In the past they have announced the picks in late March

2.28.12 draftsite.com
 

27 Alec Ogletree* ILB Georgia 6' 3" 232
57 John Jenkins DT Georgia 6' 4" 350
89 Marcus Davis WR Virginia Tech 6' 4" 232
121 Xavier Nixon OT Florida 6' 5" 300
153 Shawn Williams S Georgia 6' 1" 220
185 Terry Hawthorne CB Illinois 6' 0" 190
217 T.J. Johnson OC South Carolina 6' 4" 314

I'm not sure about this one. Ogletree is a true talent on the field, but he is high risk off the field. He can cover and he can tackle. He is on the light size for what I have seen Wade use, so I don't know that he is an option. Jenkins is a huge man, and Gary tends to steer away from huge men. I hope he drops to the 57 pick and we take him. Davis is also a question mark, he is not a high motor guy, and he is not a willing blocker.

I like all three of these guys, I just don't think the Texans will want them.

27 Tavon Austin WR West Virginia 5' 9" 173
57 John Jenkins DT Georgia 6' 4" 350
89 Joseph Fauria TE UCLA 6' 8" 252
121 Shawn Williams S Georgia 6' 1" 220
153 A.J. Klein ILB Iowa State 6' 1" 240
185 Bruce Taylor ILB Virginia Tech 6' 2" 246
217 Joe Kruger* DE Utah 6' 7" 280

Austin is a matchup nightmare, and he is a tough guy. Not the ideal height and weight, but in the slot the other team will have issues with him. I like the idea of a big man in the middle for a change. Fauria will give rare red zone height. Williams is a strong leader and is always around the ball. Klein is a tackling machine, and Taylor is going to be one year removed from a lisfranc injury, could be a steal. No way Kruger last long, can he?

Draftsite 3.2.2013
 

27 Alec Ogletree* ILB Georgia 6' 3" 232
57 John Jenkins DT Georgia 6' 4" 350
89 Marcus Davis WR Virginia Tech 6' 4" 232
121 Xavier Nixon OT Florida 6' 5" 300
153 Shawn Williams S Georgia 6' 1" 220
185 Terry Hawthorne CB Illinois 6' 0" 190
217 T.J. Johnson OC South Carolina 6' 4" 314

While not the worst, it's not the direction I see the Texans going in.

1. Justin Hunter* WR Tennessee 6' 4" 196
2012 Second team All-SEC. With Schaub's accuracy in question, Hunter gives him a huge radius receiver to throw to... 4.4 speed and another reason will come later that helps this decision. The comparisons to J. Jones and AJ Green don't hurt either...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HE6GXID2dXk He had 73 receptions, 1083 yards, and 9 td's, on a loaded Tennessee team last year.

2. Brandon Jenkins OLB Florida State 6' 3" 251
Jenkins would have been a top 15 pick this year if not for his foot injury(lis franc) at the beginnig of the season. If he performs well at his proday, and with the impending move of Brooks Reed to ILB , I believe Jenkins will be a Texan if he's still on the board. That will give us a Barwin(if resigned), Mercilus, and Jenkins rotation. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYECkG3qJmM

3a. Tyler Bray* QB Tennessee 6' 6" 210
This kid really impressed at the combine and has alot of good tape out there(Like the one above with Justin Hunter on the receiving end). He's young and can be groomed as the potential starter in a year or two, barring any injury to Schaub....Has the height and arm strength Kubiak usually looks for in a QB.

3b. Da'Rick Rogers* WR Tennessee Tech 6' 3" 217
2011 First team All-SEC. Talented, tough receiver that played with Hunter and Bray at Tennessee before being dissmissed from the team. There are some character concerns, but taking the risk in the middle rounds on his type of talent could well be worth it. If he can stay out of trouble, we'd have secured one of the most coveted WR / QB trio's in recent memory. If Hunter hadn't hurt his knee and Rogers not get booted from the team later, who knows how far they would have gone in 2011 and 2012. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BHOXRyDLuw

4. David Quessenberry OT San Jose State 6' 5" 302
Butler is released, Newton has new competition for RT now.

5. Jordan Hill DT Penn State 6' 1" 297
Nonstop motor, stout against the run. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJcbDCuStPs

6. D.J. Swearinger S South Carolina 6' 0" 210
Say goodbye Keo. Manning is 31.

6b. A.J. Klein ILB Iowa State 6' 1" 240 or Nico Johnson ILB Alabama 6' 2" 245

7. Quinton Dial 3-4DE Alabama 6' 5" 300
Nick Saban coached DL with two Championships.

UDFA- Cameron Lawrence LB Mississippi St. 6' 3" 240
(over 120 tackles in each of the last two season in the SEC)

draftsite 3.19.13
 

27 Matt Elam* S Florida 5' 10" 199
57 Quinton Patton WR Louisiana Tech 6' 2" 195
89 Chase Thomas OLB Stanford 6' 4" 240
95 Marquise Goodwin WR Texas 5' 9" 180
124 Christine Michael RB Texas A&M 5' 11" 215
160 Malliciah Goodman DE Clemson 6' 4" 280
195 Josh Evans S Florida 6' 1" 195
201 Quanterus Smith DE Western Kentucky 6' 5" 244
233 Ryan Allen PT Louisiana Tech 6' 2" 215

We finally have the supplemental picks in and a new mock that reflect those picks.

