Who moved to the head of the NFL class during the draft? Find out with FanHouse's team-by-team 2009 Draft Grades.Longtime NFL reporter Rick Gosselin, like most writers, knows that readers like draft grades. He grades a draft, and then re-grades it after the season. He's a tough grader, and gives most teams average grades.
Surprisingly, this year the only team that received an A+ in his grades were the Houston Texans. He thought the picks made sense for the team, and I agree. I don't know how they will perform on the field, but the selections were good value and fit key needs.
The top two selections in USC LB Brian Cushing and Cincinnati DE Connor Barwin focus on improving the physicality and athleticism of a Texans defense that has struggled over the last four years.
In their second day picks, they drafted Alabama C Antoine Caldwell to be quality depth to the center/guard position so they don't have to carry as many offensive linemen on their game day roster. They drafted two tight ends who are completely different--NC State's Anthony Hill is intended as a replacement to blocking TE Mark Bruener who just retired, and Rice standout James Casey has been drafted as an athlete who could do any number of roles for the Texans on offense and special teams.
They've carried four tight ends on the Texans roster in Kubiak's first year with the team. His offense relies on the TE position more than just about any team in the league.
They also picked up two corners in New Mexico's Grover Quin and Utah's Brice McCain, and a safety with Arizona State's Troy Nolan. Are these the picks to fix the Texans secondary finally? Probably not, but they acquired some more competition. The Texans will keep throwing bodies at a weak position until it becomes a position of strength. That hasn't happened yet with the secondary, but part of that may be due to the issues with little pass rush.
Basically, they got some needs and some possible playmakers. The major need that they weren't able to fill in the draft was a complementary running back with Steve Slaton. Even then, they picked up two undrafted free agents in Tennessee's Arian Foster and Oregon's Jeremiah Johnson.
If you look at comments from head coach Gary Kubiak and the ones from the Texans director of scouting, it is clear that the Texans were looking at getting smart, versatile, athletic players of good football character and leadership. One of the major voids the Texans team had when Kubiak took over was one of leadership, and I guess this draft class aims to address that.
If you would like to know even more about the Texans draft class, I suggest you read my more in-depth report over at the Houston Chronicle entitled, "2009 Houston Texans draft overview and hot topics."
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-01-2009 @ 11:16AM
nscnyyfan said...
This was a god game plan for the texans because they need all the help they can get
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5-01-2009 @ 1:46PM
A.J. said...
Everybody disrespects the Texans - I don't quite get it. I venture to think that they might be a couple of players (or even, a healthy season from some of their players) away from a wild-card spot. And in a division that contains the Colts and Titans, that's saying something. For what it's worth, if you stuck them in the AFC West, they would have probably won the division last year by a pretty good margin.
And there's no dearth of talent on the defense, either - they're just young and have a few depth issues.
They've got Xavier Adibi, he's going to be a pretty decent LB to support DeMeco Ryans AND Brian Cushing, and your DL is young and beastly with Williams, Okoye (going into his 3rd season and STILL only 21 years old!), and now they've signed another prolific pass rusher in Antonio Smith.
If there's an issue, it's probably the secondary, but that comes from most of them being inexperienced. Dunta Robinson's the best of the bunch, obviously, and Jacques Reeves isn't bad. Antwaun Molden and other young players are coming up.
And on the offensive side of the ball? Well, there are playmakers. Andre Johnson might be THE most underrated receiver in the entire NFL. He really only started getting half of the respect he deserved this past season. He actually put up 20 more catches and a 140 more receiving yards than Larry Fitzgerald. Kevin Walter and Jacoby Jones are there for support, as well as Andre Davis. Matt Schaub is a quarterback that can win games, and Steve Slaton's speed and explosiveness from the RB position brings guys out of coverage and up into the box, which opens up the 6'3, 223 Johnson (who runs a 4.4, by the way) to run downfield.
Yeah, I'd say, all in all, Houston's got it going pretty well for themselves, considering that they're essentially a baby franchise. The Texans aren't even my favorite team, but I can see them going places - perhaps as soon as this season. In any case, I'd much rather be a Houston fan than a fan in Detroit, Oakland, or even St. Louis right now.
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5-01-2009 @ 3:54PM
bears0492 said...
That draft is no where near an A+ grade. I understand it was a pretty good draft, but it is an A- at best. They got basically 2 good people. The others, (except for the center) probably won't ever contribute.
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5-01-2009 @ 5:15PM
ScottytheMenace said...
bears0492: "They got basically 2 good people. The others, (except for the center) probably won't ever contribute."
You can probably safely say that about every team's draft every year. Teams that get two or three starters out of a draft are happy. Most drafted players don't ever start on offense or defense, and many (especially in the later rounds) don't stay in the NFL very long.
Grading a draft before any of the players suit up in the NFL is an exercise in near futility as Steph and others have said but, if you are going to do it, you need to base it on a teams' needs and whether the team drafted players at, above, or below where the player was projected. By those measures, the Texans had a great draft. They addressed all their needs except backup RB and all the players were good values for where they were drafted. Splitting hairs between A+ and A- is pretty futile until we see the players suit up.
I like the Texans' draft. They got quality players with great athleticism and developed skills, most of whom were leaders of their teams. They didn't reach for anyone, and they got two players in Cushing and Barwin that have a chance to contribute immediately. That's a pratty darn good draft.
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A.J.: "For what it's worth, if you stuck them in the AFC West, they would have probably won the division last year by a pretty good margin."
I completely agree. The Texans would have run away with the AFC West and the NFC West, and might have taken the NFC North. The Texans are a pretty good team in a great division. I have a feeling that they will break through and make it to the playoffs this season.
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5-02-2009 @ 12:12AM
wdfisher57 said...
I've been reviewing other sites searching for the average consensus on the Texans recent draft, adn as far as I can tell, the low was a B+ and the high an A+. So you go with an A. This article pretty much says the same. I read the Texans head scouts after draft explanations for the picks and he was very inciteful. Anyway, personally I see good things this season for the team. I think a running back plucked off the waiver wires before the season starts is probable. Otherwise, decent article Stephanie. I was wondering if you were on vacation or something. Just kidding again.
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