I think Ray Rice would be a great fit. He's a hardrunner that doesn't dance around that much, kinda reminds me of MJD.
I wouldn't mind Kevin Smith from UCF with our third round pick. I mean the guy got 2,400+ yards, the numbers don't lie. Now although some may say he did that against weak opponents, but he got about 146 on UT as well.
It's a little early to be making draft wish lists considering free agency occurs before the draft. If we sign a CB or RB in free agency our needs our drastically altered. However going into free agency I think our needs are: 1a. CB - Bennett has been good, but there's no guarantee Dunta will come back next year or that he'll ever get back to the level he was playing at pre-injury. It never hurts to have 3 good corners, especially when you play the Colts twice a year. 1b. OT - Salaam doesn't get in done. We've waited long enough to find our franchise LT and this year the bottom half of the first round is loaded with very good prospects. 3. RB - This is a very deep RB class and we'll be able to get a very good back in the third or fourth round, while still fixing our other needs early. 4. Ball Hawking FS - Especially if Demps isn't resigned. This is another hole the Texans have yet to fill in their existence. It seems every S we have ever had is strong against the run, but suspect against the pass. 5. DE - Weaver is awful against the pass, we need someone to rush the QB from the other side. Mario is going to see a lot more double teams and we need someone who can exploit that. 6. OLB - DeMeco is amazing, and Greenwood is servicable. I'd love a fast OLB who is dangerous on the blitz, and can cover the TE.
He's a mediocre pro prospect at best. He's going to turn his great numbers into a better draft spot than he deserves. He's neither big and strong enough to be a great bruiser between the tackles nor quick enough to be a really good outside runner. He can be okay at either, but certainly not good enough to draft above the 5th round or so. He's about the same back as Darius Walker in a more favorable college system. Kevin Smith got 450 touches, which was 90 more than the next highest running back. Honestly, as high as Smith is going to go, I rather draft the second-best Conference USA back, Matt Forte, whose numbers were nearly as ridiculous. And Forte will be better between the tackles.
I agree whole heartedly with you. Though I'd like to trade down to get a lower 1st & an extra pick, be it a 2 or 3.
The problem with drafting RBs so high is that they are incredibly unreliable, in terms of who pans out and who doesn't. For every Adrian Peterson (and we'll see in 3-4 years if he's still as productive as he was this past season) there are like 5 Cedric Bensons. Besides, I think with Darius Walker, Ahman Green, Chris Taylor, and Ron Dayne (if we can re-sign him on the cheap) all coming into camp, we really don't need to waste a first day draft pick on a RB, unless somebody like Stewart falls to us. Outside of him, there isn't really anybody out there that's convinced me that he could do a better job than the guys we already have. Honestly, I don't even think we need to address RB in the draft at all. I say we make an offer to Micheal Turner, and if we can land him, that would be great. If not, we still have plenty of options going into camp. As far as DE, Weaver is garbage. I think he has something like 1-2 sacks over the past 2-3 years. We need another end to give Williams a complement on the other side. That would allow us to have a true blind side rush, and give us a legit pass defense. Remember, we have to deal with Peyton, Vince, and Garrard 6 times a year. At LB, Greenwood is decent, but he's making a ridiculous amount of money for what he brings to the table. If we can restructure his contract, I would be fine with keeping him, but if we're stuck having to pay him the $5+M he's owed, I would almost be inclined to cut him, and draft another LB. Diles should definitely get to see more time this year....especially since Charlie Anderson is a free agent, if I recall correctly.
I agree, and I think the same could also be said about Ray Rice. He's undersized, but he doesn't have that burst of power like say...Maurice Jones-Drew. I just don't think the Texans need a RB unless they're gonna go with a Jonathan Steward/Felix Jones type.
The Texans definitely need a young RB and Kubiak has said that. Whether it comes from FA or the Draft is another question. I don't think we will get into a bidding war for Michael Turner, but if we can get him for a similar contract to Ahman Green, we might go after him. A guy who I think we might look because we looked at him earlier this year is Mewelde Moore. He is still pretty young and performs well when he gets carries.
I agree with alot of the points made. I would see if the boy from Miami is there when we pick. Take him if he is.... if not maybe trade down.. get 2 2nd round picks. From there we can grab a BIG NAME rb , Safety or Corner, and get another oline in the third. Im actually the type thats against most Oline picks.... I rather have a experienced player come in and help out.
That can be said for pretty much every position in the draft. If anything, I think RBs maybe the more reliable position to draft. If you look at the past couple 1st round RBs taken...(Peterson, Lynch, Bush, Maroney, Addai, Ronnie Brown, Steven Jackson) some pretty good backs have been taken early. Of course you'll have your Cedric Bensons and DeAngelo Williams every now and then, but that's why its so important to scout whether a player can make the transition to the NFL. You just don't take a RB early because historically they've been "unreliable," its just not true. In a draft so deep with RBs, I'll be quite disappointed if we don't come away with one. RBs maybe the one position in the NFL where a rookie can come in and contribute right away (Peterson, Addai, Maroney, Brown, etc...). A guy like Turner will command a HUGE amount of money, money which I think could/should be spent on other positions like a safety, CB, OT, etc...
The first order of business has to be a cornerback. I think Dunta is a hard worker and will be back, but we can't rely on that. It sucks because CB is a position we were supposed to be set at for a while. Aqib Talib from Kansas is a beast! He may be gone, but He'd be my first choice. A running back can wait until the 3rd round. Someone has to fall. That is just the way it works. I think Ray Rice will be there in the 3rd and if so, we snatch him up. As far as the O-Line goes, what's the word on Charles Spencer?
