One thing that I can say about the way that Bob McNair runs this franchise is this--he only goes after guys who could be defined as having "high character." We’ve had a few hiccups in the past with a steroid scandal, a tasing incident and some pictures of cockfighting that seem to have hurt the feelings of a few chicken lovers out there. But nothing drastic or what would be considered "conduct detrimental to the team."
No, unlike the Jerry Joneses of the world, Bob likes to stay away from guys that he could see getting into trouble with the law down the road. Some like this, some don’t. Personally, I don’t care...I just want to win. When talking about guys with questionable character, it leads us to today's potential Texan preview with a look at North Carolina defensive end Robert Quinn.
It’s no secret by now that a large percentage of college athletes are getting paid one way or another, be it the universities letting them slide on their academics, offering cash and gifts or even something as crazy as providing a condo for said player's family. It really isn’t that shocking anymore. It’s been happening for years and there is no reason to believe it will slow down just because a few of these morons got caught.
In any other draft, Robert Quinn would have been a top five pick. This year, though? He missed his entire 2010 season because of getting caught lying to NCAA investigators about accepting "travel accommodations and jewelry." Yeah, it could be worse. Still, naturally, this has hurt his draft stock, which could make him available at #11 when Houston goes on the clock.
The talent that Quinn has is ridiculous. The dude is just a specimen at 6’4" and 265 pounds. His 4.62 in the 40 at the Combine certainly ended all discussions of him being out of shape due to his time off. His strength is sick and he did 22 reps of 225 pounds at the Combine as well.
In his last full season at North Carolina, he received first team All-ACC honors and finished second in Defensive Player of the Year Voting for the ACC. He also had 19 tackles (including 6 forced fumbles) for a loss and clobbered the quarterback 11 times, good for 16th in the nation.
Quinn has great physical ability and he uses power moves to get by his blockers. His instincts have also been brought up by many scouts, as well as his "football IQ." His has elite speed for a pass rusher and looks to be NFL ready from day one.
So would he be available to Houston at 11th overall? It’s looking like it. Missing an entire season due to breaking the rules will do that to a guy's draft stock. We all know Bob isn’t about "knuckleheads." But if he is available, I wouldn’t be crying about this pick at all. He looks to be a right outside linebacker in the defense Wade Phillips would trot out there in 2011, and I think he would be a great complement to Mario Williams. If he is there, I would be all over that pick. Take a look at some of The Mighty Quinn’s highlights below.
What say you, BRB Nation? Would you like to see Robert Quinn raising some hell in the backfield for the Texans in 2011?