Joel Heath & Duke Thomas are really good pickups. Reader & Heath will be great second and third team defensive tackles the next few years as the Texans look too find Wilfork's successor in next years draft. Duke Thomas is strong competition for a final CB/S spot and at worst is probably a practice squader
summary from teh Chronicle: Eric Lee, South Florida, DE/OLB The Texans have agreed to an undrafted free agent deal with South Florida defensive end-outside linebacker Eric Lee. Lee worked out privately for Texans linebackers coach Mike Vrabel last week. A 6-3, 260-pound team captain, Lee was projected by some teams as an outside linebacker for 3-4 schemes. Lee runs the 40-yard dash in 4.72 seconds and bench pressed 225 pounds 24 times. He had a 9-9 broad jump. Lee was a second-team all-conference selection who won the Lee Roy Selmon award as the Bulls' top defensive lineman. He had 45 tackles, 12 for losses, five sacks, an interception, four pass breakups, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. He had a sack and intercepted a pass in the Miami Beach Bowl.He finished his career with 87 tackles, 19 1/2 for losses and 5 1/2 sacks. As a junior, Lee started every game and had 28 tackles, six for losses. The Alabama native and former all-state and all-county selection started as a true freshman after enrolling early at South Florida. Richard Leonard, Florida International, CB The Texans have agreed to a deal with Florida International cornerback Richard Leonard. Leonard worked out privately for the Texans and Arizona Cardinals. Leonard played in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl All-Star game. Leonard was a first-team All-Conference USA selection at cornerback and punt returner. The 5-foot-9, 189-pounder had 62 tackles last season with 42 solos to rank second on the team with one interception. He had eight pass breakups and led the conference with a 10.7 punt return average. He finished with 37 career punt returns for 577 yards, 86 kickoff returns for 2,158 yards. Stephen Anderson, California, TE The Texans have agreed to a free agent deal with Cal tight end Stephen Anderson has piqued the NFL teams' interest through his combination of athleticism and versatility. Anderson visited the Miami Dolphins and had 10 total visits and private workouts, including workouts with the Tennessee Titans, New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons. Anderson didn't visit the Texans, which was initially discussed, but they scouted his Pro Day workout where he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.58 and 4.62 seconds. He registered a 38-inch vertical leap and a 9-11 broad jump at the NFL scouting combine in February where he didn't run because of a hamstring injury. He had a three-cone drill of 6.95 seconds and a 4.13 short shuttle. A Pac-12 honorable-mention conference selection, Anderson trained at Performance Athletic Lab in Katy. The 6-2, 230-pounder is projected as a move tight end or a large possession wide receiver. A former walk-on who earned a scholarship, Anderson caught 41 passes for 475 yards and two touchdowns last season. He caught 46 passes for 661 yards and five touchdowns as a junior. The converted wide receiver caught 87 passes for 1,135 yards and seven touchdowns over the past two seasons. Richard Mullaney, Alabama, WR The Texans have agreed to an undrafted free agent deal with Alabama wide receiver Richard Mullaney. "I couldn't be happier," Mullaney said in a telephone interview. "I'm so excited about the opportunity to join the Texans." Mullaney earned a cool nickname after establishing himself with the Crimson Tide as a slick-handed target in the slot for the national champions. The Oregon State transfer became known as "Slottie Pippen," as in former Chicago Bulls star Scottie Pippen. "That was a nickname I earned this year," Mullaney said. "I saw it on Twitter and heard about it a lot from my teammates. It's pretty cool, I guess." Mullaney caught 38 passes for 390 yards and five touchdowns in his lone season at Alabama after transferring from Oregon State. The 6-3, 208-pound native of Thousand Oaks, Calif. had 25 of his receptions generating a first down or a touchdown. Brennan Scarlett, Stanford, OLB The Texans have agreed to an undrafted free agent deal with Stanford outside linebacker Brennan Scarlett. He was an honorable-mention All-Pac 12 selection. He had 37 tackles, eight for losses and 5 1/2 sacks last season after transferring from Cal. Wendall Williams, University of the Cumberlands, WR The Texans have reached a free agent deal with former University of the Cumberlands wide receiver Wendall Williams, one of the fastest incoming rookies. Williams ran the 40-yard dash in 4.19 seconds and had a 45-inch vertical leap at an NFL regional combine in Minnesota. He was an NAIA track All-American for three consecutive years, competing in the long jump, 100 meters and 200 meters. Williams had 15 catches for 457 yards and eight touchdowns last season. He had 204 rushing yards and three touchdowns last season, returning one punt for a touchdown and returning three kickoffs for touchdowns. Williams had 16 catches for 326 yards and three touchdowns as a junior with 112 rushing