My take:
27 Desmond Trufant CB Washington 6' 0" 172
57 Ryan Swope WR Texas A&M 6' 0" 204
89 Chase Thomas OLB Stanford 6' 4" 240
95 Joseph Fauria TE UCLA 6' 8" 252
124 Christine Michael RB Texas A&M 5' 11" 220
160 A.J. Klein ILB Iowa State 6' 1" 240
195 Robert Lester S Alabama 6' 2" 207
201 Oday Aboushi OT Virginia 6' 6" 310
233 Spencer Nealy DT Texas A&M 6' 5" 277

I never intended to have this many Aggies in my mock, it just happened that way. Trufant is a very solid kid, he could allow the Texans to move Jackson to Safety. Swope was BPA at a position of need, he has great hands, run precise routes, and he has deceptive speed. I took Thomas due to the fact that I have been mocking him to the Texans almost all season. I think he can be both a OLB and a ILB in our system. Fauria is a huge red zone target. Michaels, he knows the scheme, and they need a #3 RB. Klein is a tackling machine. Lester has really dropped, he was projected to be an early round Safety for most of the season, Aboushi was also projected in the 3rd on many boards, and Nealy is a why not pick.

I should have said in the prior post that I like this mock overall for the Texans, I really like Goodwin in the 3rd, would be OK with a Safety and WR in the top 60 picks.

If I had my way we would trade out of the 1st and get another 2nd round pick, three 2nd round picks would help the team rebuild quality depth quickly.

I'm wondering if I'm in the minority with this, but I would not be opposed to drafting EJ Manuel in the first round to sit a year behind Schaub. This kid s the skills to run Kubiak's offense in my opinion. For the record, I'm a Schaub fan. It just looks like this could be an upgrade at the most important position. Assuming of course, he's still on the board.

interesting thought, guess I'd be ok with that draft pick if it occurred.

for sure hadn't considered it before mentioned.

Likely he won't be there at 27 is my guess.

I guess we don't need an impact starter in round 1 or 2 this year?

Well, I'd like a RT, but I think Fisher & Johnson will be off the board. So, I might get Quessenberry later in the draft. I'd like a CB, but think we might be able to get Poyer, Slay, or Amerson in the 2nd round. Not really high on any of the WR prospects but would go after Swope or maybe Conner Vernon to replace K. Walter. My OLB to replace Barwin is Cornelius Washington, and I've seen him in the 5th round. I also like NT Josh Boyd, who is another later round guy. The odd man out is ILB. I love the idea of having Zaviar Gooden, but I'm not sure the Texans would go for him if Ryan Swope were there in the 3rd round, but maybe for the Compensatory pick? So, maybe a guy like Ty Powell would be available. Just mocking the possibilities after taking a QB in the 1st round.

1st - QB EJ Manuel - Fla St.
2nd - CB Darius Slay - Miss St.
3rd - WR Ryan Swope - Tx A&M
3rd - ILB Zaviar Gooden - Missouri
4th - RT David Quessenberry - San Jose St.
5th - OLB Cornelius Washington - UGa
6th - WR Aaron Mellette - Elon
6th - NT Josh Boyd - Miss St
7th - TE Michael Williams - Ala

By the way, I love WR Da'Rick Rogers (3rd round?) but he scares me b/c I think he might be a knucklehead like T.O. or Jacoby Jones. It will be interesting to watch his career. So, I gambled on two WRs in this draft.

I'd be ok with EJ, just not sure I would pick him in the 1st. I was looking at him before he started to rise up boards. I do like him and believe he is the guy that fits the new style mode of an athletic guy with a strong arm.

I would be shocked if they took him in the 1st. McNair is on record saying he wants more outside speed, not that he has ever given away the teams board predraft. So no telling which direction they will go.

In January I wanted him in the 3rd round, like a Russell Wilson steal. Yet, as we get closer to the draft, all my "steals" start moving up the board t become more realistic. I don't think the Texans will draft him, and I'm not sure he'll even be available.

Looked today and thought about this

WR DeAndre Hopkins Clemson
QB EJ Manuel Fla St
CB DJ Hayden Houston (Don't see him lasting this long)
OT David Quessenberry San Jose St
OLB Devin Taylor S. Carolina
FS Josh Evans Florida (The "other" S from Florida)
NT Josh Boyd Miss St.
CB Darius Slay Miss St. (I'd be very surprised if Slay is not at least a 3rd round pick)

Could we be looking at Honeybadger in the 3rd round?

