You're on the clock

by texanphil on Feb 22, 2012 10:01 AM CST

I just read Walter Football's newest mock. He has us taking Alshon Jeffery with a caveat about his physical condition at the combine.

Its the next few picks, and the people left on the board when we make this selection, that got me curious.

If the following people are available to you at this pick, who do you take?

Assumptions: we re-signed our OL and Foster is on the team. We didn't make any other signings in FA.

Poll

You're on the clock and you can only choose between the following players:

Alshon Jeffery

33 votes

Fletcher Cox

13 votes

Peter Konz

8 votes

Dont'a Hightower

17 votes

Coby Fleener

10 votes

81 votes | Poll has closed

Tweet Comment 38 comments | 0 recs |

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Comments

Unless Jeffery does something at the Combine that radically changes my worries about him

(and really, should I let a Combine performance do that?), I’d take Hightower in the expectation that Mario will be leaving.

"How can an idiot be a policeman? Answer me that!"
-Chief Inspector Dreyfus

by FreedomRide on Feb 22, 2012 10:10 AM CST reply actions

I'm biased against Jeffery

for a couple reasons.

I think we need the Best Player Available since we’re so late in the first, and we’re not terrible in any position. Fleener for me. I think we’ll need to address Mario’s rotational spot soon after that, however.

TJ must throw 30 times for us to win.

by texanphil on Feb 22, 2012 10:17 AM CST up reply actions

I think Fleener would be a good choice, but I went with Cox

I don’t think Wade needs first round talent for OLB, and probably whoever we get wouldnt be a big improvement over Barwin or Reed, and would mostly be depth or injury backup (which we need).

I think Cox on the other hand is a starter from day one, and a big upgrade over Cody or Mitchell, plus he is backup at DE.

I like Fleener too, I think we should run 3 tight end formations. In our ball control offense, TE’s give us flexibility to run or pass and great disguise over which one we are doing.

I see depth at WR this year, but not a lot of elite talent, so we can get WR later.

by BleachBum on Feb 22, 2012 12:36 PM CST up reply actions

Best Player Available

I have seen a lot of mocks with the Texans selecting a WR in the first round. Picking a WR in the first round would be a waste of a pick. The same talent level at WR at pick 26 will also be there at pick 58. At pick 26 there will be mid first round talent available at OLB and DE/NT. Mario Williams is most likely leaving for free agency ( My prediction is Buffalo to sack Tom Brady) and they have a need to improve the Interior line, The Texans can not suffer through key injuries to Reed, Barwin, Smith, or Watts. The depth level after the starters is weak.

At the OLB position there is a good chance that Whitney Mercilus, Nick Perry, or Andre Branch will be available for selection.

On the interior line, Jerel Worthy, Fletcher Cox, and Brandon Thompson are projected late first round selections. All three can play the DE position and Nose tackle in the Wade system. Those of you crying out for a bohemoth such as Dontari Poe or Alameda Ta’amu for a nose tackle should realize that the NT in Wade’s system needs to be quick enough to shoot the gap and be more of a penetrator than a clogger.

Wide receivers that are projected to be available in the 2nd round are Alshon Jeffrey, Mohamed Sanu, Rueben Randle, and Nick Toon. In the third round wide receivers Brian Quick, Dwight Jones, Joe Adams, and Tommy Streeter should be available in case you want to double-dip in the wide receiving corps.

It is always better to go with the best talent on the board then reaching on one of your areas of need. We learned that from The David Carr and Kareem Jackson drafts.

by GCWTexans on Feb 22, 2012 12:04 PM CST reply actions

I agree we shouldn't go WR in the first

especially if we lose Mario. If we re-sign Mario, I think BPA for any position outside of QB. And CBs are always fun.

TJ must throw 30 times for us to win.

by texanphil on Feb 22, 2012 12:51 PM CST up reply actions

If we lose Mario, I say OLB in the first.

That and defensive line would be our only true positions of need, IMO.

by willieboyd on Feb 22, 2012 12:57 PM CST up reply actions

agree

we need one early if we lose Mario.

