What position John McClain said we will take...

[TheOgre]

I know many of you are sceptacle about John McClain. I personally think he is pretty good. I don't always agree with him but I think he is a stand up guy.

In the previous 3 years, he has come out and told us what position he thought they would pick. He is 3 for 3 on that. Right before the draft, he has actually picked the player we would likely take (he is 3 for 3 on that as well). He seems to have better sources inside the Texans than people think (either that or he is EXTREMELY good at guessing).

On 610 radio today, he all but said we would take a WR. He did say we might opt for pass-rusher instead, but that was unlikely. He discounted taking OT Barron because he might be a liability starting immediately. So from this point forward, I am going to assume we are either taking a ROLB or WR2.

 

[beerlover]

funny listened to 610 also and while McClain noted that WR (Williamson) would be a need to compliment AJ he might be gone & that if the Texans went OLB (like a Babin) that he would need to be profiecent in pass coverage. i personally think the Texans have their eye on Darryl Blackstock, Virgina with the 2nd rd. pick he already has 3-4 experience and now his coach is a Texan assistant.

then he went on to say the Texans may in fact pick a CB. specificly Carlos Rogers name was mentioned, John mentioned three sources he trusts all recorded his 40 times as legit form 4.31 to 4.38. CB does make sense if Williamson is gone, with Dunta & Carlos on the corners, Glenn playing nickle and rotating in different schemes would be very disruptive. from the couple of times I saw Rogers play he was very physical hitting like a Safety and would be excellent coming of the edge in blitzing situations & with his speed like Dunta should be able to get to QB's at will.

 

[cadahnic]

BeerLover I agree totally with your post. Blackstock is the best pass-rushing OLB in the draft other than Demarcus Ware who we could grab in the first round. We would be lucky to get Carlos Rogers who will be available when we pick and he and Dunta will be a serious duo. Carlos would become a mid-year starter.

We could easily grab a WR in the third that will be more explosive than Gaffney whether it be Jerome Mathis or Michael Bradley.

 

[TheOgre]

He did backpedal but he still said that he thinks WR is the Texan's first choice. I hope one of the "Big 3" WR's falls to us. I could see Chicago, Minnesota, Washington, Tennessee and/or San Diego potentially drafting WR's ahead of us. Any other teams that might go WR? We know Arizona won't LOL.

 

[F-minus67]

Does this mean that the texans will trade down? White and Williamson are good, but most people expect them to go in the second half of the first round.

 

[cadahnic]

I dont see us trading down if we make a trade it will be to move up to get a top-tier prospect. there is also no big 3 among the receivers in this draft. Edwards and Williams are in a class of their own and the seperation between White, Williamson, and Clayton will be upon what a team likes more. White is the more physical receiver, Williamson is the speedster, and Clayton is the playmaker. It just depends on what you are looking for. Dont look for either of them to go before the 15th pick. Eventhough Carolina could pick up White who they are high on.

 

[Blake]

On 610 radio today, he all but said we would take a WR. He did say we might opt for pass-rusher instead, but that was unlikely. He discounted taking OT Barron because he might be a liability starting immediately. So from this point forward, I am going to assume we are either taking a ROLB or WR2.

I can do the same thing he is doing. Guessing.

We might opt for a pass-rusher instead.... no ****, we are a 3-4 team. A pass rusher is always a posibility.

 

[cadahnic]

1. We trade up to get DJ or stay put and grab best D player available ie Demarcus Ware or Marcus Spears or E. James
2. Please let draft gods smile on us and daryl blackstock fall to us if not grab a OL Adam Terry of Syracuse or a Wideout
3. We have two picks skys the limit fill need

See I guessed Likely one of those guesses will be right yeah I am 1 for 1

 

[TheOgre]

He first said he thought WR first, that is the one I am going with. Last year he said CB when most people were still thinking we would go D-line (back in February 2004).

He said we would take a WR in 2003 and specifically AJ a couple of weeks before the draft. Everyone knew we would take Carr in 2002. That was one of the worst kept secrets in NFL draft history.

It becomes harder to predict now that we aren't at the top of the draft.

