2009 needs
 

I know most of you cringe when I do these threads. But I have to do it. I need my fix.

Our Preseason perceived needs for next years draft.

DE opposite Mario
TE
OLB
DB
WR
RB (we will draft a RB every year or every other year)


Guys who should be on the radar:
Tyson Jackson LSU DE

James Laurinaitis Ohio St OLB
Rey Maualuga USC MLB
Brian Cushing USC OLB
Sean Lee Penn St. OLB

Malcolm Jenkins Ohio St. CB
William Moore Missouri S

Travis Beckum Wisconsin TE
Brandon Pettigrew Ok St. TE

Michael Oher Mississippi OT
Alex Mack Cal OC/OG
Max Unger Oregon OT

Chris Wells Ohio St RB (Jr)

This is by no means a complete list. And I skipped some guys that might not be good fits for our schemes. This appears to be a solid LB and OT year. Weak QB.

Add some names and let's start the list.

I don't really see how WR is a need. We have four entrenched recievers and the fifth spot is really a non-issue. If Jacoby totally bombs then I think we need to draft another reciever but I think we're pretty deep there as of now.

It probably won't be a first round type of need, but i definitely think we'll look at WR harder than we did this year.

I'll go with PK on RB....it's something to look at nearly every year, and with Green/Brown injury history and the fact that we still don't know what we have with Taylor we could suddenly be desperate for a RB.

A DE is a likely need. SLB could still be a need...I love Laurinitas and Maualuga.

We will probaly need a TE to replace Bruener....didn't we sign an UDFA who could fit that mold. Not saying he will....it just came to mind when writing this.

DB-I'm hopefull with the safeties for some reason, even though I habitually complain about them. We have no idea if Dunta will be back to what he was before. The test for Bennet will be this year, and Molden is an unknown. So unless the staff is right about Reeves we could be looking for CB again.

OL/DL-ALWAYS IMO

1. LT Alex Boone - if he's available when we pick, I can shuffle the OL.
2. CB Malcolm Jenkins - next year's Antoine Cason.
3. DE Doug Worthing - Gee, Ohio St. should be fun to watch.
4. RB James Davis - I wanted him to come out this year for us.
5. TE Cornelius Ingram - I wonder if Tebow throws to him more.

PK, add Michael Johnson from Georgia Tech to that list, he is a rangy and explosive DE.

I am looking for a good RDE, pass rusher who can play the run. So are every other team in the NFL. Might settle for a specialist who can come in during passing situations, if we can find in him in the 3rd or 4th. Next year we can finally afford to BPA instead of BPA for need.

I agree with Roy, Ohio St appears loaded again, and USC still has a ton a talent for next year.

This next draft currently appears loaded at OT again at the top, and Boone is high on my list, but I want to watch him with an eye on Gibbs system and how he implements it in Houston. Should be a fun a year.

Plus he has a giraffe neck which is pretty unique.

(<-- GaTech fan)

Not too optimistic about the current plan for Duane Brown as the LT solution ?

I'm not saying Brown is going to be a bust, I'm just saying that Boone is going to be a special player.

If we don't get the top RB, here are some interesting guys to watch this fall to see how they develop.

RB Dennis Kennedy Akron - 5' 11" 215lbs (next year's Jalen Parmele)
RB Ontario Sneed Central Michigan - 5' 11" 215lbs
RB Mike Davis South Carolina - 5' 9" 212lbs (Another Game Cock?)
RB Marlon Lucky Nebraska - 6' 0" 210lbs (Ahman Green 10 years ago?)

Some DE to watch, and a small write up on them from Rivals

Got'em now, thanks jp

WaltersFootball.com's Mike McGuire has his top 5 offensive players by position out

A few highlights: (click on the link above to see the whole list.
An my early favorite to break the never a RB in the 1st rule

WaltersFootball.com's Mike McGuire has his top 5 defensive players by position out

A few highlights
And one of my favorites who did not come out last year, a real ball hawk at safety.

