Houston Texans NFL Draft Recap – NFL Preview & Prediction
The Houston Texans ended up finishing on top of the AFC South last year. Now, the Texans were not a fully rounded team without any issues on the year last season. With that being said, the Texans were looking to address the issues the team had heading into the off season. The Texans were one team that did decent in filling their major needs, but for some of the needs the Texans did not even come close to address in the draft.
Round 2 (8) Ross Blacklock, DT, 6’3” 290 pounds
The Texans are looking to Blacklock to fill a need with the loss of some of their interior lineman this off season. Now, the Texans are looking to Blacklock to fill the need here and that will be good with the strong hands that he has and the penetration that he can make into the backfield. Look for the Texans defense to be improved greatly by the addition of Blacklock who should be able to get into the backfield easily and fight off the blocks, drawing down the double teams on a frequent basis.
Round 3(26) Jonathan Greenard, OLB, 6’3” 263 pounds
The Texans were looking for some help on the outside of the defensive line backing position as well. Well, Greenard is a project type of linebacker for the Texans if he even makes it into the NFL. Greenard has been able to ply good at Florida, but Greenard is not that fast on his feet and can be beaten to the edge on some of the toss plays to the outside. Not to mention if he has to be used in pass coverage the back and to a certain extent the tight end could put distance between the two for the perfect amount of separation.
Round 4 (20) Charlie Heck, T, 6’8” 311 pounds
The Texans may have ended up making a stretch pick here with Heck. He has really good size and can do really well at getting the rushers moved on past Watson this year, but he definitely has to hold his blocks for longer than what he has been. Charlie Heck has a habit of letting go of the blocks too early and that often can be a problem for the Texans.
Round 4 (35) John Reid, CB, 5’10” 187pounds
With the Texans pick here Reid could end up playing good, but the thing is Reid is one player who cannot really compete for the jump ball with his shorter height, even in college. Now, the other issue that Reid has is he cannot really wrap up and bring down the runner in the middle of the field on his own as his tackles because of his size, do not give the amount of pop that is needed.
Round 5 (26) Isaiah Coulter, WR, 6’2” 198 pounds
Coulter is coming out of a smaller football school in Rhode Island. When he played at Rhode Island, he was able to do decent at stretching the field. The downside is he does have some room for improvement and may not be able to put the distance between him and the defender like in college. The good news is Coulter does have good control over this hands and that can help him in snagging the harder passes.
