Official 2013 NFL Draft - Round 1 Thread

[HPF Bob]

Monti Te'o tweeted that he was proud to be selected by the 49ers in the first round.

Or at least he should have tweeted that if he had a quality sense of humor.

[popanot]

A lot of people had Hopkins at the top of their board and the most starter-ready/ most polished WR in the draft. That's exactly what the Texans need right now. They"re in a SB push and need someone who can step in right now that can consistently catch the ball and produce. Yes, some of the other guys have more speed and maybe a higher upside, but they also have some Jacoby Jones to them too. This was a good, solid pick and I doubt they're done at WR this draft.

[barrett]

I watch a few College games but I have never pretended to know enough about College Football to project whether a guy from Texas or Morehouse St will be better. I watch no film and don't tune in to Senior Bowl practices or the combine on NFLN. So I tend to restrict my opinions to what position we select and how that fits with our roster and identity.

With that said, I like that we appeared to have our choice of WRs and wanted Hopkins above the rest. I have serious doubts about our ability to use a 2nd WR effectively, but at least now we will no if it was a WR corp talent deficit, lack of ability from Schaub, or a stubborness from Kubs. I hope it was #1 but I fear it was mostly #3 with the other two mixed in to varied degrees.

[HPF Bob]

I felt getting a WR in the first was probably something they could have traded down for and still got value but the Texans were obviously in love with Hopkins and, with no Walter and no Posey, this was probably a need pick to start the season. Most WRs do not come into the NFL and star immediately ( AJ included), so this is as much a pick for the future as it is for now.

In DT Sylvester Williams (taken by the Broncos with the next pick) and ILB Kevin Minter, you see some of the talent they passed on to get Hopkins and with the haul the Patriots got from the Vikings at #29, (a 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 7th), you see what the Texans might have been able to do with a trade down.

Overall, this is the general Texans MO under Rick Smith is not gamble. Sit and wait your turn without gambling. I think the only time the Texans have seriously traded down was when they just didn't like the choices they saw in the second round. Hopefully, some help at DL, ILB, RT and FB/TE will still be around later for us to scoop up. With three picks on Friday, we should get more chances to cheer or disagree.

[chuck]

Originally Posted by HPF Bob

I felt getting a WR in the first was probably something they could have traded down for and still got value but the Texans were obviously in love with Hopkins...

This is the conclusion I reached also. Like barrett I don't watch nearly enough college football or pay any real attention to the combine and the chatter so I don't have the seasoned and reasoned opinions on guys that a lot of you do. The Texans clearly had some attractive options in terms of trading down as well as other receivers that they rejected in favor of Hopkins. They obviously love him and that's good enough for me. The consensus seems to be that he's the most NFL ready receiver in the draft and that's plainly what the team needs.

[popanot]

I'm not sure how we can get on the Texans for not trading down when 1) we don't even know if they did or didn't try, and 2) we have no vision into their thought process or their draft board. It seemed to me like they took a long time to get the pick in so maybe they were fielding calls. Maybe nobody wanted to work a deal with them. Speculating on that is about as silly as mock drafts.

[HPF Bob]

Of course the "most NFL ready player at that position" line was the same justification they gave for taking Kareem Jackson.

Just sayin'.

[Blitzwood]

Originally Posted by chuck

This is the conclusion I reached also. Like barrett I don't watch nearly enough college football or pay any real attention to the combine and the chatter so I don't have the seasoned and reasoned opinions on guys that a lot of you do. The Texans clearly had some attractive options in terms of trading down as well as other receivers that they rejected in favor of Hopkins. They obviously love him and that's good enough for me. The consensus seems to be that he's the most NFL ready receiver in the draft and that's plainly what the team needs.

To summerize the pick, Hopkins was the most polished, complete receiver, with good size and speed, in the entire draft. He's gonna step in at the #2 and help this team win NOW. There are no holes in his game, which is rare for a three year player.

C. Patterson was the sexier pick, imo, but he's probably a few years away from being at Hopkins' current level. There is also a risk he(Patterson) would never develop, ala Jacoby Jones, past where he is now.

Very Solid Pick by the Texans. A player like "Nuk" to complement AJ is long overdue.