New Era Scouting has ranked the seniors, #1 to #300.

Top 32

Note Alex Mack barely missed this cut. And this is just senior. It will be fun to see who drops and who climbs.

We should be drafting in the high 20's next year, so it is going to be sweet that we can finally just sit back and take the best player that is still there. Or will we play the trade game again?:D

Well if you look at 32 guys above and then realize they are all seniors, you can see some solid names slipping when the junior start to come out. That said I am always in favor of the trade down.

If we pick in the mid teens, grab a DE that complements Mario and do not look back.

Assuming our CBs workout, I expect that the logical pick would be a DE edge rusher.

interesting order.

i'd say barring unforseen development/production out of diles AND adibi, OLB probably takes my #1 need. that's just me guessing that morlon greenwood gets a duece chucked to him after '09 though.

i assume you're outing DE as your #1 need to place emphasis on pass rushing? i'm all for getting a DE but i think if mario, amobi and to a lesser extent okam, t.j., and kalu play well this year they are a young enough group to expect the same result for a few years at least. adding a pass rusher certainly helps, but i'd rather pick a guy out in later rounds, maybe even a day 2 guy who has pass rushing tools, but needs good coaching to turn physical ability into a complete game.

i like the TE nod, and totally wonder how many times an opposing DC mentions "we're boned" in the gameplan room if kubiak had 2 TE guys that could block and catch.

the WR pick makes little sense even if j.j. busts. walter is a great possession guy, davis is a great speed guy and a.j. is both. adding on OD, and in your scenario another TE would be more than sufficient attention to the pass attack. besides, with one legit man and 3 (or however many) sidekicks another sidekick (5th rounder) won't impact the group much. I would get one early who would without a doubt supplant walter/davis/jones for the #2 gig or not select one at all.

i agree with your point of RB being a frequent low-round selection for us. I KNOW PHILOSOPHIES WHEN I SEE THEM!!!! WHO SAID I DON'T!?!?!

so what would i do?

1. OLB/S/WR
2. TE/S/G
3. S/G/DE
4. DE/RB/OL
5. RB/OL/DL
6./7. I think Kubiak is awesome at coaching players up and at this point I'm willing to give him the 6th and 7th rounds to make a project of anyone at any position ESPECIALLY quarterback and yes, I remember we selected Alex Brink like a month ago.

I see it something like this, depending on injuries and retirements: LB, OL, CB/S, QB (to coach up for when Sage is gone), & finally RB.

I would like to see Anthony Weaver gone so RDE would be my #1 pick next year.

If we go after FA's I hope someone besides Bobbie Grier is evaluating them.

No DE? Which OL position will you be looking at in the 2nd? OT/OG/OC?

it's gotta be guard right?

brown-probably gets about 2 years to show what he is
pitts-solid, but played a few snaps
myers-should be solid
?briesel/weary/spencer?-i think briesel wins it out but he's no lock for a spot now or next year
winston-hopefully makes his career here

That is how I see it also. Saw a mock with us taking William Moore, FS/SS, Missouri. That is a pick I could get behind.

Bpa
 

Hey everybody from HPF.

For the first time in the Texans history, I can honestly say (if the 2009 draft was held today) we take the best player available. We need to get younger at RB and DE and we'll always need to improve depth. But the front office has actually filled every need. Do we have probowlers at every position? No. Do we have proven experience at every position? No. But there comes a time where mere numbers don't help. A good example is in the secondary. We could take another CB on the first day of the draft but where does that leave Robinson, Reeves, Bennett, Molden, etc.? We will eventually have to start cutting first day picks. I think we need to take the BPA and let the younger guys develop.

A lot of what we do depends on the following:
How does Colvin work out at DE?
How does Okam work out at as our runstopper?
How do the CBs develop?
How does the RB situation work out?

I guess that was a wordy way of saying, take the BPA. But if I had to emphasize any positions they would probably be D-Line and CB. And if there's a franchise RB, you might want to take him.

