2011 NFL Draft Team Needs: Houston Texans

The expectations couldn’t have been any greater for the 2010 Houston Texans. Coming off an impressive 2009 campaign that saw the Texans narrowly miss out on the playoffs after winning four straight to end the season with a 9-7 record, Gary Kubiak’s squad was an early favorite to make their first postseason appearance in franchise history. With an elite quarterback in Matt Schaub coming off a career year and possibly the league’s best receiver in Andre Johnson in their arsenal it seemed like the only thing the Texans offense needed to establish was a run game to break through the playoff barrier. In the first game of the 2010 season, it looked like they had done just that. Arian Foster, who ranked third on the depth chart going into camp, exploded against the division rival Indianapolis Colts for 231 yards on the ground, leading the Texans to a huge 34-24 victory against the defending AFC champs. Foster never looked back, finishing the season with seven more games with over 100 rushing yards before being crowned the NFL’s rushing champ with 1,616 yards and earning his first career Pro Bowl nomination. With the development of Foster into an elite rusher and the Texans already having elite athletes at the quarterback and receiver positions, Houston should’ve been a lock to win the AFC South and cruise through the playoffs. So how did the 2010 Texans squad fall flat on their face to regress from 9-7 in 2009 to 6-10 in 2010?

In their preoccupation with establishing a run game and expanding on an already dynamic offense, Kubiak and the Texans’ front office neglected to address their needs on the defensive side of the ball. An already pitiful secondary lost their star corner in Dunta Robinson to free agency in the offseason and tried to fill the enormous hole he left with a first-round draft pick and a collection of unproven defensive backs. Not surprisingly the Texans defense finished dead last in the league in passing yards allowed; 30^th in total yards allowed and 29^th in points allowed. A devastating Achilles injury to All-Pro linebacker DeMeco Ryans in October and All-Pro defensive end Mario Williams struggling with injuries all year didn’t help the already porous Texans d either. Instead of firing Kubiak for failing to make the playoffs for the fifth consecutive year of his tenure, the Texans hired Wade Phillips to rebuild their calamity of a defense. With Phillips, the Texans will switch from the 4-3 to the 3-4 and will have needs at all three levels of their new defensive front.

1.Cornerback: Kareem Jackson showed some serious growing pains in his rookie season finishing dead last in the league in yards per pass and Yards After Catch (YAC) allowed according to Rotoworld.com. Usually first-round picks have at least three years to prove themselves before showing the type of NFL player they will become but Jackson will certainly be forced to show significant improvement in 2011. With Glover Quin, Jason Allen, and Brice McCain behind Jackson, the Texans are seriously lacking in talent and desperately need to find at least one starter in the 2011 draft. Their prayers for a shutdown corner could be answered if Prince Amukamara falls in their laps with the 11^th overall pick which is a legitimate possibility. Amukamara has all the tools to be a lockdown corner at the next level and would start from day one in Houston. There are a few teams selecting ahead of the Texans that have a definite need for a corner as well however. Arizona at five, San Francisco at seven, and Dallas at nine could all use upgrades in their defensive backfields but with the exception of the Cowboys all have greater needs elsewhere. If Amukamara is gone at 11, Houston shouldn’t reach for Miami’s Brandon Harris or Colorado’s Jimmy Smith. Texas’s Aaron Williams may fall to the second round but may be more suited to play free safety in the NFL. Utah’s Brandon Burton, New Mexico State’s Davon House and Texas’s Curtis Brown should also be around when Houston picks in the second and would all be considered upgrades to the Texans’ secondary.

2. Nose Tackle: After a great start to his rookie season in 2007, Amobi Okoye has seemed to hit a wall. His pass-rushing ability, his most desirable trait, has fallen off completely over the past three seasons. Okoye amassed 5.5 sacks in his rookie year and it’s taken him the last three years combined to equal that amount. By moving to the 3-4 front the Texans create an immediate need for a big body in the middle of their defensive line which may end Okoye’s career in Houston. Phillips will not be implementing a prototypical three man front that has a massive space eating 330-plus nose tackle to clog up at least two gaps however. Phillips will be asking his defensive linemen to penetrate through the line as opposed to just creating holes for his linebackers. For his nose tackle he’ll be looking for a bigger body that still has the agility and quickness to penetrate through the line and create pressure on opposing passers.  The optimal pick for this type of player would be Alabama’s Marcell Dareus but he will be long gone by the time the Texans pick at 11. There are several players who are projected as late first round/early second round prospects. Illinois’ Corey Liuget, Oregon State’s Stephen Paea and USC’s Jurrell Casey all fit the mold that Phillips covets but may all be a bit of a reach at 11^th overall. If Houston waits until the second round they should have their choice of Casey, UNC’s Marvin Austin, Clemson’s Jarvis Jenkins and LSU’s Drake Nevis. If Phillips reneges on his initial thought process, don’t be surprised if Houston takes a long hard look at Baylor’s Phil Taylor. Taylor is massive (6-3, 334) but ran an impressive 5.18 40 at the combine and has impressed scouts all offseason long with stellar workouts and a dominating performance at the Senior Bowl.

3. Rush Linebacker: When you move to a 3-4 defense you need to have a deep talent pool at the linebacker position. With Ryans recovering from an injury that has derailed the careers of the likes of Sam Cowart, Takeo Spikes and Julian Peterson, it’s difficult to project if he will ever be able to return to his All-Pro form. Brian Cushing, the 2009-2010 Defensive Rookie of the Year, had to make the switch from outside to inside linebacker for a few games last season after Ryans went down and will reprise this role when the Texans make the switch to the 3-4. Phillips has said on several occasions that Mario Williams will remain on the defensive line and will not make the switch to rush linebacker. Even if Williams was asked to rush from a standing position instead of having his hand on the ground, the Texans desperately need a complimentary pass rusher to go along with the former first overall pick. The Texans think Connor Barwin could have a huge season at one of the outside linebacker positions but he is coming off a season-ending ankle injury that cost him the majority of the season. Barwin’s projected counterpart is Darryl Sharpton who showed promise in his rookie season but still needs plenty of seasoning. If Amukamara is gone and the Texans don’t see the value in taking a defensive tackle in the 11^th spot, a pass rushing outside linebacker should be the pick. Robert Quinn is a definite possibility here if he makes it past the Cardinals, 49ers, Browns and Redskins. Quinn has a natural ability to get to the passer and although he didn’t run a great 40 time at the combine, he has the quickness and ferocity to be a pest in the backfield. If Quinn’s gone by 11, Purdue’s Ryan Kerrigan or Missouri’s Aldon Smith would both be solid picks.