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The downside, if there ever could be one, of the Houston Texans making a playoff appearance is that you had to wait 23 days to get to this pick. That's 23 days of keeping your fingers crossed and hoping that someone talented survives the gauntlet to make it safely to Houston. That's 23 days and I'm not making it any shorter since I'm clearly just trying to stretch this introduction out while Brett Kollmann (seriously, click the link and give the guy a follow. I imagine he'll be tweeting it up during the NFL Draft next week) climbs out of an exhausted BRB War Room to make the pick.
With the 27th pick of the 2013 BRB Mock Draft, the Houston Texans select Datone Jones, defensive end out of the University of California, Los Angeles.
The fact that Rick Smith refuses to extend Antonio Smith, despite desperately needing the cap relief, tells me with 99% certainty that the Ninja won’t be a Texan in 2014. Considering I believe that in the interest of not "wasting" J.J. Watt against the left tackles of the league, Smith will be the five-technique this season; that would, naturally, leave a giant hole at defensive end a year from now.
Datone Jones went from being a mid-round project to possibly the best pass rusher in this entire class in the pan of a few months. His hands, power, and overall polish were average at best during the 2012 season, but there was certainly potential there for improvement. I don’t think anyone was prepared for what we saw during Senior Bowl week. Jones was simply phenomenal and left a wake of devastation and despair across every offensive linemen he faced. Even Eric Fisher, a top-five prospect in this class, had trouble containing Jones.
As far as five-techs go, nobody even comes close to Jones in this class. His Senior Bowl tape looked on par with J.J. Watt’s Wisconsin days, and Watt’s tape is considered some of the best ever for a college 3-4 defensive end. His hand usage was perfect, his speed as deadly as ever, and his ability to get into the backfield unmatched.
I do not say this lightly – Datone Jones can be just as good as J.J. Watt. I repeat, this guy is a freaking monster. He’s a killer of dreams. A destroyer of worlds. A man that has no business falling out of the top-15 picks in this draft, but due to positional value and the general lack of need for one-gap five-tech ends, has a shot at being there at 27. Jones shouldn't be, but he might be. If selected, Watt and Jones very well may be the most dominating defensive end duo in the league for quite some time, and just the thought of having a slim chance of Jones wearing Battle Red next season makes me all warm and fuzzy.
2014: Brooks Reed, Watt, Jones, and Whitney Mercilus. Drink it in, everyone. Drink it in.
If the preceding text looks familiar then congratulations for being smart and reading Brett's article from Monday. It should also be noted that this was not an unanimous selection for Mr. Jones by the staff. Your reaction to the pick, Texans fans? Would you be happy at the draft party or would you throw things and call out for general manager Rick Smith to answer you?
Capt Ron and the Denver Broncos are on the clock. His pick is due to Tim no later than 7 p.m. tonight.
Recapping...
1. Kansas City Chiefs--Luke Joeckel (OT--Texas A&M)
2. Jacksonville Jaguars--Eric Fisher (OT--Central Michigan)
3. Oakland Raiders--Sharrif Floyd (DT--Florida)
4. Philadelphia Eagles--Dee Milliner (CB--Alabama)
5. Detroit Lions--Jarvis Jones (LB--Georgia)
6. Cleveland Browns--Keenan Allen (WR--Cal)
7. Arizona Cardinals--Chance Warmack (OG--Alabama)
8. Buffalo Bills--Geno Smith (QB--West Virginia)
9. New York Jets--Dion Jordan (DE/OLB--Oregon)
10. Tennessee Titans--Ezekial Ansah (DE--BYU)
11. San Diego Chargers--Lane Johnson (OT--Oklahoma)
12. Miami Dolphins--Barkevious Mingo (DE/OLB--LSU)
13. Tampa Bay Buccaneers--Tavon Austin (WR--West Virginia)
14. Carolina Panthers--Star Lotulelei (DT--Utah)
15. New Orleans Saints--Sheldon Richardson (DT--Missouri)
16. St. Louis Rams--DeAndre Hopkins (WR--Clemson)
17. Pittsburgh Steelers--Cordarrelle Patterson (WR--Tennessee)
18. Dallas Cowboys--Jonathan Cooper (G--North Carolina)
19. New York Giants--Bjoern Wagner (DE--Florida State)
20. Chicago Bears--Tyler Eifert (TE--Notre Dame)
21. Cincinnati Bengals--Kenny Vaccaro (S--Texas)
22. St. Louis Rams--Jonathan Cyprien (S--Florida International)
23. Minnesota Vikings--Arthur Brown (ILB--Kansas State)
24. Indianapolis Colts--Xavier Rhodes (CB--Florida State)
25. Minnesota Vikings--Jesse Williams (DT--Alabama)
26. Green Bay Packers--Tank Carradine (DE--Florida State)
27. Houston Texans--Datone Jones (DE--UCLA)
28. Denver Broncos--Capt Ron
29. New England Patriots--MaloneyPony
30. Atlanta Falcons--riversmccown
31. San Francisco 49ers--TexansDC
32. Baltimore Ravens--Cougfan