I would not draft The Honeybadger until the 4th round after everyone else sent him a msg that he needs to clean up his act.

draftsite 3.26.13
 

27 D.J. Fluker* OT Alabama 6' 6" 340
57 Quinton Patton WR Louisiana Tech 6' 2" 195
89 Chase Thomas OLB Stanford 6' 4" 240
95 John Simon DE Ohio State 6' 2" 260
124 Levine Toilolo* TE Stanford 6' 8" 263
160 Duke Williams S Nevada 6' 1" 185
195 Shamarko Thomas S Syracuse 5' 10" 206
201 Mario Benavides OC Louisville 6' 4" 304
233 Michael Buchanan DE Illinois 6' 6" 240


Not exactly a bad mock, nor a great mock. It's solid.

This is my 1st mock since the recent signings.

27 D.J. Fluker* OT Alabama 6' 6" 340
57 Ryan Swope WR Texas A&M 6' 0" 204
89 Landry Jones QB Oklahoma 6' 4" 216
95 Kiko Alonso ILB Oregon 6' 4" 242
124 Shawn Williams S Georgia 6' 1" 220
160 A.J. Klein ILB Iowa State 6' 1" 240
195 Stepfan Taylor RB Stanford 5' 9" 209
201 Joe Kruger* DE Utah 6' 7" 280
233 Aaron Mellette WR Elon 6' 3" 211

Newton's injury is a bugger to recover from and he is not going to be at OTA's, Fluker would give the Texans a huge right side, assuming that Brooks is the RG next season. Fluker will need coaching work, so Ryan Harris maybe a vet stop gap. Swope is a shorter faster version of Walters, IMO.

For the 3rd round pick I wanted to throw a new name into the mix, I like EJ Manuel but he is climbing higher than I am comfortable taking him with all the teams needs. So what do you guys think of Jones as a developmental guy? Might be the type player that would benefit from being on a Kubiak team.

Now it's time for defense, two ILBs and a safety, this is where I believe we see the Ed Reed player/coach really payoff. Reed learned to break down tape from Ray Ray, and now he can pass that onto these three guys. Kruger has the look of a OLB in Wade's system.

As for Taylor, he is compact back that looks like a good fit. Mellette is a why not type pick.

If the Texans feel EJ Manuel has the potential to take over and be a franchise QB then they should pull the trigger at #57 if he's there. I highly doubt he'll be there at #89. There's obviously some risk with any QB prospect, but if EJ can develop and throw with some decent accuracy I think he'd be deadly in Kubiak's scheme. I'd love to see what a QB with some size and speed can do in this offense. I think the threat of tucking and running on those open boots when nothing's available downfield is a huge missing piece of this O.

I've not paid too much attention to college football or scouting reports this past year, but when I did...I thought Jenkins from Georgia was a first rounder even though he needs to lose 20,30 pounds. I know the Texans have gone with smaller NTs in the past and I've generally been happy with the production this way. Last season, the Texans played a lot of dime coverage and the good teams just gashed the Texans defense with interior runs. Cushing back will help, but he works best when he doesn't have to shed too many blocks. Granted, I may be rating Jenkins higher because I think he addresses the biggest need for Texans defense....ability to defend interior running lanes while in dime coverage.

I would love to see Jenkins, Watt, and Mercilus next to each other.

If Jenkins is truly a second round talent, I hope the Texans trade back from first and get an extra pick. Would not be disappointed in getting Williams from Alabama, either.

On the QB front, if there is a guy that is obtainable that fits the system...you get them in the first. Schaub isn't getting younger. TJ is a nice backup.

What good team gashed us? Every game we lost was to a team that primarily threw the ball.

I'm seeing Manual going as early as the 1st round. And I do not think the Texans can afford to go with him that early. I agree with you, I think EJ would be awesome in this offense.

NE. They didn't run it a lot, but 5 ypc is killer.

The Texans aren't going to be able to beat good passing teams if they can't drop a lot of guys in coverage. NE forced the the Texans into nickle and dime coverages. When NE spread the Texans out, it was easy for them to get first downs running it. When the Texans played more balanced, NE ate them up in the air. The Texans need a NG that can defend the run against passing teams when there is only 1 ILB to let the DBs focus on defending the pass. Usually, a lighter NG helps in passing situations, but I think Jenkins moves well enough to help out in this situation (but not well enough to provide more than a bull rush against QB.).

Granted, I thought GB did better against Houston with the run in passing situations, but looking back at game stats...that wasn't the case. The Texans defense does great usually against run only teams.

The NE run game was not a big problem. The NE RBs had their biggest impact in the passing game. Not to mention we were without Cushing in not NE games. NT is not in the top 10 reasons why we lost to NE, GB, Indy, or MIN.