TJ must throw 30 times for us to win.

by texanphil on Feb 22, 2012 1:57 PM CST up reply actions

totally agree

If we lose mario, I say go outside backer. Even if we don’t lose mario, I still think we should consider someone on the d line that can play multiple positions like cox or thompson. Build that defense to be one of the best ever. That would be a tremendous defense. Draft wr in the second, toon/randle/criner/jeffery/sanu, one of them will be available at 58

by drummercve on Feb 23, 2012 10:21 AM CST up reply actions

I'd have a hard time with a first round C

if we retain Myers. Regardless of the talent. Can Konz slide to OG and be successful?

TJ must throw 30 times for us to win.

by texanphil on Feb 22, 2012 12:53 PM CST reply actions

He is top ranked at both positions

on a lot of draft sites I have been reading.

Rectum!? Damn near killed 'em!!!

by theSpaceCityKid on Feb 23, 2012 7:45 AM CST up reply actions

1. Cox, because good D-lineman are hard to find and we have a rotation spot open.

2. Jeffery, assuming he’s in good physical condition. Some insurance against an Andre injury and we have a WR3 spot open for him.

3. Hightower
4. Fleener
5. Konz

by willieboyd on Feb 22, 2012 12:54 PM CST reply actions

Considering the number of WRs they have available in the 2nd

I would consider Cox/Poe and Kontz.

Depending what happens with Mario, a pass rusher would be a strong possibly here, although I don’t really like who is there.

The Houston Texans: The Ron Paul of the NFL.

by DaGoaT on Feb 22, 2012 1:55 PM CST reply actions

Zach Brown?

by willieboyd on Feb 22, 2012 5:53 PM CST up reply actions

I really dont understand the Poe love on here

I dont mean to pick on you, since a lot on here seem to like him, but the film I have seen on him, he looks extremely slow to me. People have described him as having quick feet, but I dont see it at all. I dont think we need a run stuffer at DT. We have a beast at LB in Cushing and we shut down almost all the RB’s we saw last year…not because of DT play, but because of Cushing. Since we have that beast back there, lets take advantage of it by getting a really quick DT who can penetrate and create havoc in the backfield. I love Cox in that role, but I wouldnt waste a 4th round pick on Poe.

by BleachBum on Feb 23, 2012 12:12 PM CST up reply actions

I like the Jeffery selection

I was against it earlier but I have changed my mind. Rumor has it that he is down in the 220 pound range. We shall see soon enough at the combine

by Zukywich08 on Feb 23, 2012 7:40 AM CST via iPhone app reply actions

if not Jeffery then I would go with

Poe or Fleener. Getting Fleener could let us get rid of OD and free up some cap space.

by Zukywich08 on Feb 23, 2012 7:43 AM CST via iPhone app reply actions

They just resigned OD

They aren’t going to cut him.

The Houston Texans: The Ron Paul of the NFL.

by DaGoaT on Feb 23, 2012 8:29 AM CST up reply actions

plenty of teams resign players

Then cut them a year later. It’s not like it never happens

by Zukywich08 on Feb 23, 2012 10:25 AM CST via iPhone app up reply actions

They'll restructure his contract before they consider cutting him

Most likely, they’d trade him for picks if anything

Murphy’s 20th Military Law:
If it’s stupid, but it works, it ain’t stupid
"Fuck em all. Go Texans."

by The Night Owl on Feb 23, 2012 12:41 PM CST up reply actions

Geez, Im glad IM not the GM/HC of my beloved Texans

Everytime I think I know who I want and what this team needs most, one of you bastards writes another convincing post to throw it all off.

Rectum!? Damn near killed 'em!!!

by theSpaceCityKid on Feb 23, 2012 7:50 AM CST reply actions

^^This.

I’ve changed my mind on the #1 pick a half dozen times already.

"How can an idiot be a policeman? Answer me that!"
-Chief Inspector Dreyfus

by FreedomRide on Feb 23, 2012 9:20 AM CST up reply actions

The more I think about how our FO normally operates

and Kubes conservative approach, the more I doubt we take a WR with our #1.

Rectum!? Damn near killed 'em!!!

by theSpaceCityKid on Feb 23, 2012 9:59 AM CST up reply actions

TBH, I have no idea what to expect. They are good about concealing their intentions.

"How can an idiot be a policeman? Answer me that!"
-Chief Inspector Dreyfus

by FreedomRide on Feb 23, 2012 10:13 AM CST up reply actions

How exactly are we conservative?