 

[royce1054]

funny listened to 610 also and while McClain noted that WR (Williamson) would be a need to compliment AJ he might be gone & that if the Texans went OLB (like a Babin) that he would need to be profiecent in pass coverage. i personally think the Texans have their eye on Darryl Blackstock, Virgina with the 2nd rd. pick he already has 3-4 experience and now his coach is a Texan assistant.

then he went on to say the Texans may in fact pick a CB. specificly Carlos Rogers name was mentioned, John mentioned three sources he trusts all recorded his 40 times as legit form 4.31 to 4.38. CB does make sense if Williamson is gone, with Dunta & Carlos on the corners, Glenn playing nickle and rotating in different schemes would be very disruptive. from the couple of times I saw Rogers play he was very physical hitting like a Safety and would be excellent coming of the edge in blitzing situations & with his speed like Dunta should be able to get to QB's at will.

K now that i am hearing about Orlando Pace. I dont think we will have a pick. If we still do. Spears wont be there he will be taken 12 chargers. Williamson will be there he could actually fall to 14 or 19. Blackstock is a end of 1st round to beginning 2nd roound player. Carlos Rodgers i have slipping into the top 20's. All could help. Rodgers doesnt make sense because we signed sanders and we have faggins. Blackstock makes sense only if we trade down and sit Peek. i doubt that. Williamson is a good possibility but now that pace might be coming here i doubt any of them will be taken. I think the Texans will take gibson in the 2nd round WR

 

[tiger06]

If we trade for Pace, there's no way we'll still have the 13th pick

 

[royce1054]

or a 1st rounder this year or next year a second rounder next year. We wont have much. But hey Carr will sleep alot better knowing this

 

[beerlover]

John McClain never mention'ed PACE, guess he just didn't want to spill the beans and ruin his credibilty with the Texans front office

man this kinda sucks for us draft geeks doen't it? how do you all feel? No chance at Williamson or Johnson or Pac or Rogers or Davis just to name a few. guess the Rams will go ahead & draft Barron @ #13

 

[royce1054]

well what i am hearing is that they wont lest pace go for under 2 1st round picks. If we go that way we wont have 1 this year or next year. I can see this year bc there really isnt 13 good quality picks like last year, I havent looked at next yers crop yet so i dont know

 

[beerlover]

once again for all those draft Barron threads, McClain flatly denied the Texans had any interest in taking a offensive lineman with the 13th pick, he said (how to put it nicely...) none where good enough.

WR if Williamson is available or a CB like Carlos Rogers @ #13 unless another trade materializes

 

[TheOgre]

McClain isn't wrong...yet.

 

[Blake]

once again for all those draft Barron threads, McClain flatly denied the Texans had any interest in taking a offensive lineman with the 13th pick, he said (how to put it nicely...) none where good enough.

The funny thing is that if there was a good enough tackle, like Dbrickshaw, he would go in the top 5.

I know Barrons not as good a prospect as Dbrickshaw, and thats why dbrick would go top 5, and Barron will not.

just my

 

[TheOgre]

McClain came out and said that he thinks the Texans will take Troy Williamson if he is still on the board. Keep in mind that he told us we would pick Carr, AJ, and Dunte before the draft as well.

 

[nunusguy]

McClain came out and said that he thinks the Texans will take Troy Williamson if he is still on the board. Keep in mind that he told us we would pick Carr, AJ, and Dunte before the draft as well.

And something else he got right - he said all along that Bosseli would not
play for us. I think he had some real insider info on that series of events involving Bosseli.
If he is right about Williamson, then in the event he's gone when we pick at 13 theres a good chance we take Mark Clayton. Though he is not as big as
the SC receiver, he is almost as fast and has great hands and runs very good routes. And he would have the perfect disposition to be the #2 behind
AJ - a real team guy with a great work ethic.

 

[beerlover]

McClain came out and said that he thinks the Texans will take Troy Williamson if he is still on the board. Keep in mind that he told us we would pick Carr, AJ, and Dunte before the draft as well.

the same thing he said last week (at least he is not waffleing) a caller also asked him if the Texans would take Carlos Rogers and McClain flatly stated not with the 13th pick.

Personally I don't think with the depth at WR in the draft we use our 1st on one, maybe a 2nd but I think our backfield is much more suspect than Andre Johnson, Jabbar Gafney & Derrick Armstrong to name a few as oppossed to Domianck Davis, David Wells and Tony Hollings.

Since the CB position is also deep maybe they do go OLB as he indicated was a possiblity, does Merriman slip, how high do the Texans rate Pollack or are they keeping quiet about a Demarcus Ware to name a few?

