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Round 1 - Kevin Minter, ILB, LSU
- I would like to point out that Arthur Brown is still on the board here...yuck.
Round 2 - Sylvester Williams, DT, North Carolina
- Not bad. I like Sly Williams and think he could do good things as a nose tackle in Houston...except Arthur Brown is inexplicably still on the board.
Round 3 - Cobi Hamilton, WR, Arkansas
- I would argue that the Texans need a safety and possibly an OLB more than another WR, but that's just me, I guess.
Round 4 - Hugh Thornton, OG, Illinois
- We already have future Hall of Famers Brandon Brooks and Ben Jones at guard right next to "Pro Bowler" Wade Smith. I'm not sure why we need to rush any more people to Canton.
Round 1 - Desmond Trufant, CB, Washington
Mr. Trufant made hisself a suitcase full of money at the Senior Bowl, as the competitive Huskie CB jumped into drills to challenge the top WRs. This spirit did not escape coaches' and scouts' attentions alike, as this simulation vaults him into the 1st round. DC Wade Phillips likes to bring pressure to the opposing QB and put pressure on his defensive backfield in man-to-man coverage, which fits Trufant's skill-set to a "T" as he excels in press coverage. ProFootballFocus' grading format supports the old "eye-ball test" proving the weakness of the Texans' defensive backfield, as only starting CB's Kareem Jackson (+13.2), Johnathan Joseph (+4.7) and FS Quintin Demps (+2.3) had positive grades. In today's pass-happy NFL, CBs are like closets in a house . . . you can never have enough of them on your roster and your top 3 (and preferably 4) need to be starting material quality. Trufant also brings good size and an aggressive willingness to tackle to improve run support. This is excellent quality at a position of need for the Texans.
- I...just...what? Demps was arguably the worst player on the entire team in 2012, and BRB has done way more than enough intensive analysis to prove that. Adding another first round corner to what is already arguably the best duo in the NFL (when healthy) would almost redefine the word "pointless." Glover Quin is a good free safety, and you can do a lot worse in the NFL than Danieal Manning at the strong safety position. Placing blame for the Texans' defensive woes on anything but inside linebacker play and Quintin Demps at the dime safety position is essentially my litmus test for knowing if an analyst even watches this team play. Citing PFF as his only source of insight, and throwing another cornerback at the problem no less, immediately forces me to not take this mocker seriously at all. Oh, and I should mention that both Arthur Brown and Lane Johnson were still on the board here. Yikes.
Round 2- Tavarres King, WR, Georgia
Andre Johnson turns 32 this summer and begins his 11th NFL campaign; alas, the propensity of injuries increases with age. To compound the matter, Kevin Walter (who starts opposite Johnson) also turns 32 this summer. Will Lestar Jean, Keyshawn Martin or DeVier Posey step up to the "blue tees" in 2013? I'm not willing to place a wager on that happening, and ProFootballFocus agrees with me by producing the following offensive grades: Johnson (+34.2), Walter (-2.1), Jean (-0.8), Martin (-5.8) and Posey (-3.6). Tavarres King recorded 42 receptions for 950 yards (22.6 ypc) and 9 TDs during the 13 games of his 2012 season for the Bulldogs, and during Senior Bowl week, displayed the stop-start-go elusiveness to consistently make defenders miss and enough straight-line speed (sub 4.5 forty) to beat them over the top. King chops his feet to square off turns quickly, is fluid in his movements, and was the best at getting off press coverage among the South receivers. Good value in the 2nd round for the Texans.
- Again, I can understand why people would give Houston a WR. It's not exactly our deepest position. At the same time, however, can you people please stop giving Andre Johnson's age as a reason. The man just put up 1,600 yards, for Durga's sake.
Round 3 - Corey Lemonier, DE/OLB, Auburn
- Players still on the board for this pick: Chase Thomas, Brandon Williams, D.J. Swearinger, Dallas Thomas, Da'Rick Rodgers. Come on, man.
Round 4 - Dion Sims, TE, Michigan State
- I'll admit I have no idea how good Sims is, but we need a TE, so I'm not too upset.
