If Phillips is available at #18, I think we have to take him. A OT would be a good pick as well. A good RB could easily fall into the 3rd this year, guys like Charles/Rice/Smith/Johnson/Choice could possibly be available.
But Stewert is not just a good running back he is going to be a great one.....he can do it all....and is perfect for a Kubiak like offense. Runs well, patient, and catches the ball out of the backfield. The guy instantly makes the team 3 wins better. DD
DD- I'm not going to put words in his mouth, but isn't a big fan of spread option type of runners. Gibbs will be as involved in the rb selection process as anyone. Gibbs looks for certain lineman and runners. Neither will come in the 1st rd though.
ESPN just did their draft bit on Stewert tonight, decent piece. I agree that Stewert would be a great for our offense. But history has repeatedly shown that Kubiak doesn't draft RBs early, and with the so-called ZB-Godfather now on board, I don't really see that changing. The ZB-scheme is known for being able to plug in backs and get production. This draft is deep as hell with RBs and I would bet that Kubiak knows this better than anyone. I wouldn't be opposed to the pick at all, I'd actually be pretty happy, but I won't be suprised one bit if we pass up on a RB.
Long, the Michigan tackle: big, strong, fast, mean. How "long" has the offensive line been a problem for the Texans? Well, that's too "long." Get Long.
Denver drafted Tatem Bell 2nd round ('04), Quentin Griffin 3rd round ('03), and Clinton Portis 2nd round ('02). I think 2nd round is still "early" and thus Denver did show a willingness to draft a RB early if it was their best option. I think Kubes could and may draft an RB at 18 if it represents the best option and value. This draft may be heavy in RB's but its weak in other areas. A lot of our needs don't have good value picks at our spot. But in the end I agree, I fully expect us to pass on an RB in the 1st.
if mendenhall is available at the 18, i could possible see the texans being able to trade down in the first and picking up a second rounder in the process. then w/ the late 1st rounder pick up sam baker (LT) and the 2nd rounder a RB or DB.
A lot of mocks have Chris Williams going as high as the mid-1st Round. I think this would be a pretty good pick, sounds like a big guy with athleticism.
the wider pedal - to the left of the slimmer one? it's a brake and it could use some tappin'. the texans lost 8 games last year by an average score of 13 points, and remember: one of those was "only" 2 points after starting the 4Q down by 4 TDs. how would even a world-class RB of, say, tomlinson's stature reverse three of those losses? they definitely need a RB; but very few RBs, rookie or otherwise, are worth 3 wins. i don't know that 2 years represents much of a history... if you mean his time in denver, keep two things in mind: 1) he was the OC there, not the head coach and certainly not the GM; 2) for much of kubiak's tenure, denver was a top 10 (and often top 5) team, meaning they were drafting near the end of rounds, when skill players are (usually) gone (at least QBs and RBs) and you're left with a bunch of WRs and non-essentials (interior linemen, LBs, Ss, etc). so it's hard to definitively conclude denver *avoided* drafting RBs early; i would wager it was more a component of their draft position. in his tenure with houston so far, kubiak definitely passed on reggie bush - but i don't see any definitive examples of him bypassing the best back on the board to take a lower-ranked player. if the clear-cut BPA in round 1 is a RB , i don't think kubiak and smith would take a pass. the running game has struggled too mightily for them to assume they can stick any 'ol tom, dick or samkon back there.
Agree with the sentiments expressed about Stewart's college career. I think people are overvaluing him. And to think he makes the Texans 3 wins better is laughable. He couldn't even get Oregon a win when Dixon went down. When its all said and done, Rashard Mendenhall just might be the best RB to come out of this class.
Good post. And while Kubiak wasn't the head coach/gm in Denver, I think he would probably bring the same type of ideals. But you're absolutely right in that Denver typically had their picks in the later rounds. I guess I'm just looking at the fact that the Denver has been able to plug in guys like Mike Anderson and Tatum Bell, and were able to get 1000+ seasons out of them. Also, I look at the fact that they traded away Portis (3000+ yards in his first 2 seasons). They did get the #1 CB in the NFL for him, but they were able to plug in another back and get great production out of him. It'll definitely be interesting to see what the Texans will do if Stewert and/or Mendenhall is still on the board at #18 (like most mocks do).
what's interesting is that while they did find guys to fill-in admirably for portis, none were ever as good as portis. two years ago, when they hired kubiak and the "he'll never draft a RB early" chatter started, i looked into portis' #s, and they were off-the-charts good. i mean, like - on par with terrell davis in his prime good. he averaged 107/yards a game (that's a 1,700+-yard pace, and he didn't start 4 games), 5.5 yards a carry and scored 29 TDs in his first two years in denver. (only 2? i can't remember...) so my hope is that kubiak learned that while his system can work with guys like anderson and droughens - guys like portis can place it on another level.
It realy doesn't matter to me who the Texans take as long as they get a solid contributor to the team. If we could get an AP-type back, that would be spectacular, but this team still lacks depth. As it stands right now we could stand to upgrade the DE opposite Mario, acquire a CB opposite of Bennett (IMO Dunta is out for the entire 2008-2009 season), bring in another OT to compete for the LT spot, upgrade either safety position and the RB position. As long as we can get a solid contributor that will help strengthen the team and help for the playoff run, I'm sure Kubiak and Smith will continue adding talent to the team and making the best picks for the team.
I'd like to see either Talib (CB from Kansas) or Calais Campbell (DE from Miami). Both would be tremendous additions
Calais Campbell is really intriguing to me. A freaking 6'8" DE is insane! You'd think that height would help him bat a few more passes down, and for his size, he's still supposed to be pretty athletic. I've heard from some sources that Aqib Talib is dropping a bit. Is it size? Speed? He did nothing but make plays at KU, so I wonder if it's just people falling in love with combine numbers as usual.
Talib isn't a speed guy, he'll still be one of the first db's off the board though. I think the combine is gonna be a HUGE factor in draft positioning this year, more so than ever.
Yeah, it feels like a really unbalanced draft in that some positions seem extremely loaded, and others seem significantly weaker. I guess the RB situation seems exceedingly loaded, while some of the other spots seem to be having a down year. I agree that Talib is a guy to be interested in. Clearly too much stock is put in combine numbers, but I can see some worth in it. However, it's obvious that Talib went up against some elite talent in the Big 12, so that's not so much a concern to me. Does anyone know about the defensive player from Troy? He's a CB if I'm not mistaken. Anyway, I watch a lot of college football, but I didn't get to see any of his games since you can't find many sun belt games on around here. Any feedback on him?
