Dissecting the Texan's draft

It’s that time of the year again, when everyone is complaining about missing football. The NFL draft is just a tease that get’s everyone excited that football is back, but just for a weekend before another 5 month hibernation. There’s a lot of speculation that goes into the draft, everyone wants to know who their team is going to get. There’s mock draft after mock draft, and yet, no one ever predicts anything outside of the top 5 correctly. It’s like trying to guess a March Madness bracket. Examining a draft after the fact is easier comparatively speaking, but even still, you’re trying to predict the future of 21 year olds. That said, let’s look and see how the Houston Texans new rookies are shaping up this year.

Offseason Recap:

After back-to-back playoff appearances, the Texans seem to be looking for that final piece to get them over the hump. Provided you don’t live under a rock, you know what that final piece is, but I’ll get to that. This offseason, due to some salary cap issues, some crucial parts of last year's #1 defense signed elsewhere in free-agency. Safety, Quintin Demps, finished second the NFL with 6 interceptions last year and signed with the Chicago Bears. Outside linebacker, John Simon, and cornerback, AJ Bouye, both signed with division rivals. Simon was originally a solid back up to give starters a rest, but the last two seasons he started allowing Jadeveon Clowney to move to the defensive line. He signed with the Indianapolis Colts. Bouye filled in for the injured Kevin Johnson as the starting cornerback opposite Jonathan Joseph, and quickly became a dominant corner, finishing in the top 10 with 16 passes defensed. He signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The big move that attracted the most media buzz was the trade of Brock Osweiler to the Cleveland Browns. To entice the Browns to take a quarterback with arguably the worst season in NFL history on his resume, the Texans attached a 2018 second round pick. It was a salary dump that allowed the Texans to enter the Tony Romo sweepstakes. They lost those sweepstakes, not to another football team, but to CBS. At least now they don’t have to worry about starting Osweiler, simply because they are no longer paying him $17 million this year.

Team Needs:

Quarterback is the biggie… and it has for a few years now. Somehow the Texans have put together competitive teams without a reliable signal caller. Now that Osweiler is out of the picture, that leaves Tom Savage and Brandon Weeden. I don’t think that exactly instills fear in other defenses.

A possible reason for the QB struggles is the offensive line hasn’t been up to snuff, especially last year. It didn’t help that last year’s second round pick, Nick Martin, missed the whole year with injury, and right tackle, Derek Newton, got injured in the first game of the season and missed the rest of it. Because of the severity of Newton’s injury, his return is questionable, and if he comes back, will he play as well as he did before the injury? Another of last year’s free agent signings, Jeff Allen did not perform nearly as well as expected after signing a 4 year / $28 million deal. Xavier Su’a-Filo still hasn’t lived up to being picked in the second round in 2015.

Losing Demps leaves a safety position that needs to be filled. Andre Hal has grown into a solid starter, but the other current safeties, KJ Dillon and Eddie Pleasant, have been good back ups, but haven’t gotten the reps as starters.

Other than those three major needs, inside and outside linebacker and defensive tackle could use depth. Jonathan Joseph is still a top tier corner, but he’s getting up there in age and the front office could start thinking about getting him another heir. (Remember when they almost signed Nnamdi Asomugha over Joseph and he’s no longer in the league lol)

The Picks:

First Round (12th Overall): Deshaun Watson, Quarterback, Clemson

The Texans traded their 2017 first round pick and their 2018 first round pick to the Cleveland Browns for the 12th overall pick that ended up being Deshaun Watson. Watson is the most NFL ready of any of the quarterbacks in this years draft. He’s known for showing up in big games, which the Texans haven’t had in some time. He lead Clemson to the College Football Championship the past two years, and won it all last year. The knock on him is can be turnover prone (17 interceptions thrown last year). He balances that out by throwing a lot of touchdowns (41 last season, 2.81 TD / INT ratio).

In this year’s College Football Playoff, he faced off against Ohio State (3 members of their secondary drafted in the first round) and Alabama (#1 defense in college football the past 5000000 years in a row). He proceeded to beat both teams by throwing for 679 yards, 64% completion percentage, 4 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Oh, and he ran for 100 yards combined, so he can keep a defense honest with his legs if needed.

