takeaways during his time with the Bulldogs, but he was still a shutdown cornerback. He allowed only 136 passing yards all season, which was lowest among FBS cornerbacks.

T.J. Tampa, CB, Iowa State: I had Tampa in my latest mock draft because he had a top-30 visit with the Texans, so there was at least some interest there. Tampa is expected to go from anywhere late in the first round to late in the second round. At 6-2, 200 pounds, he has great size for a cornerback and was first-team All-Big 12 last season. He ran a 4.55 at his pro day, which isn’t ideal for a cornerback. But he’s talented. He had two interceptions and seven pass breakups in his final season at Iowa State.

Tyler Nubin, S, Minnesota: I’ve seen Nubin predicted to go anywhere in the second and third rounds. That’s a huge range. But fewer mock drafts have had him in the third round. Nubin is a playmaker. At 6-1, 199 pounds, he has great size for a safety. He was a playmaker the entire season, earning second-team AP All-America honors. He set a school record with 13 career interceptions, including five during his final season, when he was tied for sixth in the country.

Prospects to consider at No. 59

Javon Bullard, S, Georgia: Bullard could be an option at No. 42 or 59. Texans coach DeMeco Ryans has said he’d like to upgrade his safety room after struggles last season and multiple injuries. Three safeties finished the year on injured reserve. Bullard was a huge piece to Georgia’s defense, which has consistently been among the best in the country. The 5-10, 198-pound safety had 56 tackles, two interceptions and five pass deflections last season. He’s one of the top three safeties in this draft class.

Kingsley Suamatia, OT, BYU: Suamatia is projected to go somewhere in Round 2. The Texans have their starters at both tackle spots — Laremy Tunsil and Tytus Howard — for the next two seasons. But they need depth and a potential future replacement. It’s likely not their top need, but they brought in Suamatia for a top-30 visit. At 6-5, 326 pounds, he is similar in size and put up similar numbers at the combine to his cousin, Penei Sewell, who on Wednesday became the highest-paid offensive lineman in NFL history, surpassing Tunsil.

Roger Rosengarten, OT, Washington: As I noted in my final mock draft Wednesday, Rosengarten in 2023 played for the nation’s top offensive line, which helped the Huskies reach the national championship game. He started all 15 games at right tackle and would be a good depth piece for the Texans, who are thin at the position. The Texans hosted Rosengarten on a top-30 visit. At 6-5, 308 pounds, he ran a 4.92 in the 40-yard dash at the combine, which was fastest among offensive linemen. He could go anywhere in the second or third round.

Patrick Paul, OT, Houston: Paul, who is 6-7, 315 pounds, will likely be a second-round pick, given the expected run on offensive tackles in the draft. He’s from Houston and stayed here for college. He was a first-team All-Big 12 selection and allowed only one sack all season with 470 pass block snaps, according to PFF.

Edgerrin Cooper, LB, Texas A&M: Cooper has first-round talent but will likely go somewhere in the second because teams don’t typically take linebackers in the first round anymore. Cooper could come in and compete as a starter for the Texans' SAM linebacker position after Blake Cashman left via free agency. In 12 starts for the Aggies last season, Cooper had 84 tackles, 17 tackles for loss and eight sacks and was tied for team lead with two forced fumbles. He’s a dynamic player, but the Texans' need for a linebacker isn’t as great as their need for a cornerback, defensive tackle and safety.

Payton Wilson, LB, N.C. State: Wilson could be available at 42 or 59. He’s considered one of the top inside linebackers in this draft class. He tested well at the NFL combine but has an injury history. He played six seasons at N.C. State, so long that I covered his high school recruitment when I worked in North Carolina. He was one of the best prospects in the country coming out of high school.

Propsects to consider at No. 86

Ruke Orhorhoro, DT, Clemson: Orhorhoro is projected to go in the third round, so he could potentially be there when the Texans pick at 86. He started 12 games for the Tigers last season and had five sacks. He was third-team All-ACC.

Mike Sainristil, CB, Michigan: Sainristil, who is 5-9, 182 pounds, could immediately come in and compete for the starting nickel role. He started 15 games for national champion Michigan, amassing six interceptions, third best in the nation. He returned two of those for touchdowns.

Khyree Jackson, CB, Oregon: If by some chance the Texans don’t get a cornerback with one of their first two picks, Jackson could be available in the third round with their 86th pick. He’s 6-4, 194 pounds and ran a 4.5 in the 40-yard dash at the combine. He had three interceptions and seven pass deflections for the Ducks.
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Here's my prediction, I think Jer’Zhan (Johnny) Newton, will be drafted higher than is predicted by most mock drafts. IMO he seems like one of those guys that franchises stopped talking about, because they hope he will slide down the board to their pick. My guess would be late (~26th) in the first round if he reaches that far, the only opposing factor is the depth of 3-techs in this draft. He did have an injury, but he made it back to workout at his pro-day.
 
zshawn10 said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1783509393285267897
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The question I have with taking a DT in the 2nd round is, how much playing time/snaps are you expecting from this selection? The Texans signed Autry for two years at $10M per year to play this role and they resigned Khalil Davis for the #2 role. So, we draft a DT. Is he going to battle Davis for the #2 role? I'm all right taking a DT in the third round. I'm just not sure about the 2nd.
 