Round 5 - Denard Robinson, WR/QB/KR/PR/Swiss Army Knife, Michigan
- I'm just putting this here for MDC to smile at.
Round 1 - Tavon Austin, WR, WVU / Kevin Minter, ILB, LSU
- No, and no.
Round 1 - Tyler Eifert, TE, Notre Dame
- Clearly Gil Brandt is smoking something, because the Texans have a strict "only draft tight ends from Wisconsin" policy. T.J Watt! Come on dooooooown!
Round 1 - Matt Elam, S, Florida
- But...but....Lane Johnson was right there.
Round 2 - Da'Rick Rodgers, WR, Tennessee Tech
- Hmm, still no linebackers. Curious.
Round 1 - Tavon Austin, WR, WVU
Could also go with Kevin Minter, ILB, LSU
- You guys...seriously...stop it.
Round 1 - Robert Woods, WR, USC
- WHAT DID I JUST SAY?
Round 2 - Brennan Williams, OT, North Carolina
- Thank you. Finally some sense.
Round 1 - Kevin Minter, ILB, LSU
- Aaaaand we're back. I need a drink.
Round 2 - Robert Woods, WR, USC
Everyone wants Houston to draft a wide receiver early in this draft and I'm in agreement. Woods could develop into a future No. 1 WR later in his career, making him the Reggie Wayne to Andre Johnson's Marvin Harrison.
- No, not "everyone," unless you count people that don't have a clue what the Texans need as "everyone", which is starting to look like a true possibility. Oh, and just for good measure, Khaseem Greene went one pick later.
Round 1 - Matt Elam, S, Florida
Houston has quite a few players in the secondary set to become free agents this year, but even if those guys are resigned, they need an infusion of talent at safety. New England abused them twice this year with the short passes and long runs after the catch. The need someone who can be relied on to jump those routes or at least make tackles after the catch.
- Yes on needing a safety, no on all of your reasons why.
Round 2 - Robert Woods, WR, USC
Houston doesn't have many needs but a 32 year old Andre Johnson is getting injured more and more as he ages. Woods has the big play ability, speed and athleticism to be a welcome addition to this offense.
- Am I being punked?
Round 1 - Keenan Allen, WR, Cal
Andre Johnson can’t do it alone, especially at the age of 32. The Texans need immediate help at receiver, but would also be wise to bring in a young prospect to learn behind Johnson. Allen, who is listed at 6’3″, needs to learn how to use his size before he’s ready to take over as the No.1. But he’ll be in a perfect position to be groomed into that role in Houston.
- I like Allen a lot, but not when so many wonderful players at positions of need are left on the board. I feel like I could turn mentions of Andre Johnson's age into a very dangerous drinking game.
Round 2 - Eric Reid, S, LSU
- Not a bad pick. We need a safety for dime, and here we get a safety for dime. I'm not sure the writer realizes we need a safety for dime, but I'll just assume he does and pretend that he knows stuff about this team. It's easier that way.
Round 1 - Keenan Allen, WR, Cal
- Again, I really like Allen, but there's a long list of players I would rather have at pick 27.
Round 2 - Matt Elam, S, Florida
- I want to mention here for Tim that Alex Okafor is still on the board in this mock. Let that sink in, dearest Blogfather.
Round 3 - Michael Buchanan, DE, Illinois
- I know absolutely nothing about Buchanan, so I'll reserve judgement.
Round 1 - Jonathan Jenkins, NT, Georgia
Incumbent nose tackle Shaun Cody is slated to become an unrestricted free agent in March, and Jenkins would be worthy of consideration here. The stronger the Texans are at nose tackle, the more difficult it will be to gameplay against J.J. Watt.
- Someone buy this man a beer. Preferably anything but stale water Coors.
Round 1 - DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Clemson
- I'll take "Lane Johnson is on the board" for $200, Alex.
So there you have it, BRB. There are still some other mocks out there, but to be quite honest I don't think any of them will do any good. I guess we are just destined to draft a wide receiver in the first round, and we double-dog swear that none of these people will be wrong about this...again. It's gonna happen. I promise.
/drink.