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Grading the draft for 2009

Thorn

Thorn

Dirty Old Man
Well the inevitable grades by everyone is coming out this morning. Here are a few I've found for the Texans.

Fox Sports: Grade: A
Several teams told me that the Texans picked some very athletic players, starting with USC outside linebacker Brian Cushing. Cincinnati defensive end Connor Barwin is a converted tight end who led the Big East with 11 sacks in his senior season. Barwin sounds like the next Mike Vrabel. Alabama's Antoine Caldwell started 34 of his 48 career games at center. He's a great long snapper and can also play guard.
New Mexico cornerback Glover Quin had a record 40 3/4-inch vertical jump while also squatting 500 pounds; he may be the strongest athlete at the position. Quin could end up being a free safety. Anthony Hill is a blocking tight end from North Carolina State, while everyone will be curious about Rice's James Casey, who had 111 receptions last season. Casey is a former baseball player who is a very special athlete.

Yahoo Sports
Houston Texans: B
Outside linebacker Brian Cushing should bring attitude and sure tackling to the defense. Defensive end Connor Barwin should be more effective because of Mario Williams' presence, and center Antoine Caldwell is a high character guy. More help for a team on the rise.

Sporting News
Houston Texans: B
Outside linebacker Brian Cushing should bring attitude and sure tackling to the defense. Defensive end Connor Barwin should be more effective because of Mario Williams' presence, and center Antoine Caldwell is a high character guy. More help for a team on the rise.

NFL fanhouse gives Houston a B+ for the first day of the draft, their comment is rather cryptic, but all they say is “Conviction seems to be stronger”

Hmmmm....Just noticed that Sporting News and Yahoo Sports are the same thing, must have the same writer. Oh well, this is a cut and paste job anyway....LOL
 
MSNBC sports didn't like it as much. Damn liberals. LOL

Houston Texans
Grade: C+

Every year, the Texans draft front seven defenders. And they still need more. USC linebacker Brian Cushing is solid, but unspectacular. There were better playmakers available. Second-round DE Connor Barwin is an exciting jack-of-all trades, but we don’t understand why the Texans took two tight ends and didn’t fill their running back need in the second day.
 
USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/2009-04-26-draft-grades_N.htm


GRADE: C+

• Houston Texans: Three of first four picks dedicated to defense, and rightfully so. LB Brian Cushing has sound fundamentals. Texans seem to see Connor Barwin more as a DE than LB. Kind of light (240 pounds) but he would give them a little more explosion up front, most of which now comes from Mario Williams. Glover Quin is part safety, part cornerback. Where do the Texans fit him in? They were already solid at TE with Owen Daniels but big Anthony Hill (6-6, 265) might help in run game.
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Thorn said:
NFL fanhouse gives Houston a B+ for the first day of the draft, their comment is rather cryptic, but all they say is “Conviction seems to be stronger”

Hmmmm....Just noticed that Sporting News and Yahoo Sports are the same thing, must have the same writer. Oh well, this is a cut and paste job anyway....LOL
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http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2009/04/27/2009-nfl-draft-grades-final-report-card/

That was Day 1. Overall they still gave it a B+ and said "Need Guidance But Improving."
 
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FWIW, Mel Kiper has us in the top 5 drafts.

Mayock on NFL network was also hyping our draft after the Casey pick in the 5th.

Need guidance and improving? What did they consult the magic 8 ball?
 
Mel Kiper:

Houston Texans: GRADE: B+

This was a very productive draft, as the Texans' first five picks (Brian Cushing, Connor Barwin, Antoine Caldwell, Glover Quin and Anthony Hill) will all contribute quickly. These are solid football players and I really like the Barwin pick. Look for sixth-rounder Brice McCain and seventh-round selection Troy Nolan to also compete for playing time.

http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/draf...lumns/story?columnist=kiper_jr_mel&id=4103819
 
Porky said:
FWIW, Mel Kiper has us in the top 5 drafts.

Mayock on NFL network was also hyping our draft after the Casey pick in the 5th.
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I think Daniels contract situation played a part in the 2 TE's and Dunta's a part in the 2 Cb's. Even though I'm not the biggest fan of Cushing, I freakin love our draft.
 
