Big Board

[foozball]

I think our 1st rounder will be between these players:

Ryan Clady
Sam Baker
Kenny Phillips
Reggie Smith
Jonathan Stewart

Based on positional value, player talent, draft depth, and organizational need, here is my big board.

1. OT Ryan Clady
2. S Kenny Phillips
3. RB Jonathan Stewart
4. OT Sam Baker
5. DB Reggie Smith

[steelbtexan]

This is what my big board looks like @this point for the Texans
Chris Long
Ryan Clady
Sam Baker
Kenny Phillips
Mike Jenkins

[willieg52]

Why is eeveryone so high on htis guy R. Clady he is 6 "6" 317 lbs but runs like a 5.3 in the fourty which is hardly fast enoug for a zone blocking scheme. Plus he plays for Boise St. All im saying is that he hasn't played agiainst premier players in that conference and some guys are stating that they would want him for a 1st round pick. He's not even a 1st round pick on the majority mock drafts. As a matter of fact can someone please provide me with a site where he is listed as 1st round talent.

[foozball]

nfldraftcountdown.com
nfldraftscout.com
footballsfuture.com

the difference between a 5.1 40 and 5.25 40 is negligible when comparing offensive tackles. now when youre comparing him to guys like joe thomas or joe staley, who pulled 4.9 and 4.8 respectively, sure, theres a difference there. but levi brown ran 5.4 and dbrickashaw ran a 5.26

clady may not be an elite OT prospect, and those are very rare, but he is undoubtedly the best OT in the 2009 JR class.

[willieg52]

nfldraftcountdown.com
nfldraftscout.com
footballsfuture.com

the difference between a 5.1 40 and 5.25 40 is negligible when comparing offensive tackles. now when youre comparing him to guys like joe thomas or joe staley, who pulled 4.9 and 4.8 respectively, sure, theres a difference there. but levi brown ran 5.4 and dbrickashaw ran a 5.26

clady may not be an elite OT prospect, and those are very rare, but he is undoubtedly the best OT in the 2009 JR class.

The zone blocking scheme is for those offensive linemen who can reach the second level and they are usally faster than a 5.25. And as far as Clady being the best prospect to come out of the 2009 class, I seem to have a different opinion that you. Micheal Oher is also a junior and a very good prospect and the fact that he plays in a much better conference (SEC) it seems to me that he will probably go ahead of Clady if they both decide to declare in this coming up draft.

[TheLBCoach]

1. OT Ryan Clady
2. LB Keith Rivers
3. RB Jonathan Stewart
4. FS Kenny Phillips
5. RB Mike Hart

[Wolf123]

1. OT Ryan Clady
2. LB Keith Rivers
3. RB Jonathan Stewart
4. FS Kenny Phillips
5. RB Mike Hart

Both Keith Rivers and Mike hart are no where near close enought to be on the top of the texans big board.

[foozball]

The zone blocking scheme is for those offensive linemen who can reach the second level and they are usally faster than a 5.25. And as far as Clady being the best prospect to come out of the 2009 class, I seem to have a different opinion that you. Micheal Oher is also a junior and a very good prospect and the fact that he plays in a much better conference (SEC) it seems to me that he will probably go ahead of Clady if they both decide to declare in this coming up draft.

michael oher is slower than clady, so i dont know what your point is. oher is a raw kid, and i think their upside is similar. clady is already a polished pass blocker and has the athleticism to fit in a zbs

[TheLBCoach]

Both Keith Rivers and Mike hart are no where near close enought to be on the top of the texans big board.

It's clear to me that you are unable to carry a conversation with anyone here. You have this 'matter of fact' attitude with whatever you say. Tell me...when did you start working in the Texans' Front Office?

[foozball]

i have to agree with him though, why do we need an OLB in the 1st round? LB is one of the deepest positions this year. and mike hart? jonathan stewart is a much better prospect and mike hart is nowhere near worth a top 15 pick.

[Wolf123]

I'm sorry that your top 5 people on the texans big board had an at best 2nd round running back and a LB that has good speed but is nowhere near the prospect that say an Ernie sims, Lawrence Timmons was. If you had the texans picking in the 23-32 range then yes Rivers would be a possibility but I still doubt that they would have him among the top 5 players at that spot.

[TheLBCoach]

I'm sorry that your top 5 people on the texans big board had an at best 2nd round running back and a LB that has good speed but is nowhere near the prospect that say an Ernie sims, Lawrence Timmons was. If you had the texans picking in the 23-32 range then yes Rivers would be a possibility but I still doubt that they would have him among the top 5 players at that spot.