1. DE. Cut Weaver and his 6mil contract, lose only 1.5 mil dead money.
2. OLB. Cut Greenwood and his big contract.
3. TE to compete with and possibly beat out OD
4. BPA
5. BPA
6. BPA
7. BPA

We should have enough cap money to fill a couple or three needs with medium priced FA's. Like we have done this year with Brown, Colvin, and Reeves. I am totally against going for any 9 or 10 mil per year CB's WR's etc.

Disclaimer/ All this assumes we don't have any more career ending injuries like we had with DD, Spencer, and possibly Robinson.

a 3rd round rookie is going to beat out owen daniels in his 3rd year? i liked where you were headed til the 3rd round and don't get me wrong, if we come across a stud TE like that i have no problem giving kubiak another cannon to fire....but....c'mon man...

Post the Rosevelt signing, I would say it is simply the best player available, no matter what position, excluding QB. QB in the first nowadays seems to bring bad luck, or is it just my own experience talking here?

just you NBT, there have been some good qb's in the first recently. carson palmer, eli manning, tim couch was pretty awesome....

No DE because I think Colvin will be around for a couple of years. OL would be OT because you can always fit them in at OG if need be. OR OC as a backup to Meyers. I think we continue to tinker with RB in latter rounds just to keep the pot boiling.

I think this scouting staff is such that one or two diamonds in the dust will keep turning up in latter rounds too.

I agree BPA seems reasonable since we seem to have a reasonable mix of experience and developing youth at each position for now. See what happens and who's available between now and then. Seems a stud FS and most positions could perhaps find that diamond in the haystack. I do think this regime of scouts, GM, coaches are being consistently successful in draft so far.

do you think if smithiak had any idea that mendenhall would fall they would've had a plan to grab him instead? or were they well aware of the OT run about to happen and there was no chance in hell they were taking a RB 1st round?

i don't believe for one second they expected him there, or that none of them were questioning their plan when they realized he had fallen.

my point is that this team, being pretty even as far as talent across positions, anything is possible in the 1st regardless of denver's draft history.

Actually, I think you may have that backwards. If Brown hadn't been there they might have taken Mendenhall. They were, IMO, determined to get a quality LT and I think the only two other guys that they would have been interested in were gone. They took a fairly big gamble/risk trading back to get the 2 extra picks, but it worked.

In a couple of years, when we see how Brown, Slaton, and Barber have worked out, will we be able to tell for sure. But I will predict now that all 3 will be doing well.

you're saying you think they would've taken mendenhall if they didn't believe brown was attainable? they had a shot at both so i'm not totally sure what you mean...

That's actually what I mean. As long as both were available they would select Brown, but if Brown was already off the board, then they might have taken Mendenhall. I'm still not sure they would have actually done it as Kubes & Gibbs don't seem to like to take 1st round RBs.

ah, i see now.

i think if the right guy was in the 1st, available, and we were up kubiak wouldn't hesistate. the denver myth thing has kind of been busted anyway...

Well, after the Pgh game, I sure don't know squat. Colvin was a bust (cut), Brown the "glassman" is on I/R *&^%$!, Ahman as someone predicted is hurt, and Schaub stunk up the house. Of course Kubiak and Richard Smith have to take their share of the gloom & doom too. I am feeling about 2" above whale manure today, and whale manure is on the very bottom of the ocean!!!!

whales poop? weird, i never thought about that...

anyway...i think if anything the pittsburgh game shows we need someone who can cover up the middle of the field. OLB, S, whatever.

my needs now:
1. S
2. DE
3. RB/OLB
4-7. OL/DL/RB

Well KJ, after the Tacks game, do you still stand by your prediction? This team is disorganized like Casserley's was. So what do we do? I say cut the fat, and get down to the players that want to win, pick up players as they become available from other teams, OR just quit and wait till next year (gag!).

Well, I really blew it on Colvin. He didn't even get out of TC. So now we are having trouble with our pass rush, as I feared.