I think we can pretty much forget about Spencer. It's a shame, too. He had a chance to be pretty damn good. I'm not too concerned about finding a RB in the later rounds. There are so many in this draft that there are going to be some that drop. It's just about numbers. Not every team is looking to draft a RB in the first 3 rounds. There are many needs, but a DB (CB or safety) should come first depending on who's available. Failing that, go with the best available talent.
I agree with this sentiment 100%. This draft is really deep at RB, and honestly, our needs at RB don't warrant us burning a first day pick. I would be pretty disappointed if we didn't use our first rounder on either a DB, S (Talib, Phillips, Jenkins, etc...) or DE (Calais Campbell). I would actually be pretty stoked if we picked up Campbell. That would give us a MONSTER pass rush with Williams and Campbell at the ends, and Okoye up the middle.
I agree, except for the DE part. I'm can't see them using another 1st round pick on the D-line. They have so much invested there already that I can't imagine them taking another...at least not that early.
Ya...we've invested a ton of high picks and money into our DL, I think Kubiak/Smith know that we have way bigger needs. A DB or OL would be a solid pick in the 1st (assuming we don't reach for one). Here are some possible DBs, OLs, and RBs that could be available to us. DBs Aqib Talib-CB Leodis McKlevin-CB Reggie Smith-CB/S Hopefuly Pick: Kenny Phillips-S OL Jeff Otah-OT Sam Baker-OT Gosder Cherilus-OT Hopeful Pick: Ryan Clady RBs Jonathan Stewart- Combine performance will be big for Stewart. Rashard Mendenhall Felix Jones Hopefuly Pick: No one really, McFadden will be gone.
You know Gucci they now have us taking Felix Jones instead because Stewart is either going #13 to Carolina or #16 to Arizona. One mock now actually has Kenny Phillips falling to us. I know Jones averaged I believe nearly 8 yds a carry and that IS impressive considering playing in the SEC but, do you REALLY think he would be the right back for us to take? I still personally want Rice. He would fit our downhill one cut and go system to a T IMO! Love his size. Perfect RB build. That guy is just a baller and he plays with such a tenacious spirit and he's almost always falling forward on runs.
We don't know whether Robinson is coming back at corner or safety.If it's safety,then we should take a corner with our first rounder.If not we can pick up a decent safety later. I'm not sure about our behemoth's status with regard to the broken leg....So,I'd go offensive line next. Denver always picked up their running backs in the 3 - 5 range so I'm really not concerned about it.The Texans will address it. Besides,we always have free agency and trades to explore too.
I think Rice would be a GREAT fit for us as well. The only thing is that I'm not positive he'll be around in the 3rd, I think things will be somewhat clearer after the combine. As for Jones, I really like his potential and think he'd be worth taking in the 1st (assuming all the good backs will be taken before the 3rd). He has great speed and versatility, averaging 8-9 ypc and running for over 1,000 yards plus 10+ TDs behind McFadden is pretty impressive. Of course, him being a workhorse will probably be his biggest question mark.
Kiper just put out his mock, some very unusual picks. Most notably, no Kenny Phillips in the first? 1 Miami Dolphins Glenn Dorsey, DT LSU 2 St. Louis Rams Chris Long, DE Virginia 3 Atlanta Falcons** Matt Ryan, QB Boston College 4 Oakland Raiders** *Darren McFadden, RB Arkansas 5 Kansas City Chiefs** Jake Long, OT Michigan 6 New York Jets *Vernon Gholston, DE Ohio St. 7 New England Patriots (from SF) *Aqib Talib, CB Kansas 8 Baltimore Ravens Sedrick Ellis, DT USC 9 Cincinnati Bengals *Phillip Merling, DE Clemson 10 New Orleans Saints Kentwan Balmer, DT North Carolina 11 Buffalo Bills *Malcolm Kelly, WR Oklahoma 12 Denver Broncos *Ryan Clady, OT Boise St. 13 Carolina Panthers Jeff Otah, OT Pittsburgh 14 Chicago Bears Sam Baker, OT USC 15 Detroit Lions Leodis McKelvin, CB Troy 16 Arizona Cardinals *Jonathan Stewart, RB Oregon 17 Minnesota Vikings *DeSean Jackson, WR California 18 Houston Texans Mike Jenkins, CB South Florida 19 Philadelphia Eagles Chris Williams, OT Vanderbilt 20 Tampa Bay Buccaneers *Felix Jones, RB Arkansas 21 Washington Redskins *Calais Campbell, DE Miami 22 Dallas Cowboys (from CLE) *Mario Manningham, WR Michigan 23 Pittsburgh Steelers *Chilo Rachal, OG USC 24 Tennessee TitansLimas Sweed, WR Texas 25 Seattle Seahawks Fred Davis, TE USC 26 Jacksonville Jaguars *Derrick Harvey, DE Florida 27 San Diego Chargers *Reggie Smith, CB Oklahoma 28 Dallas Cowboys *Rashard Mendenhall, RB Illinois 29 San Francisco 49ers (from IND) *James Hardy, WR Indiana 30 Green Bay Packers Keith Rivers, LB USC 31 New York Giants Dan Connor, LB Penn St. 32 New England Patriots Forfeited pick