BigBull17 said:
I think Daniels contract situation played a part in the 2 TE's and Dunta's a part in the 2 Cb's. Even though I'm not the biggest fan of Cushing, I freakin love our draft.
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It's a bit of a boom or bust type draft outside of the 1st and 3rd rounders, but I like it a lot too outside of no RB.

I do take issue though with saying this was because of Daniels and Robinson. I don't think those picks had a thing to do with the contracts I really don't. You're not going to replace Robinson with a couple of borderline corners late in the draft. The first TE is a Bruener replacement not Daniels, and the 2nd TE was too good of a value to pass on and brings many attributes to the table besides being a TE such as long snapper, fullback, and hey BTW the guy was a backup QB. Can you say wildcat?
 
Porky said:
It's a bit of a boom or bust type draft outside of the 1st and 3rd rounders, but I like it a lot too outside of no RB.

I do take issue though with saying this was because of Daniels and Robinson. I don't think those picks had a thing to do with the contracts I really don't. You're not going to replace Robinson with a couple of borderline corners late in the draft. The first TE is a Bruener replacement not Daniels, and the 2nd TE was too good of a value to pass on and brings many attributes to the table besides being a TE such as long snapper, fullback, and hey BTW the guy was a backup QB. Can you say wildcat?
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RIght on target P! I almost went crazy as A. Brown was there for both our 4ths and then selected by Giants. I do not understand that unless Smith was simply not enamored with his skills. Stats and size were great imo.
 
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badboy said:
RIght on target P! I almost went crazy as A. Brown was there for both our 4ths and then selected by Giants. I do not understand that unless Smith was simply not enamored with his skills. Stats and size were great imo.
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Size was great, stats were not. He had a good combine, but he never really produced in college which is a big question mark considering his combination of size and athleticism.
 
Porky said:
It's a bit of a boom or bust type draft outside of the 1st and 3rd rounders, but I like it a lot too outside of no RB.

I do take issue though with saying this was because of Daniels and Robinson. I don't think those picks had a thing to do with the contracts I really don't. You're not going to replace Robinson with a couple of borderline corners late in the draft. The first TE is a Bruener replacement not Daniels, and the 2nd TE was too good of a value to pass on and brings many attributes to the table besides being a TE such as long snapper, fullback, and hey BTW the guy was a backup QB. Can you say wildcat?
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But they do give us more flexability in those talks. We at least have guys at the positions now.
 
I don't see any point in grading the 2009 draft. It's old news. I'm already working on my grades for the 2010 draft and I'll have those in shortly.

The Texans did pretty good too considering they picked 32nd. :)
 
The only real measure of grade I can use is how well needs were filled, how well value for the picks was filled. We all know it takes time.

Needs: D. Filled OLB/passrusher/C/2ndary depth but failed to directly address depth at RB/bigtime 2ndary playmaker/WR depth and for my taste overstocked on TE.

Value: B Cushing I feel is fair, Barwin good considering SI had him going 17th overall (not quite what some felt but his window was pretty wide open) Caldwell, good, Casey is great value

Right off the bat I think this draft gets a C+, pushing B- territory. Certainly one of the more interesting drafts I've seen the Texans have in recent years.
 
Hervoyel said:
I don't see any point in grading the 2009 draft. It's old news. I'm already working on my grades for the 2010 draft and I'll have those in shortly.

The Texans did pretty good too considering they picked 32nd. :)
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We;re starting our 2010 7 round mock any day now if you're interested.
 
gtexan02 said:
We;re starting our 2010 7 round mock any day now if you're interested.
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I really think we should trade down with our 3rd round pick next year. I just don't see any value on the board there. If we can get a 4th and 5th for it, I love a couple projects that we can grab in the 5th round.
 
dalemurphy said:
I really think we should trade down with our 3rd round pick next year. I just don't see any value on the board there. If we can get a 4th and 5th for it, I love a couple projects that we can grab in the 5th round.
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Yep ... after they move Mario to TE ... they'll need another DE or DT .
 
Some real nice looking TEs lining up for next year. Personally, I think we may want to address our special teams.
 
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