Number19 said:
The question I have with taking a DT in the 2nd round is, how much playing time/snaps are you expecting from this selection? The Texans signed Autry for two years at $10M per year to play this role and they resigned Khalil Davis for the #2 role. So, we draft a DT. Is he going to battle Davis for the #2 role? I'm all right taking a DT in the third round. I'm just not sure about the 2nd.
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I think based on the DT rotation DeMeco prefers, having a talented guy to join in the rotation would be ideal. The majority of the time the D is playing nickel, and I don't think Davis has the pass rushing chops to make much of an impact. On a 3rd and long/pass-only down having Anderson, Autry, (pass-rushing rookie 3-tech,) and Hunter is pretty tempting even in the 2nd round.
 
cland said:
I think based on the DT rotation... On a 3rd and long/pass-only down having Anderson, Autry, (pass-rushing rookie 3-tech,) and Hunter is pretty tempting even in the 2nd round.
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This doesn't seem right. What position is Autry lining up in?

Autry normally will be lining up at DL3T. The other DT would be lining up at DL1T? Correct? Lining up both DTs in DL3T leaves a huge hole up the middle. Of course you have MIKE filling that gap, maybe. Or you drop the SS down into the box.as well. It just seems a weak alignment.
 
Number19 said:
This doesn't seem right. What position is Autry lining up in?

Autry normally will be lining up at DL3T. The other DT would be lining up at DL1T? Correct? Lining up both DTs in DL3T leaves a huge hole up the middle. Of course you have MIKE filling that gap, maybe. Or you drop the SS down into the box.as well. It just seems a weak alignment.
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Good catch, by 3-tech I was mistakenly referring to the style of player as opposed to where he lines up. If you replace 3-tech with pass-rushing DT that gets us on the same page.
 
cland said:
Good catch, by 3-tech I was mistakenly referring to the style of player as opposed to where he lines up. If you replace 3-tech with pass-rushing DT that gets us on the same page.
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The past couple years I haven't been paying a lot of attention to the defense. This off season and going into next season I'm trying to better understand the change from the old 43 to the newer 4-2-5. For one thing, there's the traditional Nickle. Now there's the big Nickle. Subtle modification but different. I think most on this forum when they refer to DT, they are referring to the DL3T tech and not the DL1T tech. I know what Ryans wants out of his DL3T. I'm not so certain what he wants from his DL1T. We could certainly improve depth behind Autry, but I think depth behind Fatukasi is more critical. Some things we will just have to leave until next year.
 
Losing both DT starters is a blow and their replacements aren’t as good. I may be in the minority but I have had DT as biggest need followed closely by outside corner since FA and nothing has changed. Safety might be my next highest. We need depth and talent there.

That said, they have enough in both spots to not reach. If there is a safety you like better then the highest rates corner, take the safety. Let the board dictate the selections, and for gods sake don’t trade up for jags.
 
Number19 said:
The past couple years I haven't been paying a lot of attention to the defense. This off season and going into next season I'm trying to better understand the change from the old 43 to the newer 4-2-5. For one thing, there's the traditional Nickle. Now there's the big Nickle. Subtle modification but different. I think most on this forum when they refer to DT, they are referring to the DL3T tech and not the DL1T tech. I know what Ryans wants out of his DL3T. I'm not so certain what he wants from his DL1T. We could certainly improve depth behind Autry, but I think depth behind Fatukasi is more critical. Some things we will just have to leave until next year.
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Said this in another post but the base defense is 4-3 Over (1st downs and shorter yardage for the most part), and 4-2-5 is nickel (1st down with 3 receivers, or longer 2nd/3rd down.) The nickel defense has become primary because NFL offenses have gravitated towards becoming passing offenses. 4-2-5 for the Texans is typically a zone defense. I would say that the traditional nickel has an extra (slot/nickel) CB, where as the 'big' nickel can have a safety/coverage linebacker as the 5th cover man, typically used against offenses that have their TE split out wide so that they match up with the opposing TEs strength. (All of the above is 'fuzzy' because of the myriad of offensive and defensive schemes.)

In terms of depth behind DL1T, I agree, Fatukasi's biggest issue with the Jags was that he was injury prone. Not having a solid backup leaves your defense vulnerable to the run. I would be perfectly happy getting a 'space eater' later on in the draft.
 
cland said:
Said this in another post but the base defense is 4-3 Over (1st downs and shorter yardage for the most part), and 4-2-5 is nickel (1st down with 3 receivers, or longer 2nd/3rd down.) The nickel defense has become primary because NFL offenses have gravitated towards becoming passing offenses. 4-2-5 for the Texans is typically a zone defense. I would say that the traditional nickel has an extra (slot/nickel) CB, where as the 'big' nickel can have a safety/coverage linebacker as the 5th cover man, typically used against offenses that have their TE split out wide so that they match up with the opposing TEs strength. (All of the above is 'fuzzy' because of the myriad of offensive and defensive schemes.)

In terms of depth behind DL1T, I agree, Fatukasi's biggest issue with the Jags was that he was injury prone. Not having a solid backup leaves your defense vulnerable to the run. I would be perfectly happy getting a 'space eater' later on in the draft.
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What do you mean "over", as in 4-3 Over.
 
Number19 said:
This doesn't seem right. What position is Autry lining up in?

Autry normally will be lining up at DL3T. The other DT would be lining up at DL1T? Correct? Lining up both DTs in DL3T leaves a huge hole up the middle. Of course you have MIKE filling that gap, maybe. Or you drop the SS down into the box.as well. It just seems a weak alignment.
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It would be really good on passing downs.
 
What a night…..my first NFL Draft at 2000 (8:00 pm) in 14 years. I forgot the chills…..like a heavyweight title fight!!! I know the Texans don’t have a RD1 this year but I’m glued to see how RD1 plays out and who drops into RD2. Okay…..lets get it on!!!!
 
The Commanders go with the best QB in this draft in Jayden Daniels. Big question…do they trade back into RD1 for a big complimentary LSU WR?
 
I am bit surprise as able to watch NFL draft thru free streaming app TUBI. It wasn't available last year. I had to watch some idiots blog as he took shots and scream for subscribers.

Alt here surprise me and Titans
 
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