Texans Down 'N Dirty: Free Agents Galore

Not much Texans related news today, so I'll quickly shower you with some random links.

Tony Pauline of SI breaks down the DB performances at the combine. Notably, Earl Thomas did very well for himself by weighing in at 208 pounds, while also reiterating the belief that he's a ballhawk in position drills. On the flip side, Joe Haden's poor 40 time (4.58 range) could cause him to slip. Malcolm Jenkins, who was widely considered to be the top cornerback heading into the draft last year, had a similar 40 time and slipped all the way to 14th where the Saints grabbed him. Interesting to look back and note that Jenkins was picked one slot before the Texans took Brian Cushing. If the Saints had taken a player other than either of those two, the Texans would have had to decide between Jenkins and Cush man. Given the controversy surrounding D-Rob at the time (he was in the process of threatening to hold out), would the Texans have taken Jenkins had he fallen? I for one am glad things worked out the way they did.

Pat Kirwan of NFL.com put out his first mock draft of the off-season. He has Thomas, who many are hoping the Texans pick to shore up their free safety issues, off the board at #12 to the Dolphins, who are in desperate need of a playmaking safety. Kirwan has the Texans taking Boise State CB Kyle Wilson. Here's Rivers' take on him from his time at the Combine.

Kyle Wilson, CB, Boise State: Wilson praised his brother a lot of this press conference, and said he'd helped him get into college football by sending a recruiting video to all the top 50 teams.  He thought that "level of competition" between BCS auto-bid conferences and non-auto-bid conferences was pretty negligible.  Wilson thought his time in the WAC, playing against all those spread offenses, will help him in the NFL.

Considering our CB situation (Brice McCain is our third corner as of today), I wouldn't mind a CB such as Wilson. He seems like a fairly good playmaker (five interceptions his junior year) with solid coverage skills.

Kirwan also lists his top 50 free agents of this off-season. Of those of potential interest to the Texans (though really, who has any idea), Thomas Jones is fourth, Ryan Clark is eighth, and Leigh Bodden is thirteenth. Oh, and there's that Dunta Robinson guy. He sounds pretty familiar. He's seventh. If I had it my way, he wouldn't be on this list.

Have a great day everyone.