I'm slowly talking myself into Howard. Hear me out. High school: QB & Basketball star College: Walkon as TE, transitioned to OL, breakout season as SR Look at his journey. He is not even a remotely finished product, and he's already that good. The downside to this is that, while his ceiling is high, it's probably not unexpected that he will have a bit of a learning curve. Remember how Duane Brown was another "late bloomer" OL (played Bball & TE in HS and went into college as a TE)? Well, Duane had significantly more snaps than Howard does (in the ACC no less) and he got roasted in year one. We can probably put Howard at RT right away and be OK, but if we put him at LT Watson will need to lace up his shoes a little tighter than normal. I'm not sure of the Texans' plans for Howard, but it's a good investment pick that has a chance to pay off as early as next year.
I wonder if this was their guy all along or their hand was forced due to their guys being picked already....
I expect players drafted in the first three rounds to be starters through their rookie contracts, with a reasonable shot at having a 10 year career. Both Dillard and Howard fit the bill. My only reservation with either of them is that the Texans have failed to develop OL under OBie.
seems like a reach and a bad value pick. I would have loved to have seen the reaction to the eagles trade. I'm not sure if it's a panic pick, but that trade definitely seemed to have them on tilt. With that being said, if their goal for day one of the draft was to have one of two (maybe 3 tackles) on their list then I'm okay with a relatively bad "value" pick. Of course, it would have been great to trade back but at that point I think the sentiment was to go ahead and get a guy we like. A bird in the hand...
Oh yeah, that's serious ineptitude! How dare they draft so poorly with 4 out of their last 5, 1st round picks! This is absurd..... They got their guy, that's pretty much all this was. I feel like this board had the exact same reaction when we drafted JJ Watt. I'm not upset with the pick, I'm actually excited to see what he's capable of.
Don't know why this came out so huge..... But you can get a starter at CB and S with 54 55 Round 2 - Pick 22 (54) From Seattle Seahawks Julian Love CB NOTRE DAME - JR - 5'11 / 195 LBS PROJECTED TEAM Houston Texans PROSPECT RNK 50 POSITION RNK 6 The Texans should be on the lookout for corner talent with one of their two Round 2 picks considering who's left on the board, and here they snag a good one in Love. Round 2 - Pick 23 (55) Jace Sternberger TE TEXAS A&M - JR - 6'4 / 251 LBS PROJECTED TEAM Houston Texans PROSPECT RNK 67 POSITION RNK 4 REC 48 REYDS 832 YDS/REC 17.3 TDS 10 Sternberger should be the fourth tight end off the board, and with the interior offensive line options here not great, the Texans grab a talented tight end instead of more O-line help. Round 2 - Pick 24 (56) From Chicago Bears Chase Winovich EDGE MICHIGAN - SR - 6'3 / 256 LBS PROJECTED TEAM New England Patriots PROSPECT RNK 58 POSITION RNK 7 Winovich put on an absolute clinic at the combine, standing out among the players looking to establish themselves as the next tier of edge rushers. I think he's going in Round 2, and he fits a need for the Patriots with Trey Flowers gone. Round 2 - Pick 25 (57) Juan Thornhill S VIRGINIA - SR - 6'0 / 205 LBS PROJECTED TEAM Philadelphia Eagles PROSPECT RNK 49 POSITION RNK 5 Thornhill gets lost in the shuffle at the safety position with all the talent in this class, but he can come in and contribute immediately and should be a versatile player on the back end for Philadelphia. Round 2 - Pick 26 (58) Taylor Rapp S WASHINGTON - JR - 6'0 / 208 LBS PROJECTED TEAM Dallas Cowboys PROSPECT RNK 38 POSITION RNK 2 The predraft process was ugly for Rapp, and many thought his stock would slip from fringe Round 1. That should be just fine with the Cowboys, who land a stud at the position to man the box that's much cheaper than Eric Berry. Round 2 - Pick 27 (59) Justin Layne CB MICHIGAN STATE - JR - 6'2 / 192 LBS PROJECTED TEAM Indianapolis Colts PROSPECT RNK 47 POSITION RNK 5 Layne has his fans at the corner position, and this would be a bit late for him to come off the board. But after we saw teams mostly pass on the position in Round 1, it's going to push several talented corners further than they should go. Round 2 - Pick 28 (60) Sean Bunting CB CENTRAL MICHIGAN - JR - 6'0 / 195 LBS PROJECTED TEAM Los Angeles Chargers PROSPECT RNK 59 POSITION RNK 7 The Chargers could very well be in the mix for a corner with this pick after losing Jason Verrett. Round 2 - Pick 29 (61) Amani Oruwariye CB PENN STATE - SR - 6'2 / 205 LBS PROJECTED TEAM Kansas City Chiefs PROSPECT RNK 63 POSITION RNK 8 Corner run! The Chiefs are also in need of more talent at the position, so this group of teams late in the second round stands to benefit from the lack of focus on the position in Round 1. Round 2 - Pick 30 (62)
Look at the bright side. We didn't give up draft picks to trade up. We can still snag a top CB prospect 2nd round, and go for another OT in progress and CB later on. I'm going to hope their instincts about his possibilities are right on. This guy might surpass all expectations, and become a great offensive lineman. Can't wait to see who we get round 2. With the quarterbacks in our division I'd love to see us snag a CB next, unless another higher rated offensive lineman is available. Those weaknesses need addressed.
This is the legit criticism of the pick. It's not that Howard sucks or won't be a good OL. It's that most people think this was a bad value move. If your pick hits, great, but you have to be smart and know the market to get the maximum value from your draft.
Why are all the so-called draft experts so certain the Texans wanted Dillard? Their pre-draft behavior leaned much more toward Howard than Dillard.
I partially agree with this but his argument is essentially that since he didn’t have Howard ranked highly then NFL teams couldn’t have either. There is the possibility that the Texans knew or had a inkling that a team behind them or at the top of the second round wanted Howard as well. So they took him and didn’t risk losing the guy they wanted.
I think you and all of us wouldve felt better with everything if we went and signed Penn a month ago.
With all the teams trading back into in the 1st round, we shouldve traded back and still have gotten him. That part of that criticism makes sense.