 

[texasguy346]

I really don't think Williamson will be gone at 13. It seems like Williams and Edwards are on a different level than any of the other WRs in this draft, and those two guys will go early in all likelyhood. I wouldn't mind seeing Williamson in a Texans jersey, but if Merriman or Spears was still on the board at 13 I'd definately hope the Texans would take a hard look at both of those guys. It would be interesting to see how many times a team's first round pick was from the same school in consecutive years.

 

[Texan in Japan]

Given Dom's visit to the SC WRs Pro Day (1 of 2 head coaches in attendence), Williamson might truly be our guy. Guess we'll have to see any one trades up ahead of us for him or someone we like better drops to 13.

 

[D-ReK]

You may be reading to much into it...Capers was at Wisconsin's pro day also, prompting many (including myself) to jump on the "Texans are goona take Erasmus James" bandwagon...Bottom line is it's hard to decipher Capers' motives for being at certain pro days...There may be a few guys there we're high on, or it may just be a smoke screen...

 

[Honoring Earl 34]

The Oliver Stone theory is since McClain said the Texans liked Carlos Rogers but not at 13 , means the Texans hope he's there at 13 .

 

[Blake]

I really don't think Williamson will be gone at 13. It seems like Williams and Edwards are on a different level than any of the other WRs in this draft, and those two guys will go early in all likelyhood. I wouldn't mind seeing Williamson in a Texans jersey, but if Merriman or Spears was still on the board at 13 I'd definately hope the Texans would take a hard look at both of those guys. It would be interesting to see how many times a team's first round pick was from the same school in consecutive years.

Everyone talks about taking BPA, with #13, but I dont think that Williamson, the 3rd or 4th rated WR (depending on who you talk to) is better than someone like, Spears, DJ, Merriman, Jones, Rolle, Barron, C. Williams, M. Williams.

Players I would take before Williamson.

1. Mike Williams
2. Braylon Edwards
3. Ronnie Brown
4. Cedric Benson
5. Cadillac Williams
6. Derrick Johnson
7. Shawne Merriman
8. Alex Barron
9. Marcus Spears
10. Adam Jones
11. Antrel Rolle
and then Williamson.

 

[royce1054]

The only way we could get Blackstock is if we trade up to then end of the 1st round of the 1st or2nd pick of the 2nd round. That would cost us a 2nd and 3rd.

Blackstock Draft predictions have him 28th through 35 thats a value of 660 through 550

our 2nd round pick is worth 470 and 73 is worth 225 and 78 220.

dont forget we do have sharper...

I know he said he has no interest in a OL maybe that means he doesnt want one in the early rounds.. we do need some depth though

 

[outofhnd]

I think we are kinda coveting the idea of a speedy #2 guy, but i perfer a chain mover that is a catch all as my #2 than another burner.

Bradford is a burner and he did not open up anything for AJ. Not to mention the palmer offense requires QB and WR making the same read. I Dont think any of the 2nd best receivers could start as a #2 in this offense and get alot of passes from D.C.

They will definately double Andre. Our #2 guy to me has to find the gaps in zone. And outbattle man coverage for the ball.

We arent going for Hail Mary's on Every Play. We just need a nice short to medium route runner with glue hands and a nose for the 1st down marker.

That being said I say we go for Spears. If Walker , Payne, or Smith - especially Smith go down, we are in huge trouble. If spears is not available then maybe we should go pass rusher or corner.

 

[The Preacher]

I'd be all for Spears since we need quality depth and youth there but for some reason d-line is really risky. Cleveland's famous two picks warren and brown, jimmy kennedy, not to mention several others never panned out. I don't know what the deal is but for some reason these guys don't work out. Will Spears ever dominate maybe but in recent years this position has been losing its luster in the draft. Last year Tommie Harris at #14 was first d-line taken.

Sounds like Clayton is you're guy at wr2 I know I can't stop pushing this guy.

 

[beerlover]

The Oliver Stone theory is since McClain said the Texans liked Carlos Rogers but not at 13 , means the Texans hope he's there at 13 .

EXACTLY​

Rogers is fast becoming the #1 CB in the draft, this information came earlier-

HE CAN PLAY-When it comes to the draft, Carlos Rogers is Auburn's forgotten man.

There's plenty of hype surrounding former Tiger running backs Ronnie Brown and Cadillac Williams, and the emergence of quarterback Jason Campbell has also been well-documented.

