From day one I had bad vibes about both Kubiak and Schaub. I didn't like their demeanor. Both were so uninspiring, so unmotivating, so "something missing." From day one I liked OBrien. Yes he does the same "coach speak" in interviews, but something is different. There is a fire, a determination, a sense of toughness that IS football. The draft picks seem like "his picks," the kind of players and kind of team he wants. It is the one I want. I am not known for boundless optimism on the board. More for "tell it like it is." But for some reason (OBrien) I am optimistic.
I am optimistic that OBie will not need five years and the owner picking the DC to field a good defensive team.
D+ We had a glaring need and we failed to secure a QB prospect with starting caliber upside when we had plenty of chances to do so. Savage is a strong armed, big time project, who is inaccurate and immobile = future turnover machine. The rest of the draft was solid.
I voted F. I really like all the picks that were made, but the failure to move up and take one of the top tier QB's will haunt this franchise. I don't care if the Texans management did not have them rated highly and Savage was "their guy". If that's the case, then it's highly they are just quite stubborn and shortsighted. Clowney + Manziel would have made this draft an A+.
http://walterfootball.com/draft2014awards.php Best Value Picks Day 2: Texans: NT Louis Nix and 49ers: RB Carlos Hyde Even though Nix won't rack up the stat lines of some of the offensive skill-position players listed below, he was an easy choice for me. The Texans trading up for Nix in the middle of the third round was an absolute steal. He is a first-round talent who can be a difference-maker at the point of attack. Nix is a load for offensive linemen with his power and burst off the snap. He stuffs the running game and eats up blockers. The Texans needed a nose tackle for the middle of Romeo Crennell's 3-4 defense, and they landed the best one in the 2014 NFL Draft. Nix will be superb at freeing up J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney. If teams neglect Nix, he'll routinely blow up plays at the point of attack. With Watt and Houston defensive line coach Bill Kollar, Nix will be forced to work and maintain his conditioning. Nix and Clowney also have similar goofy personalities, so they should bond and help each other transition to the NFL. Best Trade: Houston Texans: NT Louis Nix All the Texans gave up to move up and land a first-round caliber nose tackle was a fifth-round pick. That is a draft-day theft for Houston. If the Texans had taken Nix with the 33rd overall pick to lead off the second round, that would have made sense, but to move up from their fourth-round pick to the middle of the third round to snag Nix was a tremendous trade. Honorable mentions: 49ers trading up for Carlos Hyde, Saints trading up for Brandin Cooks, Vikings trading down for Anthony Barr and Lions trading up for Kyle Van Noy. Best Draft Class: Houston Texans Teams picking early have an advantage, but Houston was able to come away with a draft class that is going to pay off immediately and should vault the franchise to new heights in years to come. The Texans did the smart thing and took the draft's best player in Jadeveon Clowney. He could end up being an NFL legend. In the second round, Houston landed the best guard in the 2014 NFL Draft, Xavier Su'a-Filo. He should make an immediate impact in reestablishing the Texans' ground game. Along the same lines, Houston landed the best Y tight end in the 2014 NFL Draft in C.J. Fiedorowicz. He's best as a blocker, but has surprising quickness and athleticism. Fiedorowicz will play as a rookie as well. Louis Nix, as documented above, was one of the best moves in the 2014 NFL Draft. He'll be the starting nose tackle and should really help keep blockers away from J.J. Watt, Jadeveon Clowney and Brian Cushing. At the end of the fourth round, Houston was able to land the quarterback it were considering on Day 2, Tom Savage. The big-armed pocket-passer is a perfect developmental signal-caller for Bill O'Brien to work with. Savage has the skill set to be a starter in the NFL. The Texans continued to add some contributors in the late rounds of the 2014 NFL Draft. Defensive end Jeoffrey Pagan will be in position to compete for playing time as a five-technique defensive end as a rookie. Later in the sixth round, Houston landed a starting fullback in Jay Prosch. The devastating blocker was huge for Auburn in 2013. Arian Foster will love having Prosch in front of him. The Texans also landed a rotational back and special teams star in Alfred Blue. Seventh-round cornerback Andre Hal was a steal and could compete at nickel for Houston. Even Mr. Irrelevant, Memphis safety Lonnie Ballentine, could make the roster. He has a real combination of size and speed. Ballentine could have gone much earlier. At the end of the day, Houston at least five starters. If Savage turns into a steal and Clowney becomes what he's capable of, this could be a draft class of the ages. Honorable mentions: Oakland Raiders, St. Louis Rams, Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears. 2013 Winner: Green Bay Packers 2012 Winner: Pittsburgh Steelers Also, Lance's article: ASSESSMENT: DRAFTING THE HOUSTON TEXANS http://www.thesidelineview.com/columns/draft/assessment-drafting-houston-texans
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Les Miles on RB Alfred Blue,Texans 6th-round pick: "2years ago when we started the season he may well have been the finest back N our conf."</p>— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkBermanFox26/statuses/466628717541081088">May 14, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>LSU coach Les Miles on RB Alfred Blue, Texans 6th-round pick: "He was absolutely a steal & he will play special team snaps start to finish."</p>— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkBermanFox26/statuses/466629817908334594">May 14, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>LSU coach Les Miles on RB Alfred Blue, Texans 6th-round pick: "I love him. His nickname is Cheese....big smile."</p>— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkBermanFox26/statuses/466630551655694336">May 14, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
http://larrybrownsports.com/football/bills-tried-to-trade-to-1-for-sammy-watkins/229563 The Bills would have gave the Texans the moon for the first pick...
Nix is hurt and missing time and Clowney had surgery and may miss some time... I think I was a lil too generous with that C+.
Still think the Clowney, Suafilo, Fiedorowicz, Blue and Prosch picks were good. Suafilo and CJ are struggling to adapt to the speed of the pro game but it'd be extremely unfair to label them as busts. Hopkins struggled some last year and Kareem famously took forever to adapt. Hal has been a pleasant surprise. The black eye on this draft is the Nix pick. Really thinking this dude never plays a down for the Texans similar to Sam Montgomery a few years ago. I'd give it a B+ still at this point as it has plenty of upside. If next year CJ and Suafilo are still not competing, then this will be another Rick Smith special.
Still too early for me to want to change my grade. We are already getting some contribution by Blue, Prosch, Fiedorowicz, XSF, and Hal. What we've seen of Clowney has been promising, Pagan is another guy who could be decent depth in the future, and Nix and Savage are question marks that we'll find out more about next year. That's a pretty decent haul for one draft IMO
How many draft classes were all that great this year? Take them all over the past 5 years... Texans are in the middle. Always in the middle. Which is hard to do. Just saying... basically, drafting players is hard.
