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Whitney Mercilus - First Round Pick

How do you feel about our First rounder?

  • I like it

    Votes: 190 78.2%

  • I dislike it

    Votes: 9 3.7%

  • I don't have an opinion yet

    Votes: 44 18.1%
  • Total voters
    243
What he brings: Mercilus possesses a quick first step and is one of the natural finesse pass-rushers in this class. At this point, he needs to get stronger against the run, as well as when converting speed to power with his pass-rushing moves.

How he fits: He makes an already productive defensive front even better. Even though the Texans lost their best defensive player in Mario Williams in free agency, they got unexpected production from OLBs Connor Barwin and Brooks Reed. In this 3-4 defense that loves to attack and blitz from all directions with a lot of slants and one-gap penetrating schemes, Mercilus fits nicely as a rotation edge rusher in the 3-4 and possibly a guy who can play DE in 3-4 subpackages.

http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/draf...nsider.espn.go.com/nfl/draft/rounds?year=2012
 
Im happy w the pick, I hadnt paid much attention to him thinking he was gona go sonner. Actually wanted Nick Perry but with time we shall see.
 
Rey said:
His biggest attribute that I saw was his effort. Not a bad thing.

I don't think the guy sucks, I just don't think he was the best player left on the board there.

I would have rather had the guy that went off the board right after him. But whatever, he's a Texan now kick some ass.

I would consider him an ok to good pass rusher. Maybe wade's scheme can make him really good or great.
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See bold... now kick some ass!
 
drs23 said:
Not sure how you can say that with a whole lot of conviction. I belive the cookie may be correct.
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I don't see how you can't think they're all in, committed to the guy. He's been so inconsistent and has not developed into a serviceable #2 WR yet, they still keep clinging to the hope one day the light will come on with JJ. it's also telling that they haven't really gone after anyone to legitimately push JJ the last two years, and considering there's been some nice values trades they could have made it tells me even more. The staff is all in on this guy. Hopefully it's the last time we'll see Kubiak stick to "his guy" despite all other signs saying otherwise.

The best thing I can say about Gary and Rick's drafts lately is they have decided to stop constantly proving they are the smartest guys in th nfl by taking small school projects like Molden and Jones high than they should.

SheTexan said:
Meet Connor Barwin's replacement for 2013. I'd bet money the Texans have NO intention of resigning CB next year. JMO!
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It really depends how Barwin performs this year really. One productive year last year. I don't know how big of a contract he's going to begin line for. We need 3 olb to rotate in.
 
The nickle package could look like so:

Watt - Smith - Mercilus
Barwin - Cushing - Reed
JJ - Manning - Quinn - McCain - KJ

That's mulitple rushers coming from nearly every gap.
 
TheFosterTrain said:
Agreed. WR is extremely deep in this draft. I admit, I was really high on Hill coming out of the combine (who wasn't?) but over time came to realize just how much depth this draft has at the WR position. The only two clear cut, top tier guys were Blackmon and Floyd, and we weren't getting either of those guys.

I'd still love to be able to get Hill, but realistically we'd have to trade up for him and I don't think that's worth it. Randle or Sanu if we're looking at a wideout in Rd. 2, if not, take Childs later in the draft. The only player I'd like to trade up for at this point is Martin.
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I like this thinking with childs. I'm still on board with jeffery in the later 2nd or even early 3rd with toon or mcnutt. What has to concern anyone watching hill is the lack of explosion out of his breaks. The general rule even if you watch the combine is .20 faster than you 40 time. As a wr, this is vital even for a tall guy. Hill's short shuttle was slower than his 40. That means he cant drop his hips and explose out the break and give the qb seperation. Much like jones and people rib on him because he cant get to passes on digs and dagger routes. Pre combine, hill was a given a 3rd rd grade. Gms aren't going to elevate a guy 2 rd from the combine a a developmental guy.

As for tonight, I think the texans are going to select a 5 tech to replace smith after this season in the 2nd rd. If reyes,wolf,alameeda tuamma are there, i think those will be the selections. With that early 3 we might see a wr like mcnutt,givens,sanu,or toon. The 4th or 5th rd could be chapman or jean baptiste as a nt.
 