yards and one touchdown. Jalen Jefferson, California, ILB The Texans have agreed to an undrafted free agent deal with Cal inside linebacker Jalen Jefferson. The 6-2, 240-pound four-year starter finished with 229 career tackles, 19 1/2 tackles for losses, 8 1/2 sacks, three interceptions and one fumble recovery. He had 10 passes defended.He had 60 tackles, five for losses and two sacks last season. Duke Thomas, Texas, CB The Texans have agreed to terms with undrafted Texas cornerback Duke Thomas. Thomas received a $4,500 signing bonus, according to a source not authorized to speak publicly. Thomas was a three-year starter. He has returned punts and kickoffs. The former prep All-American was an honorable-mention All-Big 12 selection and a second-team academic All-Big 12 selection. He started 35 games over the past four seasons, playing in 51 games. As a senior, Thomas started every game at nickel and cornerback. He finished third on the team with 58 tackles and second on the team with five pass deflections. He had a 56-yard punt return last season. He finished his career with 173 tackles and seven interceptions. Ka'imi Fairbairn, UCLA, K The Texans have agreed to a free agent deal with undrafted rookie UCLA All-American kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn. Fairbairn is the Lou Groza Award winner as the nation's top kicker. Fairbairn is the all-time leading scorer in Pac-12 and UCLA history. He connected on 41 consecutive field goals to close out his career from 35 yards or shorter. He was a four-year starter as a kicker who also handled kickoffs, scoring over 100 points in four consecutive seasons. Fairbairn finished with 413 career points and 68 field goals. He had 20 field goals last season and 59 touchbacks on 84 kickoffs. As a junior, he made 18 of 22 field goals and had 50 touchbacks. Joel Heath, Michigan State, DE The Texans agreed to a free agent deal with undrafted Michigan State rookie defensive end Joel Heath. Heath is a 6-6, 293-pounder who started 24 career games. He had 60 tackles, 10 1/2 for losses and 4 1/2 sacks for his career. As a senior, he started every game at defensive tackle. He had 31 tackles, 5 1/2 for losses and two sacks. He was an honorable-mention All-Big Ten Conference selection last season. As a junior, he had 29 tackles, five for losses and 2 1/2 sacks as he started all but one game. Tomme Mark, Houston, Nose tackle Mark worked out for the Texans at their local prospect day. They have invited University of Houston nose tackle Tomme Mark to their rookie minicamp on a tryout basis. Mark is a 6-foot-2, 305-pounder from Lufkin who started every game last season for the Cougars, who defeated Florida State in the Peach Bowl. Mark played in 49 games in four seasons and played immediately as a true freshman. He had 50 career tackles, a half-sack, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, an interception and five tackles for losses. Mark ran the 40-yard dash in 5.16 seconds at the Cougars' Pro Day workout where he did drills for the Arizona Cardinals and other NFL teams. Mark led the defensive line with 36 tackles and has three tackles for losses. He had four tackles in a win over Temple in the American Athletic Conference championship game. As a junior, Mark recorded seven tackles. He was a starter as a sophomore and had 25 tackles, 1 1/2 for losses, one forced fumble and an interception. He started one game as a freshman and played in 10 games with 12 tackles and a fumble recovery. Mark was a first-team Texas all-state selection in high school and named his district's Defensive Player of the Year. He had 53 tackles, 17 for losses, seven sacks and a fumble recovery as a senior. He also played basketball and was a thrower on the track and field team.
College kids dont understand that and they're being advised by agents who get a percentage of the deals. So theyre always pushing them to the money.
The Texans would have drafted the Montana State TE who Carolina got at the end of the draft. I worry this was a very expensive mistake by the Texans to panic and move up 2 spots over a team not drafting a Center.
we have a good record with walk ons turned starters . and houston is a great place if you want to come in and play TE. You only have to beat out griffin and CJ Fieholdingpenaltyz
Please stop, hater. Joker TEs do not have to block much. You know this. I know this. Bob Dole even knows this.
Yeah....that's not easy to do especially for a 6'2 TE. Fiedorowicz is a well rounded TE that can block and catch and has great size, Griffin is a huge target at 6'6 and he's already had success with the team. I'm not saying Stephen Anderson can't beat the odds and beat out one of those guys, but he's got an uphill battle. Both of them are significantly bigger and stronger than him. Anderson is essentially a big WR who can't really do anything you want a traditional TE to do. Griffin is going to be his main competition to land the receiving TE spot since he's got no chance at all at taking CJ Fiedorowicz's spot as the main TE and the blocking responsibilities that come with it.
He's not going to beat either guy out. What you hope for is that he shows you enough to keep on the roster as a matchup weapon.