All for good reason. Auburn went 13-0 last fall, winning the SEC championship and the Sugar Bowl. Brown and Williams both might be picked in the top 10 next month.

If Rogers checks out well medically, he could also be a first-round pick. He missed the Senior Bowl due to a sore hamstring but the Thorpe Award winner as the nation's outstanding defensive back last fall has demonstrated outstanding cover skills and also found a way to contribute - notably on special teams and with aggressive run defense - when teams refused to throw his way last fall.

Rogers has all the physical tools NFL teams are looking for in top-shelf corners and his stock has been on the rise after he saved his best college performance for last fall.

And this just in March 21st from Auburn Pro Day- Rogers only did position drills and "wowed" all in attendance with his skills.

McClain is now offically a company man

 

[The Preacher]

Why wait another year to draft an elite cb if we can do it now and we might not get another chance? AG is the perfect guy to develop one more cb before he steps down and if we got rogers we would be set on the corners for years. It's hard to get one shutdown guy much less two I hope we don't pass on this opportunity to snag rogers just because this a "cb rich draft".

 

[Vinny]

I've heard from a couple of people closer to the team than me that we are real hot over Williamson also. Williamson won the skill challenges on the College All-Star challenge competition and drew comparisons to the Packers Javon Walker by dominating the other WR's the same way Javon did. Right now I think he is a strong possibility at 13.

 

[beerlover]

Williamson may be the odds on favorite but with a month to go-

The event was run outdoors on FieldTurf. All 32 teams were in attendance with 60-plus people there. There were a lot of running back coaches, including Chick Harris of the Texans, Stump Mitchell of Seahawks, Dean Dalton of Vikings and Art Valero of the Bucs. Also there was player personnel director Lynn Stiles from the Chiefs and college scouting director Phil Emery from the Falcons. A total of 14 players worked out.
Player Position Gil's comments

Ronnie Brown RB Brown only did position drills.

Carlos Rogers CB Rogers only did position drills and "wowed" all in attendance with his skills.

Carnell Williams RB Williams only did position drills.
Jason Campbell QB Campbell ran his 40s in 4.85 and 4.89.
Junior Rosegreen SS Rosegreen ran his 40s in 4.65 and 4.65.

 

[TheOgre]

WR, TE, SS, and OLB are the only positions on the team where I think a 1st rounder could step in and possibly start immediately (although the same could be said for ILB if Wong stayed outside). Taking a TE or SS with the 13th overall pick seems to be overpaying for a lesser position (unless you could get an Ed Reed or Shockey). I have a feeling management wants to see if Peek will pan out or not. If he doesn't pan out, we know what our 1st rounder will probably be in 2006.

 

[D-ReK]

I still say that SS isn't a need and there is no safety in this draft worth the 13th pick...I strongly doubt that Davis could just step in and take Earl's spot, and the 13th pick is far too high for a back-up strong safety with speed issues...

 

[Blake]

I still say that SS isn't a need and there is no safety in this draft worth the 13th pick...I strongly doubt that Davis could just step in and take Earl's spot, and the 13th pick is far too high for a back-up strong safety with speed issues...

It is kind of weird. Places like nfldraftcountdown.com have our needs as,

LB
SS
OT
WR
RB

I think they like the idea of making a complete secondary with stars, over filling in needs. They say we have 3/4ths of a great secondary, and all we need is SS. Well what about our O-line? Or our D-line? Or WR's?

It used to be SS, OT, WR, RB. But he recently changed it.

As GM, @13, I would take BPA out of WR/RB/LT/OLB/ILB/CB/DT-DE.

@13, I wouldnt take a QB/TE/C/LG-RG/FB/FS/RT/SS.

 

[royce1054]

the Mock draft site i am apart of they sponser them....(nfldraftcountdown.com) I told them they need to update it... B4 WR wasnt even on the list. SS was #1, LB #2 OL #3 TE #4 RB #5 i was like this is wrong.

I think drafting Williamson at #13 helps the O
then trading up Sharper and a #2 to Pittsburg (my guess) for their #1
draft Darryl Blackstock and sit Peek

 

[D-ReK]

It is kind of weird. Places like nfldraftcountdown.com have our needs as,

LB
SS
OT
WR
RB

I think they like the idea of making a complete secondary with stars, over filling in needs. They say we have 3/4ths of a great secondary, and all we need is SS. Well what about our O-line? Or our D-line? Or WR's?