El Tejano said:
Here are my thoughts on our pick. I LOVE IT. You can got to my thread El Tejano's 2012 Draft Wish List and see for yourself that I had him as my 7th player on my list. Alot of those players were placed on if they would be available to us or not and as you will see, the first 5 were gone before we could pick them leaving Mercilus and Upshaw only and I was wanting Mercilus more than Upshaw because of losing Mario and remembering how our defense played when Mario was in and now I feel we made up for that.

In terms of getting a guy who is not going to play every down, I disagree. My understanding is that Mercilus can play both end and OLB. If that is the case, this means he may be utilized differently in certain packages and will be on the field more than we think while keeping other good players fresh for the 4th.

If you look at our team in general, our problem isn't that we don't have starters. Our current situation is that we lossed our depth. Anyone we were going to pick was going to have a starter already there in their position. Sure we could've got a WR but all the 1st round guys were gone and it's such a crapshoot with WR and some have to take about 4 years to develop. OL, hey I think we did good by not reaching and many NFL OL coaches believe that Mitchell Schwartz is the best one out there and he's still available. Besides, it says alot about who we have now that we didn't go round 1 on OL. DT well we got some good ones now. Long story short everyone we are going to draft is going to be a backup with a shot to take over.

Does anyone else see this as insurance if A. Smith leaves next year?
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Disagree about him playing 3-4 end. He's a natural edge rusher as a olb or 4-3 end. Now, in obvious passing downs, wade like to go 4-2-5 or 4-1-6, but between mercilus and barwin, he might be tempted to stay more base if its the 11 package because james,brady,cushing,barwin,and now mercilus can be pretty can cover.
 
They just had Mercilus' college HC (Ron Zook) on 610 am...said Mercilus became their best DE the last half of the '10 season... 1-1/2 year wonder ;)
 
Being a defense kinda guy, I dig this pick. I had my mind set on McClellen, but if Mercy's edge speed can translate it makes this D even nastier than before.

I was prayin we wouldn't pick a WR at 26 after Wright went off the board. It appears this draft is truly going to be BPA, which will be the 1st in franchise history.

Kudos, thus far
 
I've watched several Illinois games when I scouted all the QBs and WRs (and a few guys that I was interested in at other positions).

I've come back and reviewed like mad 7 games so far since the pick was announced.

Mercilus is a scheme-versatile player; I've seen him play everything except at 0 and 1 tech.

At the end of the day, he's a playmaker.
Every game, he contributed in between 10 to 15 plays; whether its' a sack, a force fumble, a pass batted down, a tackle for loss on the RB, or shutting down his side, or taking on multi-blockers to spring another defender free.

Obviously, there were plays in which he was neutralized by the offensive player.

The key here is that he was hardly dominated at the POA.
For a guy that is only 260 lbs, that is really good.

He played in a rotation like any pro team play their guys so his production wasn't inflated as some guy who is forced to play almost every single snap due to lack of depth.

If we're talking about an 8-man rotation with each guy contributing at the same rate as Mercilus, that's a shutdown defense right there.

I fully endorse this pick with the usual warning about over-expectation.
 
This is a great pick! Fleener would have been my choice if Merciless would have been gone. I never expected him here at #26! However, I'm hoping they would try to move up to get him. I know the chances are slim, & they have other pressing needs, such as, WR & OL!:bravo:
 
Vinny said:
not to nit pick, but in a 3-4 you basically play three DT's. Last night Wade said he was still short one D lineman and that they are looking to address the position.
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i accept your general pt but NT/DT and DE arent the same thing in a 3-4....and if cody or earl havent played any DE i take that to mean wade doesnt see them as such....

and the pt of having 6 d-linemen is you the texans will have 3 replacements if needed. so theres not much pt in having 3 NT/DT's and 3 DE's. all im saying is that, while some can play DE, alot more of those DT's left dont have the quickness to translate to 3-4 DE's
 
d17166d890a011e1a39b1231381b7ba1_7.jpg
 
Is it just me, or does anyone else find it strange the Pats traded for the spot in front of us to select an ILB?

I don't think we were really looking at ILB's.
 
silvrhand said:
Big 10 did not have an impressive year, none of the teams below would be what I consider A+ competition at the college level last year.
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They weren't that much better the year before (Watt)...

Dude was ballin' against linemen...i want to see him go against some TEs, TBs and FBs... See what he can bring against those guys...
 
HOU-TEX said:
Is it just me, or does anyone else find it strange the Pats traded for the spot in front of us to select an ILB?