I still feel that Rivers is a Top 10 pick. USC losing this season should in no way diminish his draft stock. He's the best OLB in this draft class. Drafting Rivers would give us some flexibility in the offseason in terms of what we do with our current LB's. I'm not saying draft him, but I'm not totally writing it off either. I would be happy if we drafted Rivers, but not as happy as I'd be if we drafted Clady or Stewart.

As for Mike Hart being inferior to Stewart, I agree. Notice how Hart's #5 on my list and Stewart is #3.

Here's a scenario for you:

We're picking 16th. Baker, Clady, Stewart and Reggie Smith are all off the board. Who would you take? Would you consider Hart then? I would. Rivers? Certainly.

[foozball]

if all those guys are gone, id go with Malcolm Jenkins and Vernon Gholston before taking a LB. why? because greenwood is a serviceable LB and LB is very deep this year.

Plus, Jenkins and Gholston would help much more than a LB. Jenkins fills a hole in the secondary, and Gholston gives us a speed rusher that can play DE or OLB and can fit in a variety of schemes.

[TheLBCoach]

if all those guys are gone, id go with Malcolm Jenkins and Vernon Gholston before taking a LB. why? because greenwood is a serviceable LB and LB is very deep this year.

Plus, Jenkins and Gholston would help much more than a LB. Jenkins fills a hole in the secondary, and Gholston gives us a speed rusher that can play DE or OLB and can fit in a variety of schemes.

Gholston over Rivers?! Come on foozball.

Secondly, you said Greenwood is 'serviceable'. If we want to become a great defense, we have to get past 'serviceable'. Also, just because you have depth doesn't mean you have quality depth. You give me a LB corps featuring young studs like Ryans, Diles and Rivers...I'll take that any day.

No offense meant either. Don't take it personally.

[foozball]

yea...but look at what we have at DE. Mario, who has done pretty much nothing, and Anthony Weaver...who has how many sacks? oh right...0...thats worse than serviceable. plus he gives our defense an added dimension with his versatility.

[Wolf123]

Gholston over Rivers?! Come on foozball.

Secondly, you said Greenwood is 'serviceable'. If we want to become a great defense, we have to get past 'serviceable'. Also, just because you have depth doesn't mean you have quality depth. You give me a LB corps featuring young studs like Ryans, Diles and Rivers...I'll take that any day.

No offense meant either. Don't take it personally.

I'm with you on this one I can't stand greenwood all of his tackles are 5-10 yards down field. I do like Rivers and at 16 I think he would be on the texans board, but I believe that James Laurinitis and Ray(USC0 would be better value. They play inside in college but both have the speed to move to outside. I like them better then Rivers b/c both of them bring a nasty streak to a defense and have the strenght to actualy take on blockers. What do you think about them? As for Mike hart I still don't believe he'd be a good value in the first. Mcfadden,Stewart,Charles,Rashard Mendahall, Felix Jones, all could enter the draft and push players like Hart,Rice into the middle of the second.

[TheLBCoach]

I'm with you on this one I can't stand greenwood all of his tackles are 5-10 yards down field. I do like Rivers and at 16 I think he would be on the texans board, but I believe that James Laurinitis and Ray(USC0 would be better value. They play inside in college but both have the speed to move to outside. I like them better then Rivers b/c both of them bring a nasty streak to a defense and have the strenght to actualy take on blockers. What do you think about them? As for Mike hart I still don't believe he'd be a good value in the first. Mcfadden,Stewart,Charles,Rashard Mendahall, Felix Jones, all could enter the draft and push players like Hart,Rice into the middle of the second.

I think Maualuga would be better served staying at Mike in the pros. He's a better tackler than Rivers, but I like Rivers for his tenacity...and he's not too bad as a coverage guy either. He's also got crazy range, which is important for an OLB to have. I'm not a big fan of Laurinaitis. Probably because I despise anything to do with Ohio State. I like Connor tons more.

foozball - Sacks by DL are the sexy stat, no doubt. But I think Mario is going to develop into a stud in the NFL. He plays the run very well, and while he may have the occasional 1 tackle game he's still very active up front for us. I agree with Weaver being a disappointment. Enough said about him.

[Wolf123]

Rivers does have great speed and range I just want to see someone next to Ryans who is an impact player. I don't want to see us go into next season with Greenwood and Clark. Both don't show up on the field nearly enough.
Good linebackers tend to fall in the draft so it would be helpful if the texans could pick up a 2nd.

[foozball]

if we do get a 2nd rounder and intend to use it on a LB, id go with Tavares Gooden from Miami. 6'2 235lbs and runs in the 4.5's