My reaction / Who I would have picked: Watson. I love this pick. I was thinking the Texans might be able to grab him at 25 without trading up, but I also wasn’t predicting the Bears to trade up one spot to draft Mitch Trubisky, or the Chiefs trading up for Patrick Mahomes. Watson’s potential may not be as high as Trubisky or Mahomes, who were drafted ahead of him, but he’s the most NFL ready, the best leader, and best winner of the QBs in this year’s draft. All of which the Texans need. My prediction is that he will have a similar progression rate as Derek Carr.

Second Round (57): Zach Cunningham, Inside Linebacker, Vanderbilt

Brian Cushing is now on the wrong side of 30, and only has two years left on his contract. Zach Cunningham has been drafted to build depth at the linebacker position and be groomed to be Cushing’s successor. Cunningham was named a unanimous All-American after leading the SEC with 125 tackles, 16.5 of them for a loss. With a 4.67 40 yard dash time, and a 35 inch vertical jump, he has the athleticism to be a sideline to sideline linebacker in the NFL. That speed also allows him to excel in pass coverage, and with the rise in tight end usage, that could be quite useful. His main area of weakness is a bit ironic, he has a tendency to be a poor tackler, as he missed 21 tackles this season. He has the toolset of another middle linebacker the Texans drafted in the second round a couple years ago, Bernardrick McKinney

My reaction / Who I would have picked: I had no idea that Cunningham would be available at the 25th pick in the second round, as he has first round talent. With that said, this pick carries tremendous value, which I love. However, with one of the top offensive tackles, Taylor Moton, still on the board, I probably would have picked him. Building depth on the offensive line is a little bit more of a necessity than linebacker at this particular juncture. Cunningham simply is the rich getting richer for one of the NFL’s elite defenses. // Side bar: Jordan Willis was also available here, and watching him opposite JJ Watt would have been the second best thing to watch behind a healthy Jadeveon Clowney opposite a healthy Watt.

Third Round (89): D’Onta Foreman, Running Back, Texas

D’Onta Foreman won the Doak Walker Award for being the best running back in college football this year. He finished second in the NCAA with 2028 yards to go along with 15 touchdowns. Texas used him as a workhorse this year with 323 carries, so he does come with some tread on his tires. Only his metaphorical tires though, as he grew up in Texas City, located on the Galveston Bay right outside of Houston, so literally he doesn’t have to drive too far to get to work. He is a bigger back at 6 foot, 233 pounds, which allows him to bounce off would-be tacklers. He did only catch 13 balls in his 3 years in college, so he likely won’t be on the field during obvious passing situations. He reminds me of faster version of Matt Jones of the Washington Redskins, dreadlocks and everything.

My reaction / Who I would have picked: When the pick was first announced, I hated the pick. There were so many more glaring needs than back up running back for a third round pick. After a few deep breaths, I came to like the pick. Like Cunningham the round before, the Texans went with the best player available and got incredible value even if it wasn’t necessarily a need. Foreman will be the thunder to Lamar Miller’s lightning. Alfred Blue has done a good enough job spelling Miller whenever he needs a break, but whenever he’s asked to be the main guy, he hasn’t been able to cut it. Foreman has the ability to be the main guy if Miller were ever out with injury, which happened on occasion last season. With that said, I thought the need for safety and offensive line outweighed the need for running back. I probably would have gone with Eddie Jackson out of Alabama, but also thought about Dorian Johnson, and offensive lineman from Pitt. Carl Lawson also could have replaced the spot of John Simon as an edge rusher opposite Whitney Mercilus.

Fourth Round (130): Julie’n Davenport, Offensive Tackle, Bucknell

Julie’n Davenport came out of the Combine this year with the longest arms of any of the offensive lineman at 36.5 inches. Those long arms allow him to keep rushers at bay. A four year starter at Bucknell, he was named to first team all conference his sophomore, junior and senior seasons. It’s hard to predict how offensive lineman from smaller conferences will adjust to life in the NFL because they haven’t faces the speed and strength of pass rushers at the next level. Davenport has the size to at least compete for a starting spot out of the gates at right tackle if Newton isn’t fully healthy. He sounds a lot like King Dunlap, a tall tackle who was a good enough back up tackle to earn a starting spot on the San Diego Chargers (now Los Angeles), but was mediocre as a full time starter. You can never have too much depth on the offensive line, and someone that can fill in in a pinch is a great find.

My reaction / Who I would have picked: You’re probably thinking to yourself, Man, this guy watches a lot of Bucknell football, but you’d be wrong. I had never heard of Davenport until after the Texans scooped him up. But I like the pick. They finally decided to fill a need rather than go with the best player available. The Dallas Cowboys won 13 games last season with a rookie quarterback and running back, and not to say they weren’t great players, but the offensive line carried that team, and I’m surprised more teams haven’t tried to follow their lead. For some reason, Desmond King was still on the board here. He is undersized as a corner for the NFL, but he was a two time All-American that has the abilities to play safety. He has a bigger name, and I’ve at least seen him play before so I would have leaned toward taking him in my fantasy draft in my head if I were on the clock.

Fourth Round (142): Carlos Watkins, Defensive Tackle, Clemson

Sticking with the theme of drafting All-American selections, Carlos Watkins adds depth along the interior defensive line. Last season, Watkins finished with 10.5 sacks and 13.5 tackles for loss. Very athletic for a man of his size (6’3” 309 pounds). Unfortunately, he tends to rely on that athleticism over strength, which allows him to be pushed off the ball. Will probably be used more in pass rush situations, and not relied upon to get stops when playing the run. With the loss of Vince Wilfork, he should come in and fill a rotational role on the defensive line. If he can come in and play at a level as last year’s Clemson defensive line pick, DJ Reader, then they should form a dynamic duo with Watkins’ speed and Reader’s strength.

Reaction / Who I would have picked: Clemson defensive linemen is usually a good idea. Reader proved that last season, even though he was a late pick. Like I said about Wilfork’s possible retirement, a backup nose tackle, was needed, and it was filled with Watkins. I probably would have picked King here as well, though, like the pick before. It also would have neat to get tight end, Jordan Leggett, Watson’s buddy from Clemson to give him a familiar target to throw to, but they already have three tight ends on the roster.

Fifth Round (169): Treston DeCoud, Cornerback / Safety, Oregon State

Treston DeCoud played a lot of cornerback in college, but he looks to make the transition to safety in the NFL. He has a big body at 6’2” 206 pounds. He is a solid tackler with 108 tackles playing on the outside during his two years with the Beavers. Using his size and tackling ability should allow him to play inside the box to give run support, similar to DJ Swearinger’s role when he was with the team, but actually wrapping up to make a tackle. His 4.62 40 yard means he’s likely not going to able to cover TY Hilton one on one, but playing deep instead of at the line of scrimmage will give him time to dissect routes.

Reaction / Who I would have picked: I like the pick. Hopefully DeCoud can make a seamless transition to the safety position to fill the need left by Demps. Having an extra body that can tackle is a valuable commodity nowadays. He technically is still a cornerback on draft charts, so I can’t tell if he was the best safety on the board, but he fits what the Texans try to do, with Andre Hal roaming center field. One guy that I had on my wishlist here was Trent Taylor, a wide receiver from Louisiana Tech. With Wes Welker joining the staff as a wide receiver assistant coach, he could have helped Taylor turn into, well, the next Welker. He caught 136 passes last year, and was one of the top performers at the combine in both the 20 and 60 yard shuttles, showing off his quickness.

Seventh Round (243): Kyle Fuller, Center, Baylor

Kyle Fuller was a three year starter on the offensive line for one of the most dominant offenses in college football over that time period. With Nick Martin coming back from injury this season, the Texans are looking for someone to compete with Greg Mancz at backup center after cutting Tony Bergstrom. Fuller has good size for both center and guard position which could help him land a roster spot. He’s not the most athletic person, or the strongest, which would explain him being a seventh round pick. At this point in the draft, you aren’t looking for someone to make an impact day one, but looking for depth, and that’s exactly what he brings.

Reaction / Who I would have picked: I’m fine with this pick as well. Like I said, you’re just looking to add depth at this point. While I have seen more action of Avery Gennesy or linebacker, Ben Boulware, there weren’t any other positions that needed more depth.

Overall Draft Grade: B+

I mentioned this at the beginning, but I’m trying to predict the futures of kids that are younger than me (shoot, I’m getting old). This draft will end up being as good as Watson takes it. They got their quarterback of the future. I thought they would go the rest of the draft filling needs first, but they decided to take the best player available early, and fill needs later. Cunningham could be a Pro Bowl level linebacker in a couple of years paired with McKinney and learning from Cushing. Foreman is the perfect complement to Miller. Watkins and DeCoud have enough talent to fill in the needs on a rotational basis. Honestly, this draft needs to be positive because they don’t have a first or second round draft next season.