I don't think we were really looking at ILB's.
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I think that's part of the Smokescreen. I think Smithiak tried to get people to think that they thought they needed an ILB to replace Demeco. And the Patriots bit.
 
We saw what guys like JJ Watt and Brooks Reed can do. It's not all about sacks. The key word here to describe guys like Mercilus is "disruptive". He can be disruptive in other ways besides getting sacks. How many times did Watt bat down passes last season? He intercepted a freaking pass in a playoff game last year! We need more guys like that who can be a terror on the field in more ways than one.
 
Nawzer said:
We saw what guys like JJ Watt and Brooks Reed can do. It's not all about sacks. The key word here to describe guys like Mercilus is "disruptive". He can be disruptive in other ways besides getting sacks. How many times did Watt bat down passes last season? He intercepted a freaking pass in a playoff game last year! We need more guys like that who can be a terror on the field in more ways than one.
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"... like a pack of wild dogs!"
 
HOU-TEX said:
Is it just me, or does anyone else find it strange the Pats traded for the spot in front of us to select an ILB?

I don't think we were really looking at ILB's.
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I don't think it unlikely that we would have taken hightower if he was available
 
kiwitexansfan said:
Watching the stream, he handles himself very well, looks very relaxed and confident.
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I've lost my connection and can't get back onto HT.com. Very frustrating.

From what I heard, I agree with your assessment.

I'm still surprised at how many of these college players don't know much about the pros. (Like when Colt McCoy didn't know what conference/division the Browns were in.)
 
kiwitexansfan said:
Watching the stream, he handles himself very well, looks very relaxed and confident.
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I don't know a word of what he's saying but he looks like a guy that puts me to ease. He comes off as super friendly. Love that big welcoming smile of his. This kid is h-a-p-p-y to be here. I hope he's the real deal on the field.
 
Seems like an intelligent and nice dude. Loved his comment about when the coaches allowed him to just pin his ears back and go. I reckon that's what he'll be doing with us his first year or two anyway. The knowledge of the game will come with experience.
 
I'm liking everything i'm reading about this guy and I think its telling that they chose to add depth to a strong if thin position rather than taking a position where people on here have been desperate to add a starter.

I wonder if Mercilus might be our first 1st rounder to not start in week 1? Have to think its the first time there is little pressure on him to start because of the guys in front of him, if he does start it can only be a good thing.

From what I've been reading there wasn't all that much to separate the WR's available at 26, to those who will be available to us in rd 2 or 3, that early 4th rounder we picked up should give us options to grab some immediate talent as well with this draft being deep, before we begin taking the flyers in the later picks.

All in all I'm looking forward seeing our rotation next season, and I'm glad that we can bring this guy on at a steady pace rather than having to force him out early if he isn't ready for it, thats got to affect the coaching he receives and may help him down the line.

Is it too soon for any Whitney - Houston type puns btw? :lol:
 
Jacksonville and Tennessee both went receiver and the Texans countered by drafting a pass rusher.
 
silvrhand said:
first round pick on a guy that noone ever saw play cause he played at IL, against sub par talent for one year.. We took a huge risk on yet another project player.

Would rather us seen go WR, then OG/OT before spending a first round on this guy.. For me I don't like it.
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who would you have taken instead? I don't think there was a WR to be had here.
 
NitroGSXR said:
I don't know a word of what he's saying but he looks like a guy that puts me to ease. He comes off as super friendly. Love that big welcoming smile of his. This kid is h-a-p-p-y to be here. I hope he's the real deal on the field.
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That is the thing, I couldn't really hear him well because my 4yr old was yelling but I just liked the way he carried himself, made eye contact, sat still, hands folded gently.....
 
Heath Shuler said:
Tom Waddle on NFL Network just predicted Mercilus will be defensive rookie of the year and may have double digit sacks.
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How much will he play? He did not play a lot before last season which might be why he is a so called one year wonder.
 
gary said:
How much will he play?
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Likely doesn't start, 3rd down & situational package guy. Disappointed? Don't be...

Aldon Smith was in same role last year for SF. He had 14 sacks as a rook. Defensive Rookie of the Year according to Pro Football Weekly and Pro Football Writers of America.
 
Nick Scurfield‏@NickScurfield



Close

Got this text from @JJWatt re: @Merci380: "We've got pass-rushers for days... QBs beware." #Texans #BullsOnParade


Retweeted by Whitney Mercilus
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Awwwww yeah!
 
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