The Texans are about class, not flash. How many of those flash picks really work? I remember everybody was in melt down mode when we took watt over fairley and quinn last year. Watt wasn’t flashy. In hindsight, Fairley struggled to adjust to the nfl and got injured and quinn hit a rookie wall after being out of football. Meanwhile watt went on to put together one of the most dominant rookie seasons ever by a defensive lineman, and was a gamechanger in both playoff games. He might be a 10 year starter and a hall of famer if he keeps this up. This is why the texans don’t chase the flashy players, they leave that to the Cowboys.

by drummercve on Feb 23, 2012 10:27 AM CST up reply actions

In the way you describe

we dont use high picks on “flashy” positions, but rather to fortify our Oline and front 7 on D (unless we have a glaring hole elsewhere). In this case I doubt Kubiak is as “down” on our WRs as we as fans are. In reality we were all thinking “Cmon Jacoby run this sucker back!” because we thought he was capable all the way up until the point he touched that ball. All the fan’s immediately turned to “cut his ass”. Im sure Kubiak isnt so as quick to deem our WR corps as a 1st rd need.

Rectum!? Damn near killed 'em!!!

by theSpaceCityKid on Feb 23, 2012 10:48 AM CST up reply actions

true on Kubiak

and what he can definitively answer better than anyone is the WR2’s position requirements re:blocking and its impact on our offense, and how good Jacoby and Walter are at that skill. Which seems to be the cause of keeping either or both of the expensive guys.

TJ must throw 30 times for us to win.

by texanphil on Feb 23, 2012 3:23 PM CST up reply actions

I agree

Plus the WR class is deep this year. I’m really starting to like the idea of getting randle or Stephen Hill in the second. I think Hill would be a monster #2 in this offense

by Zukywich08 on Feb 23, 2012 10:27 AM CST via iPhone app up reply actions

However the question would be who has the most value at #26 that would be the best fit for the team

If Jeffery is on the board, I have a hard time believing they’ll pass on him. They can find a DT/NT in the second round that is a better fit & better value at that pick.

Murphy’s 20th Military Law:
If it’s stupid, but it works, it ain’t stupid
"Fuck em all. Go Texans."

by The Night Owl on Feb 23, 2012 12:45 PM CST up reply actions

I agree bc I think Chapman fits the bill

but didnt it seem like Watt was a bit of a reach last year? He turned out to be the steal fo the draft. What if we picked Chapman with our first? Would you say “thats a reach” or would you say “wow he must be better than we thought”

Rectum!? Damn near killed 'em!!!

by theSpaceCityKid on Feb 23, 2012 1:19 PM CST up reply actions

We laughed when SF took Aldon Smith and we shook our heads when the Texans took Watt

Not bc we thought they werent good players, we just under-valued them and thought we knew more than we actually did about fit and talent level from reading 3 months worth of draft analysis.

Rectum!? Damn near killed 'em!!!

by theSpaceCityKid on Feb 23, 2012 1:23 PM CST up reply actions

Across a wide array of draft boards...

Watt was never ranked any worse than 15th between the combine and the draft. All of the bitching about “reaching” and claims that we could have traded down were pretty ill-founded. We took a great player about where he aught to have been drafted.

It would take a hell of a combine for Chapman to even garner second-round consideration.

by Nashmeister on Feb 23, 2012 2:09 PM CST up reply actions

I remember it being quite a debate about who was the better 34DE

between him and Cam Jordan (a lot of people here wanted Jordan if we went that route). Both of them were projected to go mid to late 1st round and we picked Watt at #11. My point is that it seemed a tad early for the player selected and it seemed strange since at the time we were uncertain if Mario was going to be DE or OLB. We were just flat out wrong all the way around.

Rectum!? Damn near killed 'em!!!

by theSpaceCityKid on Feb 23, 2012 2:41 PM CST up reply actions

Jordan was right there with him for a time.

I think NFLDraftScout had them ranked 14th and 15th. You could say they would have gone later based on teams reaching for QBs, but if we were working in a draft vacuum where every position is equally important and every team has the same needs and drafts BPA, Watt was definitely taken about where he aught to have been.

290-pounders who can rush the passer and play in any scheme don’t come along every day. Hell, compare his combine numbers to Mario’s… Not far off, and even better in the agility department.

I maintain that he was the BPA and an obvious pick at that point.

by Nashmeister on Feb 23, 2012 4:28 PM CST up reply actions