Grading The Texans' Draft

by Tim on May 1, 2007 10:17 AM CDT in News Comment 14 comments

Now that the dust has settled, let's take a long, hard look at what the Texans did this weekend. First, the draftees:

Amobi Okoye (DE, Louisville)
Jacoby Jones (WR, Lane College)
Fred Bennett (CB, South Carolina)
Brandon Harrison (S, Stanford)
Brandon Frye (OT, Virginia Tech)
Kasey Studdard (G, Texas)
Zach Diles (LB, Kansas State)

Mel Kiper graded the Texans' draft as a C-, primarily because he doesn't think that the Texans helped Matt Schaub out via the OL or WR. John McClain gives the hometown team a B-, though he doesn't give much detail as to why the grade is so low. SI.com's notoriously red-assed Dr. Z craps on Smithiak to the tune of a D+, dishing out a healthy helping of "where's the OL" smack. Though he didn't grade the draft per se, Peter King wrote that we'd all look back on Amobi Okoye as "a steal at No. 10 to Houston" and terms the new Nigerian Nightmare "a clean-as-a-whistle Warren Sapp."

My thoughts, you ask? Well, sure...

Anyone that doesn't absolutely LOVE Okoye at No. 10 is likely under the influence of mass quantities of illegal narcotics. He's going to anchor DT for years to come, and his arrival should mean the departure of former Casserly first-round pick Travis Johnson.

While I have my concerns about taking Jacoby Jones over Jason Hill and a handful of other guys in Round Three, I am encouraged by TPL's report on Jones from the Shrine Game. Time will tell whether he can be the complement to Dre that the Texans so desperately need.

The more I think about it, the more I love the addition of Fred Bennett at CB. While I don't think he'll start immediately over Petey Faggins, he seems to have the tools that could portend a prosperous future in the battle red for years to come. At the very least, Bennett should be part of the rotation at CB this season.

I'm still scratching my head over the Harrison pick, especially considering that Josh Gattis (a true FS) was still on the board. That said, Harrison could well be a jack-of-all trades in the secondary and on special teams, which would make him infinitely more valuable and a tremendous addition in Round Five.

By all accounts, Brandon Frye will be a project. Fortunately, the presence of Ephraim Salaam, Jordan Black, Eric Winston, and (hopefully) Charles Spencer should give him time to develop. While I don't expect much out of him next season, it was a fine roll of the dice on him in Round Five.

Yeah, I'm biased. But I am still on Cloud Nine over the Kasey Studdard pick. He's ornery. He's mean. He's tough. He's a winner. And he'll be a starter in Houston sooner rather than later. BRB has a new cult hero.

Zach Diles has a chance to contribute on special teams, but the plethora of linebackers already ahead of him should make it tough for him to make the squad. That said, the guy should drop that David Carr wristband like a bad habit.

Overall? I'd give Smithiak a solid B for this weekend's performance, and that grade improves exponentially if Jacoby Jones justifies the faith that the Texans have in him. What say you, BRB Nation?

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B+

Dr. Z's grade cracked me up. He's such a prick about the o-line. And Mel Kiper doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground (juco drop out!).

That said, I'm really happy with the Texans draft. They aren't going to fix the entire team in one draft (like all those draft guru clowns seem to dream of). They didn't really reach - aside from maybe the Jones pick (but if he pans out he's a steal). They got an absolute monster in Okoye - I love this guy. Loved everything I've read about him, and am going to love watching him grow.

My favorite pick is Studdard though. I agree 100% - new cult hero. He will be the guy that brings energy to the line and adds that intangible stuff that doesn't show up in 40 times and bench reps. The one thing the NFL just seems to refuse to do is watch game tape. Just watch it. The guy is a winner. He found a way to win at the college level and he'll do it in the NFL.

Smithiak has earned my trust.

by DisplacedTexan on May 1, 2007 10:26 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Agreed

I have to concur on the grade and the comments....and couldn't have possibly said it better.

As I said here about Jones, the guy is just a total late-bloomer who took a very "un-natural" path to the NFL. I can't wait to see him in training camp.

Hasta La Vista Travis..........Viva Okoye

We can be critical of the draft picks, but in the end we always support the new Texan.

by Shake on May 1, 2007 11:23 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

C+

Okoye was a slam dunk. Great pick. Upside is tremendous, important position, good character and leads to less Travis Johnson. No further comment required.
I, too, am excited by TPL's account of the E-W Shrine Game, but it seems like every year there are a handful of these "late bloomer", "multi-sport" guys who wind up as practice squad fodder. Jones certainly sounds like a good gamble, but the Texans have little, if any, margin of error. If he pans out, great. If not, first major faux pas for the Smithiak regime.
Fred Bennett is a good player. I will be surprised if he develops into anything more than a dime back, but a skilled player at a position of need who has an impressive resume is by no means a bad pick.

The rest of the Texans' draft, other than the Studdard pick, was extremely non-eventful, in my opinion. OL depth, S depth, special teams depth, fair enough, but nobody who keeps you up at night. Sure, it's the late rounds, but at some point the Texans need to hit a home run or two late in the draft in order to put them over the top, talent-wise, and I seriously doubt that this year will prove to be that year.

All in all, Okoye's a great add, and Jones seems promising, but the BRB war room proved far more productive than the real-life Texans' brass did last weekend.

by Scott on May 1, 2007 12:24 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Jones=Mathis?

No one has said it yet, but isn't the pick of Jacoby Jones eerily reminiscent to Jerome Mathis a couple of years back? Small school track star to NFL WR in the blink of an eye?