It used to be SS, OT, WR, RB. But he recently changed it.

As GM, @13, I would take BPA out of WR/RB/LT/OLB/ILB/CB/DT-DE.

@13, I wouldnt take a QB/TE/C/LG-RG/FB/FS/RT/SS.

Most places that have SS as one of our needs are assuming that Eric Brown was our starter, and not Earl...Even if they have realized this, they likely think "Earl was a 4th rounder, he can't be that good. He's no Gibril Wilson. They need another 1st rounder in their secondary, not a pass rush."

I gave up on places like that because most people could care less about the Texans and just look at our depth chart and think "Hmmmmm, I've never heard of this guy, he must suck."

I also agree with your sentiment of taking BPA at WR/RB/LT/LB/CB/D-Line...

 

[Blake]

I think drafting Williamson at #13 helps the O
then trading up Sharper and a #2 to Pittsburg (my guess) for their #1
draft Darryl Blackstock and sit Peek

Im not that high on Blackstock. If im going to trade up for a OLB, it would be Kevin Burnett, OLB, Tennessee. This guy is good. He might slip to us in the 2nd, but I seriously doubt it. JMO

 

[LikeABoss]

I've heard from a couple of people closer to the team than me that we are real hot over Williamson also. Williamson won the skill challenges on the College All-Star challenge competition and drew comparisons to the Packers Javon Walker by dominating the other WR's the same way Javon did. Right now I think he is a strong possibility at 13.

Sounds good to me

 

[Honoring Earl 34]

The strength of the draft is CB and WR . I guess these two positions will be taken within the first three rounds . That gives some wiggle room for the BPA with the other pick .

 

[Honoring Earl 34]

Everybody please remove your hats for my new Earl avatar . Thanks so much whoever is responsible . It looks great and makes me proud to be a football fan from Texas .

 

[Sarg01]

The strength of the draft is CB and WR . I guess these two positions will be taken within the first three rounds . That gives some wiggle room for the BPA with the other pick .

Interior OLine is good in this draft too. Would hate to miss out because we have some big needs there. Though there's no interior OL worth #13, agreed.

 

[D-ReK]

Everybody please remove your hats for my new Earl avatar . Thanks so much whoever is responsible . It looks great and makes me proud to be a football fan from Texas .

 

[uga_iv]

Everybody please remove your hats for my new Earl avatar . Thanks so much whoever is responsible . It looks great and makes me proud to be a football fan from Texas .

The Tyler Rose is my favorite running back of all times. Great avatar!

Oh . . . I almost forgot. I don't pay attention to what John McClain thinks until a few days before the draft. I remember last year he kept saying we were going to pick Gamble out of Ohio State and that he was the best CB in the draft. Then as we got closer to draft day his opinion of Gamble went down and he started saying we would pick Dunta. Until we have all the data from the combine, workouts on campus, as well as hints from coaching staffs, it is PURE speculation -- and even WITH all that information, it is STILL speculation. This year is more difficult to guess because of our position in the draft, the talent that might be available at that position and our needs. Does Vegas keep odds on who teams will pick?

 

[royce1054]

You know i am sure you can bet on anything but this year i wouldnt gaurantee anything

 

[uga_iv]

Doesn't Vegas take bets on the initial coin toss at the Super Bowl?

Oh yea . . . don't want to stray off topic . . . "hijacking" is a federal offense. I think this year it is very difficult for John McClain or Mel Kiper to predict what the Texans will do in the NFL Draft.

 

[texasguy346]

Yeah Vegas takes bets on the coin toss, and nearly every other aspect of the game. You can even bet on things like the team receiving the kickoff returning it for a TD to open up the game, and other such things.

 

[cadahnic]

I like Carlos Rogers at 13 personally, if we cannot DJ. Our division is laden with passers and if we can never have to many shut down corners. C. Rogers would move Faggins to dime packages which makes us really strong.

 

[D-ReK]

I like Carlos Rogers at 13 personally, if we cannot DJ. Our division is laden with passers and if we can never have to many shut down corners. C. Rogers would move Faggins to dime packages which makes us really strong.

Agreed...Taking Rogers would allow Lewis Sanders to be moved to FS, so it would help our overall secondary depth...

 

[bckey]

If we stay at 13 I wouldn't mind Carlos Rogers either. I think he is the best cb in the draft. Rolle and Jones will probably go ahead of him.