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LBs who can cover: Who are the prospects?

T

TheRealJoker

Hall of Fame
The Texans' needs on offense are well documented. This thread is dedicated to the one glaring need on our defense: LBs who can cover pass catching RBs in space.

Teams have had success picking on our LBs in the passing game and I think it would be wise in this pass heavy era to dedicate a 2nd or 3rd round pick to an LB that can strengthen this area of our dominant defense.

Who are the prospects you want for the Texans?
 
The guys I'm focused on right now are...

2nd - Anthony Walker, Northwestern
3rd - Elijah Lee, Kansas State
4th/5th - Steven Taylor, Houston


As much as I liked KJ Dillon as a prospect I'm still ticked we drafted him over Jatavis Brown last year. As a rookie this year Brown led the Chargers in tackles, was 3rd in sacks, and 3rd in PBU's despite missing 4 games.
 
Cunningham does sound like the perfect compliment to Mckinney... probably wont last until the 2nd and would be tough to justify using the 1st on the #1 defense that is getting JJ back.

But it would sure be nice :)
 
If there isn't a stud OL worthy of the pick on the board, or a QB(cough), the best player on D would be a good way to go be it CB, S, ILB, OLB or Dline they all would be good additions. An fast ILB that can cover and blitz would definitely have a place and probably pay quicker dividends.


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jradMIT said:
If there isn't a stud OL worthy of the pick on the board, or a QB(cough), the best player on D would be a good way to go be it CB, S, ILB, OLB or Dline they all would be good additions. An fast ILB that can cover and blitz would definitely have a place and probably pay quicker dividends.


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Hopefully that player will be TJ Watt.
 
mussop said:
If one of the top three safeties are there at 25 it might be to good to pass up. Pepper's can play LB in Nickle situations, return kicks and play safety. That's a valuable player right there.
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As someone who has watched and followed Peppers entire career...I think he's been pretty overrated by the media. He's a phenomenal athlete, extremely versatile, and has a very high football IQ but he is a jack of all trades and master of none. There is only one thing he is elite at and that is kick/punt returns. As a DB he has a lot of work to do in coverage. As a LB he is toast if you run right at him. He's not big enough or strong enough to fight off blocks from OL or TE's.

Personally I have him as my #5 Safety.

1. Malik Hooker, Ohio State
2. Jamal Adams, LSU
3. Marcus Williams, Utah
4. Budda Baker, Washington
5. Jabrill Peppers, Michigan

I agree on your point though. Would be extremely hard to pass on a Safety at #25. I really, really like Marcus Williams and think he could be available there.
 
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WolverineFan said:
As someone who has watched and followed Peppers entire career...I think he's been pretty overrated by the media. He's a phenomenal athlete, extremely versatile, and has a very high football IQ but he is a jack of all trades and master of none. There is only one thing he is elite at and that is kick/punt returns. As a DB he has a lot of work to do in coverage. As a LB he is toast if you run right at him. He's not big enough or strong enough to fight off blocks from OL or TE's.

Personally I have him as my #5 Safety.

1. Malik Hooker, Ohio State
2. Jamal Adams, LSU
3. Marcus Williams, Utah
4. Budda Baker, Washington
5. Jabrill Peppers, Michigan

I agree on your point though. Would be extremely hard to pass on a Safety at #25. I really, really like Marcus Williams and think he could be available there.
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I had a chance to watch Hooker and I only watched the Oklahoma game. Was this one of his poorer performances? He looked a bit lost in this game.

I watched Adams against A&M and Alabama and he's a stud.

Different guys though, for sure. Looks like Hooker plays a lot of deep middle zone and Adams is either around LOS or in man coverage.
 
TexansSeminole said:
I had a chance to watch Hooker and I only watched the Oklahoma game. Was this one of his poorer performances? He looked a bit lost in this game.

I watched Adams against A&M and Alabama and he's a stud.

Different guys though, for sure. Looks like Hooker plays a lot of deep middle zone and Adams is either around LOS or in man coverage.
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He was a first year starter this year. OU game was his 2nd career start. He improved dramatically as the season went on. He was probably the best player on the field in the Michigan game (a game that had about 15-20 guys on the field who will get drafted).

Adams is a stud but doesn't have the upside of Hooker. As you stated, Hooker plays a lot of deep middle. He's a true game changer as a deep FS (i.e. Ed Reed). Adams definitely spends more time in the box and can cover the slot but he doesn't have the range or ball skills that Hooker has.

Of that top 5 I listed, Hooker and Williams are true center fielders. Both guys have elite range and ball skills but Williams is undersized. Adams, Peppers, and Baker are all modern Strong Safeties who can play the run and slide down to cover a slot or TE. Adams is strong across the board. No weaknesses. Peppers has elite athletic ability and is strong across the board except in coverage. Needs to improve there. Baker is similar to Adams but undersized.
 
I prefer Anthony Walker from Northwestern. Currently Walker is projected to go in the 4th but I expect to see him move up to the 2nd or 3rd round.
 
If Peppers is there when we pick, depending on how the draft has shaken out, I'd consider him with our pick and play him at LB.

He's not a DB. But he has good defensive instincts.

He's around the same size as Deone Buchanan whom I wanted the Texans to draft coming out. I think Peppers has much more upside as a defender though.
 
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