Unlike Jerome, however, Jones isn't going to be able to make this team as a KR.

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

by Tim on May 1, 2007 2:27 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Keyshawn?

What do you guys think about the possibility of the Texans picking up the newly released Keyshawn Johnson? Does he do anything for us that Moulds didn't do last year? As much as I hate Keyshawn, he might be worth looking at to be a possession receiver opposite Andre's #1 slot. I would imagine that Jacoby Jones is going to take a while to start producing at an NFL level (although I hope he is this year's Marques Colston!).

by badfish on May 1, 2007 3:14 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Re: Keyshawn

Though I don't think he'd be interested in coming to Houston, I'd be interested in talking to him. He's no gamebreaker, but he's a move-the-chains WR that could draw some heat away from Dre.

I'd be worried about his character and antics though. Plus, is he really any better than Moulds?

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

by Tim on May 1, 2007 3:19 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Re: Keyshawn

Better than Moulds? Definitely. Interested in Houston? No way. Let's see if he heads back to New York and closes his career out with the J-E-T-S.

by Scott on May 1, 2007 3:25 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Kiper's a beady-eyed prick.

I watched his complaints about the Texans not picking up offensive line studs in the early rounds.

-If Levi Brown were still on the board, I bet they would have taken him.
-Maybe Smithiak tried to trade down, but weren't gonna get a fair deal for the oppurtunity at Okoye.
-They did buy Jordan Black in the offseason, a starter-caliber tackle, so that doesn't hurt.
-We did add Studdard and Frye. I'm not a huge horn fan, but you guys seem pretty passionate, so I'm going to keep the faith.

If anybody had a crappy offseason overall, I'd say its a few states over in Titan country, but that's just me..........

Our day will come.

by JMPeffer on May 1, 2007 3:29 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

RE: Kiper

I think your subject line summed it all up nicely.

We can be critical of the draft picks, but in the end we always support the new Texan.

by Shake on May 1, 2007 4:00 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

My turn

JMPeffer's sub line says it all. Out of all the people Tim listed, the only one who's opinion means jack to me is Dr. Z.

But I think these geniuses all forgot one mighty important factor: we had one (1, uno) 1st round pick. No 2nd. 1 3rd. Exactly how many holes were we to plug in one year? I could see all these people jumping down our throats for passing on Okoye, too. We have a ton of holes to fill, and the best way to do that is not to reach, but to collect the best available talent where it is needed regardless of position. Our DTs were awful last year, and teams knew they could triple-team Mario on any passing play. Really, not only did we add Okoye, we added Mario back in the mix, too.

As far o-line...yeah, I'm still worried. What did the Chiefs guy call Black? A turnstile? Something like that. We have to hope that Smithiak believes Spencer to be healthy, or that he will be healthy. I'm expecting much better things from Winston. And, if not, we can get some help in the 2008 draft. We have to be honest: we aren't going to the Super Bowl this year. Let's continue to implement our systems, collect talent, and get ready to compete for a title in 2008.

I think the Jones pick was easily the most controversial. I don't mind rolling the dice in the 3rd round like Smithiak did. They must've seen something that excited them, and after TPL's testimony, I am completely jazzed by this guy. Yes, the pick might backfire, but there's no guarantee in any round, as Casserly's reign so sadly proved.

Frye seems to fall in the Jones category as somebody who has tremendous upside but similar downside. I love the gamble.

We got a couple of guys who can help in the secondary today. More goodness.

Overall, I give them a B or B-. The Schaub trade hurt our ability to make a huge impact in this draft, but I think we did a strong job with what we had. Okoye will shine, so it's up to Jones and Frye to do the heavy lifting. I'm optimistic.

Props for the new sig, TarHorn.

by bigfatdrunk on May 1, 2007 5:02 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

RE: Superbowl this year

WTF is with all the negativity about definitely not going to the SB this year?

How can you be a *fan*atic without having your soul filled with hopeless optimism? It is the only thing that got me through most of the 80's & 90's as a Longhorn.

We can be critical of the draft picks, but in the end we always support the new Texan.

by Shake on May 1, 2007 6:36 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

just wait

I'm not drunk enough yet. Before long, not only will the Texans win the next 42 Super Bowls in a row, but they'll bring peace to the Middle East, find a cure for cancer, and find me that really fat, guacamole-laden burrito I'll be hankering for at the end of my profanity-laced diatribe.

And, sonny, I grew up with the Oilers **AND** Astros of the mid-70s, so you get no pity from me. Now, if you'll excuse me, I believe that Matlock is on.

by bigfatdrunk on May 1, 2007 8:29 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

nice

That was quite simply the funniest thing I'll read today.

Enjoy your "Murder She Wrote" marathon.

We can be critical of the draft picks, but in the end we always support the new Texan.

by Shake on May 2, 2007 7:18 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

ESPN - Consensus Grades

Pretty nice link here, ESPN has linked up the grades of nine NFL Draft pundits from across the country for all NFL teams. That said, it's not such nice reading for Texans' fans, as the Texans' consensus grade of 2.1 was equal to or better than a grand total of four NFL teams; however, take solace in the fact that the Browns received a 4.0 (all A's and A+'s), which to me, is absurd considering the price that they truly paid for Brady Quinn (a second rounder this year AND a TBD first rounder next year). I do agree with Charles Robinson of Yahoo, who gave the Texans the highest marks by far, in that he included Schaub's acquisition in his analysis. Not doing so is being dishonest, sort of like not factoring in the price of Brady Quinn to the Browns is being dishonest as well.

by Scott on May 2, 2007 8:30 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs