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2011 Texans Draft Profile: Taylor (T.J.) Yates

With the 152nd pick of the 2011 NFL Draft, the Houston Texans selected Quarterback Taylor Yates from the University of North Carolina.

If you watched ESPN, Trent Dilfer was bold enough to say that T.J. Yates was the best quarterback in the draft behind Blaine Gabbert. He talked about Yates' pocket presence and the leadership he showed at North Carolina amid the circus they had all last season.

More after the jump...

Tale of the Tape

Hometown: Marietta, GA.

Height: 6'3"

Weight: 219 lbs.

40 yd. time: 5.1

Bench @ 225 lbs.: N/A

Awards

Two-Time ACC Rookie of the Week, 2007

Two-Time ACC Offensive Back of the Week, 2010

All-ACC Team Honorable Mention, 2010

Selected to play in the NFLPA All-Star Game, 2011

T.J. Yates completed over 66% of his passes his senior year and took a big step as a quarterback going from his junior to senior year. He threw for over 3,400 yards and had 19 touchdowns with only 9 interceptions.

Gary Kubiak says he likes that Yates ran a similar offense to the Texans and that Yates reminded him of Matt Schaub. Kubiak is known for developing quarterbacks and adding Yates gives the Texans a possibility of a signal caller for the future.

With Yates being drafted, it can be expected that it might be the end of the road for Dan Orlovsky or Matt Leinart. Hopefully it is Orlovsky, but we will leave that for a later discussion.

Not many analysts were very high on Yates, but he has a chance to learn in Houston from some good veterans in Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson. Yates knows he is not in line for starting anytime soon, but he could provide vital down the road in future seasons.