I conducted a little informal poll of this site's bloggers, and we wound up with four separate lists for the following question:
If you were given control of the Houston Texans war room, who would the top 11 players on the board for this April's draft be? Don't worry about how likely we are to get them, just who the top 11 players in the draft are for the Texans this year. In order.
There was surprisingly little disagreement in the top couple of picks, but after that, things got a little crazy.
1) Patrick Peterson, CB/S, LSU -- average ranking: 1 -- That was easy. Now to start figuring out how to smuggle the horse tranquilizer into the ten war rooms above us.
More after the jump:
2) Marcell Dareus, DT, Alabama -- average ranking: 2 -- This one is a little more realistic, but I would still be shocked if he were on the board at #11. And even more shocked if the Texans actually took him.
3) A.J. Green, WR, Georgia -- average ranking: 5 -- That's a 4, a 4, a 5, and a 7. MDC ranks him below Julio Jones, but everyone else has him right around here.
4) Nick Fairley, DT, Auburn -- average ranking: 5.25 -- Three bloggers listed him as their #3 overall prospect. Jake would not draft him due to attitude concerns. That one's a bit of a head scratcher to me, but okay.
5) Von Miller, LB, Texas A&M -- average ranking: 6 -- TexansDC is down on Miller at #10, Jake is the high man at #3, and MDC and I are between them at 5 and 6, respectively.
6) Julio Jones, WR, Alabama -- average ranking: 6.25 -- MDC's mancrush vaults Jones ahead of Quinn, just barely. He has him as the #4 player on the board, and after his workouts on Sunday, you can start to see why. This is about the point where I think the Texans start having a realistic shot at the targets.
7) Robert Quinn, DE/LB, North Carolina -- average ranking: 6.5 -- Jake is again the high man at #4; he loves him some 3-4 OLBs in this draft. I'm at 6, TDC is at 7, and MDC is at 9. I think this is the first guy on the board that has a realistic chance of being there at #11 and a realistic shot of getting picked by the Texans.
8) Prince Amukamara, CB, Nebraska -- average ranking: 7.75 -- I'm the low man on the Amukamara board. I think he's probably the last prospect I'd be alright with on the board at #11, but the last thing I want is more young defensive backs right now, and if drafting Amukamara means the Texans shy away from signing a veteran, that is enough in my mind to want to trade the pick. I have him 9th, TDC has him 8th, Jake has him 6th, MDC has him 8th.
8) Stephen Paea, DT, Oregon St. -- average ranking: 7.75 -- I'm guessing recent events may have vaulted Paea back into the hearts and minds of our drafters. I'd actually sent out the e-mail organizing this before he broke the combine bench press record, as I just think he's a great fit as a Wade Phillips nose. I'm not sure if he's a great pick at #11, but if my elite guys are gone and I'm stuck there, he's the guy I want. Your leading Paea mancrusher is none other than MDC, who may have a thing for potential nose tackles.
10) Da'Quan Bowers, DE, Clemson -- average ranking: 8.75 -- Bowers problem was simply that not many people think he's a great fit in a 3-4. I put him at eighth, recognizing his talent, but even I'm not sure what the plan would be if we drafted him. Maybe to shift Mario Williams to OLB? Jake left him off the board entirely for this reason.
11) Akeem Ayers, LB, UCLA -- average ranking: 10.5 -- Ayers is the last man to make all four lists. While he doesn't quite have the consistency of Quinn or Miller, I think he's just as physically talented, and probably a little better in pass coverage. Still, if it got to this point, I'd be trying to trade down. Jake was the only one who didn't slot Ayers at 11, instead having him at 9 on his board.
12) Cameron Jordan, DE, California -- average ranking: 11.5 -- Jake has him at 10; nobody else picked him. I'm really not a Jordan fan as a positional need, though I'm willing to listen to your arguments if you think he, like Bowers, is good enough to start right away and move Mario to OLB. I would almost rather have Aldon Smith or even Ryan Kerrigan.
13) J.J. Watt, DE, Wisconsin -- average ranking: 11.75 -- Again, Jake's the lone man with Watt on the board. I actually like Watt better than Jordan, but I don't like either of them enough to draft them with the DEs we have now. DT or bust for me in the first round.