Stock in Matthews Falling...Draft boon for Texans?

by last texans fan on Mar 17, 2009 5:31 PM CDT

A number of new/updated mock drafts have the recently surging Linebacker Clay Matthews, a favorite by many for the Texans' pick (including on this site), inexplicably falling all the way into the early second round, including the newest Yahoo! post.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=ArqAyixIILI70aGrijg8S8E5nYcB?slug=ys-mockdraftvi031709&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

Two interesting thoughts came to mind. Just for fun:

If Matthews was to fall so far as the early second round could the Texans pass up the chance to trade up and grab him, especially if they opted for a corner in the first round?

Also, Clay Matthews was originally projected as a mid-second rounder, but shot up after a strong showing at the senior bowl. Scouting reports almost universally declare that his two greatest weaknesses are his mediocre pass rush (something the Texans are desperate for) and his somewhat limited physical upside. If the Texans are unable to trade down in round 1, should they spend that pick still on Matthews, a player expected to drop much further than that (even generous mock drafts have him going in the early/mid twenties if the Texans don't take him)?

Poll

If the Texans can't trade down with their first pick should they still draft Clay Matthews Jr.?

Yes, he is the best fit for the team regardless of the price

4 votes

Yes, but only if a better value at corner or linebacker is not available

34 votes

No, they should only get him if they are able to trade down

22 votes

I don't think Matthews is the right first round pick for the Texans, period.

11 votes

71 votes | Poll has closed

Tweet Comment 9 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

I think most BRBers assume that Jenkins will be off the board by 15

which is why most of us see Matthews as our likely choice. If, however, Jenkins is there for us we have to take him. He is the best D Back in the draft, and would instantly upgrade our D.

by oiler-texan diehard on Mar 17, 2009 8:02 PM CDT reply actions

Concur

Plus, I think Jenkins is a safer pick than Matthews. If both are on the board at 15 and no one wants to trade with Smithiak, I’d take Jenkins. Problem, as OTD noted, is that I don’t think many of us are buying that Jenkins’ stock has fallen to the point that he’ll actually be there when Houston goes on the clock.

Looking forward to a day when being a Texans fan doesn't mean that April is the highlight of my season...

by Tim on Mar 18, 2009 8:45 AM CDT up reply actions

I don't get the Jenkins love.

And it’s not just because he went to Douchebag U. Answer me this: who did he ever cover? Mario Manningham owned him in their limited matchups. There really aren’t any big time WRs in the Big T1e1n right now—the closest thing to “big time” is on Jenkins’ own team. Sure, he has the physical tools, but I don’t buy him as any sort of a franchise corner so much as a beneficiary of having to defend one of the weakest spots in his own conference.

All of that said to say that I am 100% not in favor of taking him. If it came down to Oher, who I think will wind up being the best OT in this draft, and Jenkins, I think Oher is the no-brainer pick.

Yay, sports.

by MDC on Mar 18, 2009 5:35 PM CDT up reply actions

Re: Oher

That part of the comment was directed to the idea in another thread of “what if Oher fell”. If Oher is off the board and Jenkins is there, I suppose I lean Matthews (though I have issues with him, they’re not as red flag-ish as Jenkins).

Yay, sports.

by MDC on Mar 18, 2009 5:37 PM CDT up reply actions

Douchebag U

Seriously, though…what percentage of your hatred of Jenkins can be chalked up to where he played college ball?

Looking forward to a day when being a Texans fan doesn't mean that April is the highlight of my season...

by Tim on Mar 18, 2009 10:21 PM CDT up reply actions

By my calculations

31.68%

Yay, sports.

by MDC on Mar 19, 2009 1:47 PM CDT up reply actions

Agree w/ both the % and player

Jenkins is not my cup of tea, If ALL impact defensive players are gone by the time we pick, I would not be ticked if we drafted Beanie Wells or Moreno. The depth at rb position is fixed, although Slaton may have a slight problem making less money than a rookie after having a snubbed probowl season. :/ oh, and I have no problem w/ Oher at #15 if Orakpo, EBrown, and Crabtree are not available. Oher > Jenkins.

by wiseonekms on Mar 22, 2009 10:02 PM CDT up reply actions

Wells...

is going to be good, I just don’t want him for personal reasons.

I don’t get the Moreno love, though. Anyone who watched (or was forced to watch) a lot of SEC football saw Knowshon get caught from behind multiple times. I don’t care about a 40-time…dude is slow for a RB once you put the pads on. I distinctly recall him breaking into the open field in one game and the announcer saying something to the effect of “he’s in the open, but he’s not the fastest…can he get there…NO!” when Moreno was caught from behind 10 or 15 yards short of the endzone.

No, we don’t need him to be the fastest player, as he would be the “big” back to spell Slaton, but it’s still not the kind of thing I like to see from my RBs.

Also, I think we’d have a problem if we were paying Slaton’s backup first-round money while he’s in the second year of a third-round contract.

Yay, sports.

by MDC on Mar 23, 2009 9:49 AM CDT up reply actions